Music professor to receive prestigious teaching award

Debra Hedden, associate professor of music education, has been selected as the recipient of the 25th Byron T. Shutz Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A member of the faculty since 2003, Professor Hedden teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education and has founded the KU Youth Chorus (KUYC) in which both undergraduates and graduates work with her in conducting weekly choral rehearsals. In October of 2010, she served as a curriculum consultant for the Vilnius Pedagogical University in Vilnius, Lithuania, and has been invited to return to assist in melding existing degree programs together to form a music education degree.

Professor Hedden will present her public Shutz Award lecture, “The Pedagogy of Successful Music Teacher Preparation,” on Tuesday, November 8th, at 3:30 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall. A reception in Professor Hedden’s honor will immediately follow.

For more information, contact the KU School of Music at 785-864-3436. www.music.ku.edu