Teaching is a civic duty. Having taught in university settings for the better part of five years and more recently as a long-term substitute in a high school French classroom, I have witnessed a chasm growing between even the brightest public school graduates and the expectations of competent college students. With growing emphasis on top-loading grades, the need for quantifiable data points, and the increasingly isolated nature of subject teaching, high schools are producing students who struggle with the breadth of thought needed to be successful at university and beyond.

This is why I emphasize proven practice pedagogy, a demanding but highly effective method of blending a student’s past, present, a future that has produced a large number of graduate students and successful professionals. I like to create an environment which forces students to trust themselves. I intertwine the structure of public school with long-term project planning, expansive thought, and occasionally nebulous expectations. I use a process that forces students to ask questions, to become subject-area experts, and to defend their perspectives.

This process begins with knowledge of self. I use semester-long projects to force students to listen to themselves. I ask, “What matters to you? What appeals to you about this piece of music or this concept?” Whether first-year students or senior researchers, there are upwards of 65-80% of a class who struggle with this kind of academic introspection at first. In spite of early obstacles this process equips students with the ability to think on their passions and curiosities, critique them objectively, and present their ideas and findings in a compelling way. I aim to produce reasoned thinkers who can approach any challenge and I have been very successful thus far.

Part of that success comes from student empowerment. While I do love to tell a good story, the nature of my interactions with students is generally conversational. Even in ensemble rehearsals, where time is precious, I carve out a few minutes here or there to make room for questions about things like performance practice or translations. I do this because it is important for students to take ownership over their education. I try to arm students with the confidence to do just that, by teaching them to question, to doubt, to criticize, to investigate, and to grow.

This approach requires that I not only read trade literature regularly, but also listen to music foreign to me at a feverish rate. I once had a student attempt a paper on the performance art of a recent concept called metamodernism. I was swayed by his proposal and found myself hip-deep in anything relevant just to offer meaningful advice on how to couch an argument or avoid intentional fallacy. So, while my methods tend to give me a larger amount of work to do, I am wholly dedicated to them. They have transformed perennially struggling students into degree-holders, they have produced soon-to-be Ph.D. students, they have launched music education careers but, most importantly, they have formed these ten words more often than I can recall: “I never knew that I could create something like that.”

Sample Syllabi

MUH 3211: Survey of Music History: Antiquity-1750, Florida State University
This course is designed to broaden and enrich knowledge of the history of Western music from its earliest known examples in Greek antiquity to the decline of the musical Baroque.

MUH 3212: Survey of Music History: 1750-present, Florida State University
This course is designed to broaden and enrich knowledge of the history of Western music from nascence of the European Enlightenment to issues and topics of our present.

MUL 2010: Music Literature, Listening, and Understanding, Florida State University
This course is designed to be an introduction to music as a manifestation of human culture both as an expressive art form and an intellectual discipline.

Recent Student Testimonials 

I am writing to offer my enthusiastic commendation of Kurt Carlson, a transformative, personable, and high-achieving academic and educator. Kurt was my professor of Music History at Florida State University in 2017. At the time, I was reluctant to register for another music course. I felt burned out, disillusioned, and ready to quit music altogether.

Kurt resurrected my love of music. His passion for music and teaching was infectious. In Kurt’s classroom, there was always something to keep my mind active. Before class, Kurt would play a music video for students trickling in, getting settled. It was like tuning in to the paragon of diverse, stimulating radio. I still have my notes of artists, albums, and songs I intend to check out.

Similarly, before class, Kurt would chat with students: “How did your recital go?”, “Have you picked a topic for your essay?”, “What repertoire are you playing now?” and offer endless suggestions for enrichment and extended learning. By contrast, most of my teachers (including tenured professors) used that time before class to hide behind a podium, mute and disengaged from students, shuffling papers, marking attendance. In Kurt’s classroom, not a moment of learning is lost.

Kurt’s conveys faith in students’ ability to succeed and experiment. When I had trouble picking a subject for my essay, Kurt resolved to met with me three times. On each occasion, he gave me a list of things to do and think over, so I would be more prepared for our next meeting. By our last, I had an idea. Only, it was radical. I wanted to prove that Carlo Gesualdo had been misclassified by music historians. Kurt listened intently; asked brief, well-placed questions; and said, “take a risk and be bold, but make sure you can prove your thesis within the page limit and meet the deadline.” In the end, I humbled the scope of my paper (but stuck with Gesualdo). Kurt maintains high standards for students and delights in their grand ambitions, finding a way to make their big ideas work.

Kurt’s personal vivacity, mastery of subject material, and faith in students’ ability are key ingredients to the “magic” of his teaching. There is so much more that could be said about his impact, but I will conclude with just one last testimony and truth: it was Kurt who inspired me to become a teacher.

Phil Mendez, Florida State University class of 2017

Dr. Carlson was my favorite teacher at Florida State University. Never before had I had a professor who got me so excited about music history. I feel like often you see teachers who are passionate, but it’s not often that you find a teacher that can translate that passion onto it’s students, to in turn make them also excited about the material. And that is exactly what he did. I can genuinely say that I looked forward to every class. I found myself talking to my boyfriend (who at the time was taking Music History 1 with him), about all these topics after class. Dr. Carlson made the class not just about composers and their music, it was about the culture they came from, the language they spoke, the history that surrounded them. This gave the music we were studying so much more depth and meaning in my mind.

Beyond this he wanted every student to enjoy the class. He spent his own off time to meet up with students to discuss topics for the final paper to make sure they were writing about something they were interested in. Even for my own paper I sat down and discussed with him how I was really interested in songwriting and the creative process. My original final paper concept was to explore the influences in Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony. But after I sent in my topic proposal, Dr. Carlson commented on how difficult this would be, being that there was some intentional and biographical fallacies surrounding Shostakovich. He also questioned if this is really what I wanted to write a final paper on, being that I was a Commercial Music major. After discussing with him my interest in the creative process of songwriting and storytelling, he mentioned performance art and showed me an example with Laurie Andersen’s « O Superman ». My final paper ended up exploring the use of subject versus object and real-time composition in performance art. A topic that fit my interests much more closely without ignoring the topics we cover in class. I got to study a creative process that I didn’t know existed throughout the entire 20th century. 

Dr. Carlson’s extensive knowledge, passion, and attentiveness to his students makes him a teacher that any university would be so incredibly lucky to have!! 

Madison Fields, Florida State University class of 2018

While taking a music history class taught by Kurt Carlson at FSU, I was surprised that he remembered everyone’s name, and that he remembered what research papers everyone wrote the previous semesters. In his lectures, he would often call on specific students to explain a certain subject if their research paper from the previous semester was on a similar topic relating to that lecture. Not only did this give the opportunity for those students to share what they learned the semester before, but it also demonstrates Kurt Carlson’s respect for the students. 

Kurt Carlson has a talent for making the material interesting by showing us how things matter in a greater context. He is a friendly person that people feel comfortable around which makes it easier to stay focused during longer lectures. This also made it easier for me to ask questions without feeling nervous. Before tests, many of us would meet up with him for a study session outside of our usual class time. It meant a lot to us that he would take time to schedule these study sessions, and that he even spent his own money on pizzas and refreshments. People would go out of their way to sign up for the music history classes he taught, because they loved his teaching style. 

Justin White, Florida State University class of 2017