Chris Baumgartner

Dr. Christopher M. Baumgartner
Assistant Professor of Music Education/Assistant Director of Bands

Christopher M. Baumgartner (Ph.D, University of Missouri; M.M.E. & B.M.E., Bowling Green State University) is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Assistant Director of Bands at Middle Tennessee State University. Baumgartner assists with the direction and administration of the Band of Blue and other athletic bands, instructs undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, supervises music student teachers, and is a co-advisor for the National Association for Music Education Collegiate Chapter at MTSU.

Keeping an active agenda in music education research, Baumgartner has presented at state, national, and international conferences, including the 30th World Conference on Music Education in Thessaloniki, Greece. His research interests include music student teaching, instrumental music methods, conducting, and pre-service teacher preparation. He is published in Journal of Music Teacher Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, the Missouri School Music Magazine, and TRIAD (Ohio Music Education Association).

Prior to his faculty appointment, Baumgartner served as Assistant Teaching Professor and Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Missouri where he taught undergraduate courses in music education and conducing, graduate courses in music, the music student teaching seminar, and supervised student teachers. Baumgartner directed the University Band and assisted with instruction and administration of athletic bands. An advocate for new music, he made routine guest conducting appearances with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble and other ensembles featuring works by MU composition students and faculty. Baumgartner taught instrumental music in the Kenton (Ohio) Public Schools for four years, directing the high school, middle school, and beginning band programs. His students performed in various regional and state honors ensembles, including the Ohio Ambassadors of Music European Tours in 2007 and 2009.

Baumgartner is a frequent clinician and adjudicator for public school bands of all levels. He is a member of the Tennessee Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, International Society for Music Education, Society for Music Teacher Education, National Band Association, Tennessee Bandmasters Association, College Music Society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Recently, he was awarded honorary membership in Tau Beta Sigma National Band Sorority and the University of Missouri's prestigious Rollins Society – an organization that "recognizes graduate and professional students who have significantly advanced the well being of self-defined communities beyond the scope of their academic work."

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