Gary McPherson

Gary E. McPherson studied music education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before completing a master of music education at Indiana University, a doctorate of philosophy at the University of Sydney and a Licentiate and Fellowship in trumpet performance through Trinity College, London. In 2021, he was the recipient of a prestigious Honorary Doctorate – Artium Doctorem Honoris Causa – from Lund University Sweden (established 1666). Gary is the Ormond Professor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and has served as National President of the Australian Society for Music Education and President of the International Society for Music Education. His research interests are broad and his approach interdisciplinary. His most important research examines the acquisition and development of musical competence, and motivation to engage and participate in music from novice to expert levels. With a particular interest in the acquisition of visual, aural and creative performance skills, he has attempted to understand more precisely how music students become sufficiently motivated and self-regulated to achieve at the highest level. Gary has published close to 300 academic papers and 17 books, including editing The Oxford of Music Performance; Musical Prodigies: Interpretations from Psychology, Music Education, Musicology and Ethnomusicology; The Oxford Handbook of Music Education, and The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development.