Department of Music

Kathryn L. Simon, Assistant Professor of Music Education, is joined the faculty of Towson University in 2012 as the specialist in secondary choral and general music education. Simon earned a Ph.D. in music education at the University of Miami, where she was the recipient of the prestigious University of Miami Fellowship. She received Master of Music degrees in both music education and choral conducting, as well as the Bachelor of Music Education degree, from Central Michigan University. Prior to joining the faculty of Towson University, Simon taught kindergarten through twelfth grade general music and choir in northern Michigan.

An active clinician, Simon has presented at teacher in-services and national, state, and regional conferences in Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. She served as co-investigator for a study examining the identification of functions of conducting, which was published in Research and Issues in Music Education. Her research interests focus on the classroom management practices of music educators, and specifically on predictors of the classroom management practices and challenges of secondary choral educators; the development of a multi-functional model of nonverbal conducting; the effects of high-stakes testing on music education in public schools; music teacher education; and working with adolescent changing voices.

Simon’s professional memberships include the International Society for Music Education, The National Association for Music Education, Maryland Music Educators Association, Society for Music Teacher Education, American Choral Directors Association, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, The College Music Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She currently serves as the Youth and Student Activities Chair for the Maryland/DC chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.