Matthew BaileyShea

Matthew BaileyShea is a Professor in the College Music Department at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. He has taught there since 2003, earning prestigious teaching awards including the G. Graydon Curtis Award (2006), Professor of the Year (2010 humanities category), and the Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2019).

He holds a PhD in Music Theory from Yale University (2003), with a dissertation on Wagner's music. His research focuses on form, gesture, agency, chromatic harmony, and recomposition, blending music theory with literary and cultural studies. Notable works include Lines and Lyrics: An Introduction to Poetry and Song (2021), which won the 2022 Wallace Berry Award, and his forthcoming book Troubled Sleep: The Dark Side of Lullabies in Rock, Broadway, and Beyond.

His publications span analyses of Wagner, Mahler, Barber, and popular music, emphasizing narrative and agency. Recent work explores intersections between poetry, song, and contemporary genres like rock and Broadway. Awards reflect his scholarly and pedagogical contributions, with a focus on undergraduate education and innovative teaching methods.