What is the Music Research Nexus?
The mission of the Music Research Nexus is to connect those involved in music education/music therapy research at higher education institutions. The site offers two important services to the field: (1) the Music Research Nexus Listserv, and (2) the Music Research Nexus Bibliographic Database.
Those subscribed to the Music Research Nexus Listserv receive five important types of communications directly to their email inboxes: (1) music education/music therapy position vacancies, (2) calls for international, national, and state music education conferences (and conferences of closely related fields), (3) calls for nominations for service-related activities, (4) calls for papers, and (5) research funding/award opportunities.
The Music Research Nexus Bibliographic Database is a search tool that catalogs most of the significant peer-reviewed research journals of interest to the field of music teaching and learning.
Brian Wesolowski, Host
The Music Research Nexus is hosted by Dr. Brian Wesolowski. Brian Wesolowski is a Professor of Music Education at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. His teaching focuses on graduate music education, including quantitative research design, assessment and policy in education and music, educational measurement, and statistical programming. His primary research interest includes the study of rater behavior as well as areas of scale development, educational assessment policy, and broad applications of assessment, measurement, and evaluation in large-scale testing and classroom contexts. He has worked closely with numerous corporations, state Departments of Education, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE), the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) Model Cornerstone Assessment Pilot Study, and the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) on music assessment and policy-related matters.
Dr. Wesolowski is the author of From Data to Decisions in Music Education Research: Data Analytics and the General Linear Model Using R (Routledge, 2022). He continues to present research papers internationally and nationally. He has over 70 peer-reviewed articles/chapters published in The Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Educational Measurement, Educational Assessment, Research Studies in Music Education, PloS one, Music Perception, The Journal of New Music Research, Musicae Scientiae, International Journal of Music Education, Psychology of Music, Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, Research Perspectives in Music Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, Research and Issues in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Saxophone Symposium, Florida Music Director, and Georgia Music News. He has contributed chapters to The Oxford Handbook of Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, Authentic Assessments for Music: The Model Cornerstone Assessment Research Project, Developing and Applying Assessments in the Music Classroom, and The Oxford Handbook of Performing Music Evaluation: The Science and Practice of Valuing Musical Performance.
Dr. Wesolowski currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Research in Music Education and is past chair of NAfME’s Assessment Special Research Interest Group (SRIG). He has also served as an editorial board member of Music Educators Journal. As a service to the music education profession, Dr. Wesolowski also hosts the Music Research Nexus. Dr. Wesolowski is the former associate band director at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, FL, a Grammy Signature, Mark of Excellence, and National Wind Band Honors program.
As a saxophonist, he has toured internationally with Natalie Cole, The Pussycat Dolls, Lalah Hathaway, Erykah Badu, Jane Monheit and has recorded national spots for Carnival Cruise Lines, Sandals Resorts, and Hardrock Casinos, among many others. He has studied jazz improvisation principally with George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Jim Riggs, Gary Bartz, and Don Walden and clarinet with Thomas Martin (Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops) and Kenneth Grant (Rochester Philharmonic).
