James Sullivan

ABOUT

James Sullivan is Associate Professor of Music Theory at Michigan State University, where he teaches undergraduate courses in music theory and aural skills, as well as graduate courses in rhythm and meter, post-tonal music, and music and text. His teaching philosophy centers around the idea that analysis, performance, and listening are interconnected and that developing skills in one area reinforces those in another.

Sullivan’s research focuses on rhythm and meter in 20th- and 21st-century music, including issues of analysis, perception, and performance. His publications appear in Music Theory Spectrum, Music Theory Online, Music & Letters, and the volume Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Song Cycles: Analytical Pathways Toward Performance (Routledge, 2021). He regularly presents papers at the Society for Music Theory and Music Theory Midwest.

Sullivan holds a Ph.D. in music theory and a D.M.A. and M.M. in double bass performance from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a B.M. in double bass performance and a B.S. in mathematics from Indiana University. Prior to joining the MSU faculty, he taught music theory and double bass at the University of Evansville.