Jack Sheinbaum
Professor, Musicology; Associate Director, Academic Affairs
303-871-6988 (Office)
Newman Performing Arts Center, 2344 East Iliff Ave. Denver, CO 80208
What I do
Associate Professor of Musicology, and Associate Director for Academic Affairs, Lamont School of MusicSpecialization(s)
Musicology, music history
Professional Biography
Jack Sheinbaum earned an AB in music and psychology at Brown University, and wrote a PhD dissertation at Cornell University on cultural readings of form and musical color in Mahler's symphonies. He teaches courses for undergraduate and graduate music majors on classical music, popular musics, and music historiography. In his role as Lamont's Associate Director for Academic Affairs, he oversees curriculum, advising, and academic assessment. Sheinbaum is currently a member of the American Musicological Society's Publications Committee, and curator of the Pre-Concert Talks series at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. He has served as chair of the American Musicological Society's Paul A. Pisk Prize Committee, co-chair of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the American Musicological Society, musicology representative of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the College Music Society, a member of the Society for American Music's Irving Lowens Memorial Book Award, and president of the University of Denver chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Degree(s)
- Ph.D., Musicology, Cornell University, 2002
- MA, Musicology, Cornell University, 1997
- AB, Music, Psychology, Brown University, 1993
Professional Affiliations
- American Musicological Society
- College Music Society
Research
Professor Sheinbaum's primary research interests include Western art music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, popular music, and historiography. His current project is the book Good Music: What It Is and Who Gets to Decide (University of Chicago Press, 2019).
Sheinbaum's other publications include essays in the journals American Music Research Center Journal (forthcoming); Naturlaut: The Journal of the Chicago Mahlerites (2009), Current Musicology (2008), Journal of the Royal Musical Association (2006), and Journal of Musicological Research (2005); chapters in the books “We Didn't Start the Fire”: Billy Joel and Popular Music Studies (forthcoming), Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2011), Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen (2010), Rock Over the Edge: Transformations in Popular Music Culture (2002), and Progressive Rock Reconsidered (2002); articles in The Grove Dictionary of American Music, second edition (2013), Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped Our Culture (2013), and Reader's Guide to Music: History, Theory, and Criticism (1999); and book reviews in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association (2016, 2010, 2004) and Musica Judaica: Journal of the American Society for Jewish Music (2009-10).
Sheinbaum's other publications include essays in the journals American Music Research Center Journal (forthcoming); Naturlaut: The Journal of the Chicago Mahlerites (2009), Current Musicology (2008), Journal of the Royal Musical Association (2006), and Journal of Musicological Research (2005); chapters in the books “We Didn't Start the Fire”: Billy Joel and Popular Music Studies (forthcoming), Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2011), Reading the Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Works of Bruce Springsteen (2010), Rock Over the Edge: Transformations in Popular Music Culture (2002), and Progressive Rock Reconsidered (2002); articles in The Grove Dictionary of American Music, second edition (2013), Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped Our Culture (2013), and Reader's Guide to Music: History, Theory, and Criticism (1999); and book reviews in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association (2016, 2010, 2004) and Musica Judaica: Journal of the American Society for Jewish Music (2009-10).
Areas of Research
19th-century classical music
popular music
rock music
Gustav Mahler
progressive rock
historiography
Featured Publications
Sheinbaum, John J. “"The Groove Of Rush's Complex Rhythms.".” In Rush And Philosophy: Heart And Mind United. edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman. 45-58 Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court. 2011.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"'I'll Work For Your Love': Springsteen And The Struggle For Authenticity." .” In Reading The Boss: Interdisciplinary Approaches To The Works Of Bruce Springsteen. edited by Roxanne Harde and Irwin Streight. 223-242 Lanham, MD: Lexington. 2010.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"Interpretation And Performance At The Fulcrum Of Mahler Reception." .” Naturlaut: The Journal of the Chicago Mahlerites 7, no. 2, (2009): 8-14.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"Periods In Progressive Rock And The Problem Of Authenticity." .” Current Musicology 85, (2008): 29-51.
Presentations
Sheinbaum, John J. “"Timbre, Early Cinema, And The Perception Of Time In Mahler's Symphony No. 5."” Timbre Is A Many-Splendored Thing, Montreal, CA, McGill University, 2018.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"Suspension, Fulfillment, And Fin De Siècle Orchestral Timbre In Das Lied Von Der Erde."” Colorado Mahlerfest Xxxi, Boulder, CO, 2018.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"Movin' Out On Thunder Road: Images Of Ambition, Escape, And Authenticity In Billy Joel And Bruce Springsteen."” "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me": The Music And Lyrics Of Billy Joel - A Public Musicology Conference, Colorado College, 2016.
Sheinbaum, John J. “"There's An Opera Out On The Turnpike: Springsteen's Early Epics And The Fantasy Of The Real."” Second International Conference Of The "Progect" Network For The Study Of Progressive Rock, University of Edinburgh, 2016.
Awards
- Publication Subvention, American Musicological Society
