Jesse Rathgeber, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor and Chair of Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as of July 2023. At UW-Madison, Jesse teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on music education, serves on dissertation committees, and develops his scholarship and community-engaged work.
Before UW-Madison, Jesse worked at Assistant Professor of Music Education at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL where he taught courses on assessment and evaluation of music learning, general/classroom music methods, student teaching seminar, first year inquiry, and music and activism. He supervised student teachers in their elementary placements and is the advisor for the Augustana College Music Education preprofessional organization. He also facilitated the AugiePlay informal, participatory, community-based musicking project. Prior to Augustana, he was Assistant Professor of Music at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At JMU, Jesse taught undergraduate and graduate courses on general music and contemporary approaches to music education, foundation of music education, music technology, instrumental music teaching methods, and research. Previously, Jesse Rathgeber was a public school music educator in Illinois. He taught K-5 general music at Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in Long Grove, Illinois, where he also led a 4-5 chorus, 2-5 Rhythm Band, and a 3-5 Young Composers Club. Jesse also taught K-12 general music, band, and chorus at DeLand-Weldon Community Unit School District 57 in DeLand, Illinois. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Bachelor of Music Education, general music concentration), Northwestern University (Master of Music in Music Education, creativity and composition concentration), and Arizona State University (Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education)
Jesse is a music maker-educator-researcher. He enjoys dabbling with music (particularly with guitars, mandolin, Irish bouzouki, and digital instruments) at home, in classrooms, and in the community. As an active researcher, Jesse explores issues related to disability, anti-ableism, inclusion, contemporary music learning, and music teacher development. He is a frequent presenter on creativity, composition, disability, inclusion, listening, and emergent approaches to music teaching and learning at state and national conferences throughout the United States. He has published a book review in Music Education Research, co-authored articles in Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education; Qualitative Research in Music Education; Journal of Music, Heath, and Wellbeing; Journal of Popular Music Education; and Music Educators Journal. His work can also be found in chapters in the Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Pedagogy; Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning; Mobile Technology: The Promise and Possibilities for Creative Music Making;The Music Production Cookbook: Ready-made Recipes for the Classroom; Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education; forthcoming SAGE Handbook of School Music Education; the forthcoming The Modern Band Handbook: Practical Perspectives and Lessons for Music Educators, and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Special Music Education and Music Therapy. Jesse co-authored a practitioner guide to Universal Design for Learning in music classrooms entitled Accessing Music and his dissertation, Troubling Disability: Experiences of Disability In, Through, and Around Music, a phenomenological and narrative bricolage examination of the experience of disability in, through, and around music from the perspective of disabled persons/persons with disabilities can be found via ProQuest.
Jesse can be reached via email at [email protected]. Please explore this website for examples of his teaching, pedagogical writing, research, and musical work.
Before UW-Madison, Jesse worked at Assistant Professor of Music Education at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL where he taught courses on assessment and evaluation of music learning, general/classroom music methods, student teaching seminar, first year inquiry, and music and activism. He supervised student teachers in their elementary placements and is the advisor for the Augustana College Music Education preprofessional organization. He also facilitated the AugiePlay informal, participatory, community-based musicking project. Prior to Augustana, he was Assistant Professor of Music at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At JMU, Jesse taught undergraduate and graduate courses on general music and contemporary approaches to music education, foundation of music education, music technology, instrumental music teaching methods, and research. Previously, Jesse Rathgeber was a public school music educator in Illinois. He taught K-5 general music at Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in Long Grove, Illinois, where he also led a 4-5 chorus, 2-5 Rhythm Band, and a 3-5 Young Composers Club. Jesse also taught K-12 general music, band, and chorus at DeLand-Weldon Community Unit School District 57 in DeLand, Illinois. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Bachelor of Music Education, general music concentration), Northwestern University (Master of Music in Music Education, creativity and composition concentration), and Arizona State University (Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education)
Jesse is a music maker-educator-researcher. He enjoys dabbling with music (particularly with guitars, mandolin, Irish bouzouki, and digital instruments) at home, in classrooms, and in the community. As an active researcher, Jesse explores issues related to disability, anti-ableism, inclusion, contemporary music learning, and music teacher development. He is a frequent presenter on creativity, composition, disability, inclusion, listening, and emergent approaches to music teaching and learning at state and national conferences throughout the United States. He has published a book review in Music Education Research, co-authored articles in Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education; Qualitative Research in Music Education; Journal of Music, Heath, and Wellbeing; Journal of Popular Music Education; and Music Educators Journal. His work can also be found in chapters in the Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Pedagogy; Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning; Mobile Technology: The Promise and Possibilities for Creative Music Making;The Music Production Cookbook: Ready-made Recipes for the Classroom; Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education; forthcoming SAGE Handbook of School Music Education; the forthcoming The Modern Band Handbook: Practical Perspectives and Lessons for Music Educators, and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Special Music Education and Music Therapy. Jesse co-authored a practitioner guide to Universal Design for Learning in music classrooms entitled Accessing Music and his dissertation, Troubling Disability: Experiences of Disability In, Through, and Around Music, a phenomenological and narrative bricolage examination of the experience of disability in, through, and around music from the perspective of disabled persons/persons with disabilities can be found via ProQuest.
Jesse can be reached via email at [email protected]. Please explore this website for examples of his teaching, pedagogical writing, research, and musical work.