Rate My Professor Daniel Abrahams

Daniel Abrahams is an Associate Professor of Music Education in Arts and Culture at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he serves as the Music Education Area Coordinator. A native of Massachusetts, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Temple University, a Master of Music degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in music education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, Dr. Abrahams taught middle and high school instrumental music in the Omaha Public Schools. He teaches courses including MUED 2012 Introduction to Music Education, MUED 2552 Class Strings, MUED 4273 String Methods, MUED 4031 Seminar for Professional Entry into Music Education, MUED 5881 Curriculum Design in Music, MUED 5983 Psychology of Music Behavior, and supervises student internships. Dr. Abrahams has been selected for the 2025 Music Will Modern Band Fellowship, a professional development program focused on modern band approaches incorporating popular music styles to enhance creativity and equity in music education.

Dr. Abrahams' research interests include the use of reciprocal teaching, sociotransformative apprenticeship, and learner agency in the music classroom, with recent work examining learner agency acquisition and music-STEM integration through Minecraft via the CompositionCraft modification. He is the inaugural recipient of the Jupiter Band Instruments Award for Excellence in Teaching Concert Band presented by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the 2010 Nebraska VFW Citizenship Educator of the Year. His presentations include seminars at NAfME national meetings, the Conservatorio Brasileiro de Musica in Rio de Janeiro, the 2nd European Conference on Developmental Psychology of Music in London, and the 29th International Society for Music Education World Conference in Beijing. Key publications encompass chapters such as 'Choral Pedagogy and the Construction of Meaning' and 'Fostering Musical and Personal Agency: Considering the Conductor' in The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy; 'The Child as Musical Apprentice' in The Child as Musician (2nd ed.); 'Designing Contour in Music Through Minecraft' in The Music Production Cookbook; 'Aligning Music to STEM Through CompositionCraft' in Aligning Music to STEM; and 'Impact of Reciprocal Teaching on the Development of Musical Understanding' reprinted in Music Education: Major Themes in Education (Vol. 3). He is also a contributing author to Perspectives on Music in Urban Schools published by NAfME.