Assistant Teaching Professor
Ph.D., Critical and Comparative Studies in Music
McIntire Department of Music
University of Virginia (2016)
M.A., Jazz History and Research
Rutgers University (2011)
B.A., Music, Psychology
Sunderman Conservatory of Music
Gettysburg College (2009)
Jazz Studies
Film & Media Music
Contemporary Music
Music & Social Activism
Bibliography, Research, and Writing
Dr. Gretchen Carlson is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Music History & Culture at Towson University, where she teaches diverse courses in jazz history, American music, film/media music, contemporary music, and music bibliography/research. She also has developed and teaches original seminar courses entitled “Duke Ellington: Beyond Category,” “John Williams: Soundtracks of a Century,” and “Social Activism Through Jazz: From Billie Holiday to Jon Batiste.”
Carlson's interdisciplinary approach to teaching and scholarship demonstrates her investment in recognizing and understanding music as a unique creative force that reflects and transforms human culture, media, and society. Her book, Improvising the Score: Rethinking Modern Film Music Through Jazz – which was awarded Honorable Mention for the 2023 Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) Jazz Book of the Year – provides a vivid investigation of innovative collaborations between renowned contemporary jazz artists and prominent independent filmmakers, exploring how these integrative jazz-film productions challenge us to rethink the possibilities of cinematic music production. She has also authored several articles featured in the Journal of the Society for American Music and Jazz and Culture. She is currently writing on Jon Batiste's genre-defying, collaborative, and socially active music and artistic philosophies. She has presented her research at both national and international conferences, including annual meetings of the Society for American Music, the American Musicological Society, the Jazz Education Network, and Rhythm Changes.
An active pianist, Carlson balances her research and teaching with solo and collaborative performance (including her duo, "The Sunflowers," with guitarist Todd Izydorski) and runs a private piano studio.
In the Media: