Todd Decker, the Paul Tietjens Professor of Music in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has edited a special issue of American Music, marking the journal’s 40th anniversary.
Published quarterly by the University of Illinois Press, American Music is the oldest independent, peer-reviewed journal in its field. Articles, reviews and special issues are devoted to American music in the broadest sense, including musical practices of North, South and Central America as well as American music performed anywhere in the world.
See also: American Music podcast with Todd Decker and Laurie Matheson.
Decker has a long history with American Music, having published his own first scholarly article, a review of the film “Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen,” in the journal in 2006. He was appointed to a three-year term as editor in 2020. Two of Decker’s doctoral advisees, Dan Fister (PhD ’22) and Rachel Jones (PhD ’23), served as editorial assistants throughout his tenure.
For the 40th anniversary issue, Decker, Fister and Jones co-authored a meta-analysis of all 701 articles previously published in American Music. Other pieces explore race in music scholarship, inclusion in classical music radio and the musical heritage of the U.S./Mexico border, among other topics. To access the issue, visit Project Muse.
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