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Professor Brenda Ravenscroft is the new Dean of the Schulich School of Music. Formerly Associate Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University, and Professor of Music Theory and Analysis, Prof. Ravenscroft began her mandate at Schulich in July of 2017. Prof. Ravenscroft taught Music Theory at McGill’s Faculty of Music from 1991 to 1993, and has maintained close ties with McGill colleagues through research and teaching interests. Originally from South Africa, she received her MMus from King's College, London, and her PhD from the University of British Columbia. 

I’m thrilled to have returned to McGill after 24 years, and am honoured to have joined the Schulich School of Music at such an exciting time. The School’s prominence as a leader in performance, and its unique combination of strong traditional research and innovative interdisciplinary investigation are transforming the cultural and intellectual landscapes. I am looking forward to the privilege of working alongside students, faculty and staff to sustain and enhance this momentum, furthering the School's status as one of the premiere teaching institutions in music performance and research of the 21st century.

Professor Brenda Ravenscroft

Ravenscroft specializes in the music of twentieth and twenty-first-century American composers, including the music of Elliott Carter, rhythmic organization in post-tonal music, and the relationship between words and music. Her current work includes a study of the influence of indigenous musics on the works of South African composer, Priaulx Rainier. She has a strong interest in women and music: she chaired the Society for Music Theory’s Committee on the Status of Women from 2006 to 2009, and she is co-editor and contributor to a four-volume series, Analytical Essays on Music by Women Composers (Oxford University Press, 2016–).

Her second area of research is in the field of teaching and learning in higher education. Prof. Ravenscroft has published papers and given workshops at national and international pedagogical conferences. Her research is student-centered and focused on active learning practices, learning outcomes, and the purposeful and effective inclusion of technology in learning. She is also the principal investigator in a longitudinal research study assessing student engagement and learning in high-enrolment blended courses, and a co-investigator in a learning outcomes assessment project.