Rate My Professor Sandra Adorno

Dr. Sandra Adorno is an associate professor of music education in the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts at Florida International University. A native of Florida, she earned her B.A. in music education from the University of Florida and her M.M. and Ph.D. in music education from the University of Miami in 2017. She joined FIU in 2016 as a visiting assistant professor and was promoted to tenure-track assistant professor in 2018. Prior to FIU, she served as a visiting professor of music education at Stetson University and as a general music teacher in Palm Beach County Schools, Frost Music Reach, and the Stetson University Community School of Music.

Adorno’s research explores children’s musical cultures and identity development, voices of marginalized populations in music education, and professional learning in music teacher education. Her publications appear in leading journals, including the Journal of Research in Music Education (“Navigating Identities: The Musical Lives of Four Second-Generation Immigrant Children,” 2024), Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Music Educators Journal, and Journal of General Music Education, as well as book chapters in Music, Words, and Nationalism and The Modern Band Handbook. She has presented at international, national, and state conferences such as the International Conference on Musical Cultures, NAfME National Research Conference, and Florida Music Educators Association. In teaching, she covers elementary general music, assessment and evaluation in music education, music psychology, and modern band; she holds certifications in Orff-Schulwerk, World Music Pedagogy, and Modern Band. As undergraduate Program Director and Area Coordinator for music education, she directs the Sing, Write, Play! program and secured State of Florida funding for a K-2 Music Pilot Program. Awards include the 2025 FMEA Florida College Music Educator of the Year, 2022-2023 FIU Rewarding Excellence in Teaching Initiative award, and 2018 Modern Band Fellowship in Higher Education. She previously presided over the Florida Collegiate Music Educators Association, serves on the editorial board of Research Perspectives in Music Education, and holds positions on boards for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and Association for Popular Music Education.