Victoria Malawey

Victoria Malawey serves as Professor of Music at Macalester College, where she teaches courses in music theory, songwriting, gender and music, and popular music. Her academic home is within the Department of Music, where she contributes to both the theoretical and practical aspects of musical education.

Malawey's research program bridges multiple disciplinary perspectives:

• Analysis of songs and vocal delivery in popular music
• Gender studies as applied to musical interpretation and performance
• Music theory pedagogy and innovative teaching approaches
• Intersections between academic theory and creative composition

Her scholarly work demonstrates a consistent focus on how vocal performance conveys meaning, particularly examining the relationship between gender identity and musical expression. Malawey approaches popular music with rigorous theoretical frameworks typically reserved for classical traditions, expanding the boundaries of musicological inquiry.

Malawey's scholarly recognition includes the International Alliance of Women in Music Pauline Alderman Award (2015) for her groundbreaking work on Aretha Franklin's reinterpretation of 'Respect,' which exemplifies her feminist approach to music analysis. Her book A Blaze of Light in Every Word: Analyzing the Popular Singing Voice (Oxford University Press) represents a significant contribution to the field, developing analytical tools specifically for examining vocal delivery in popular music.

As a composer, Malawey maintains an active creative practice with numerous awards including the Uncommon Music Festival Composer Competition (2020) for her choral work On Dark Earth and the International Alliance of Women in Music New Music Competition Patsy Lu Prize (2017) for her song cycle Chansons Innocentes. Her compositions have been performed by ensembles worldwide, including the William Ferris Chorale and the Macalester Symphony Orchestra.

Malawey earned her Ph.D. in music theory from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where her dissertation on Björk's Medúlla received the Dean's Dissertation Prize in 2009. She has completed artist residencies at prestigious institutions including Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony.