The College of Music is proud to recognize the legacy of our alumni! Every year, we honor one or two outstanding established or emerging trailblazers from among our global alumni community;Ģżwe encourage you to nominate fellow Music Buffs by submitting this form.
Current + past honorees
Joshua Russell (DMA ā07)Ģż
The University of Colorado Boulder College of Music is thrilled to announce esteemed music educatorĢżĢż(PhD ā07) as the recipient of our 2024ĢżDistinguished Alumnus Award!Ģż
Russell currently serves as professor of music education at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music ed and string pedagogy, and directs the Hartt String Project.
With degrees from Indiana, Shepherd and Northwestern universitiesābefore earning a doctorate at our College of MusicāRussell exemplifies what it means to be aĢżuniversal musician: Beyond his earned expertise in classical, jazz and contemporary musical styles, his research interests include musician health, teacher education, string education and psycho-social/cognitive development in musical learning and teaching.Ģż
Reflecting on his College of Music experience, Russell recalls the significant impact of his mentors and peers in shaping his career trajectory: āI was lucky to have some great opportunities to work with professors of music education Jim Austin and Margaret Bergāand halfway through my time, Associate Professor of Music Education Martina Miranda came to Colorado. The faculty were amazing to me.ā
He adds, āMy fellow students also contributed to my positive experience at the College of MusicāIām still great friends with many of them. People make an institution and they taught me the value of being able to āfailā and still be treated with dignity and kindness.ā
Russell further emphasizes the importance of resilience as instilled by his mentors and colleagues, calling it āapproximations of successāāthat is, pursuing incremental goals that ultimately lead to a larger goal. āSay you have an end goal of playing a beautiful concerto,ā he explains. āBefore you achieve that, you need to be able to produce a good tone. After that, you need to have the finger facility.Ģż
āJim Austin taught me the importance of mastery motivation theory, which Iāve applied to my career ā¦ and continue to teach my students.ā
Discovering mentors can be challenging, but Russell shares his approach: āSeek out somebody who does the kind of work that you want to do, and who does it in a way that you appreciate and respect.Ģż
āFor me, kindness is paramount. Iāve found that some of the most amazing performers or brilliant scholars Iāve encountered are also some of the nicest, kindest human beings.ā
Universal musicianship
In a field where specialization may seem the epitome of success, Russellās success proves that being versatile and flexible is both professionally advantageous and personally fulfilling.Ģż
āThe world needs universal musicians,ā he says. āProfessionallyāfor performers, teachers, scholarsāthat means thinking broadly when you set goals for yourself. As one of my mentors said, āIf youāre overly focused on one goal, youāre going to miss all the shiny stuff on the side ā¦ and thereās a lot of shiny stuff off to the side.āĢż
Russell further believes that understanding oneās motivations is crucial to musical fulfillment: āBe aware of the underlying reasons for what youāre doing,ā he advises.Ģż
Heās also observed a shift toward prioritizing service to others over musical outcomesāwhich he views with optimism. āWhat I love about this generation of musicians and scholars is that their approach to music is more āhumanisticāāwhereas we used to be more focused on student achievement and process. I think both worldviews are valuable and important for music educators and scholars today.ā
Prior to his roles at the University of Hartford, Russell taught here at CU Boulder, as well as instrumental music (orchestra and guitar) and general music (grades 4-12) in Colorado and northern Virginia. He also taught at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, conducted several youth symphonies, and was the founding director of the Loudoun County String Orchestra and after-school program.Ģż
Russell currently serves on several editorial boards andāin addition to authoring Statistics in Music Education (Oxford University Press)āhis research articles have been widely published. He often presents his research throughout the United States and abroad.
Congratulations on your well-earned distinction, Joshua Russell!