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Dr. Todd Westervelt
Todd Westervelt received his undergraduate degree in Music Education and Trumpet Performance, with a minor in Voice, from Trenton State College, his M.Ed. in Music Education and K-12 Supervisor Certification from The College of New Jersey, and his Ph.D. from Temple University, where he studied under Beth M. Bolton and Edwin E. Gordon.
As a trumpeter, Dr. Westervelt studied under Donald McComis, Bruce Barrie, Doug Haislip, and Donald Benedetti. He performed professionally with groups such as the Philadelphia Chamber Symphony, the Delaware Valley Philharmonic, Riverside Symphonia, the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra, the Princeton Chamber Symphony, and as a substitute for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He was also an active freelance performer in the northeast region of the United States, performing in solo and with his brass quintet, ‘Contrapunctus V’.
Dr. Westervelt is trained and certified in several methods of pedagogy, including Orff, Music Together, and General Music and Instrumental Music in Music Learning Theory. Dr. Westervelt’s educational experience includes working with children as young as newborns, in an early childhood development and research laboratory in center city Philadelphia, to teaching K-12 instrumental, general, and choral music, to teaching university age students and guiding graduate research in music and in psychology. He also has experience as an educational consultant with public school districts and groups such as Educational Testing Service, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and the NJ Department of Education.
Dr. Westervelt’s current research interests include the evolutionary development of music, language, and the mind, and advances in learning theory in music. He has been published in General Music Today and in the Brass Players Guide. He coordinates the University chapter of MENC, as well as guiding research, teaching music and music education courses, and working with student teachers at Fresno State.
Dr. Westervelt currently is an active member of the following organizations:
The California Band Directors Association, the California Faculty Association, the California Council on Music Teacher Education (CALCOMTE), the California Music Educators Society, the Central Section California Music Educators Association, the Fresno Madera Counties Music Educators Association, JazzFresno, the Gordon Institute for Music Learning, the College Music Society, and the International Trumpet Guild.