Lawrence Ferrara

Lawrence Ferrara is a Professor of Music at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He holds the title of Director Emeritus and has served as Chair of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions (1995-2011), Director of Doctoral Studies (1986-1995), and Director of Steinhardt Music and Performing Arts. His academic roles include teaching music theory, music history, screen scoring, and music copyright law.

Dr. Ferrara's research focuses on music analysis, philosophy of music, and music copyright litigation. He authored the critically acclaimed book *Philosophy and the Analysis of Music: Bridges to Musical Sound, Form and Reference*, praised for its synthesis of analytical and philosophical approaches. He has also co-authored books and peer-reviewed journal articles in music theory and research methodologies.

As a music copyright consultant, Ferrara has provided expert testimony in landmark cases such as *Repp v. Webber* (1998), *Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin* (2016), and *Griffin v. Sheeran* (2023). He has advised major artists including Taylor Swift, Led Zeppelin, Ed Sheeran, and others across genres. Ferrara has lectured on music copyright at Harvard and Columbia Law Schools, and presented at forums like the American Musicological Society GNY.

His grants include National Institutes of Health and Whitaker Foundation funding for performing arts medicine research, and he has held editorial roles at journals such as *Music and the Moving Image* and *Philosophy of Music Education Review*. Awards include the Daniel E. Griffiths Award for his work on Schopenhauer’s philosophy of music.

Ferrara’s career bridges academic, artistic, and legal realms, with contributions to music theory, philosophy, and the practical application of copyright law in the entertainment industry.