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Susan Raponi, Ph.D.

Associate Teaching Professor of Music
Chair, School of Music Curriculum Committee

Bio

Dr. Susan Raponi is Director of Music Education and Associate Teaching Professor at ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ and a distinguished recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence of Canada for her commitment to inclusive music education practice. Prior to entering higher education, Dr. Raponi practiced her profession in the field as an award-winning general, choral, and instrumental music educator with the Toronto District School Board. Her work in mixed-ability urban music classrooms, centered on the individual learning needs of students and the flexible adaptation of curriculum, became the foundation for her scholarship in differentiation and inclusive music education.

As a curriculum design specialist, Dr. Raponi developed Differentiation in Music Education (DIME), an original curricular theory presented in her 2026 book, Differentiation in Music Education: An Inclusive Approach for the Neurodiverse Classroom, co-published by Bloomsbury Academic and the National Association for Music Education. DIME reconceptualizes difference within music teaching and learning through a strengths-based understanding of the learner, moving beyond deficit-based conceptions of dis/ability toward the neurodiversity paradigm. Her philosophical influences are deeply embedded in Freirean social justice and transformative change, with a curricular approach informed by praxial music education.

Her scholarship moves deliberately between theory and practice. Most recently, Dr. Raponi was awarded a $50,000 Grable Foundation grant for Music is for Everyone: Music in the Urban Schools, extending her work with Pittsburgh Public Schools and bringing approximately 200 students to Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music for a musical showcase of Peter and the Wolf: A Pittsburgh Tale. This work builds upon her earlier $66,000 Pennsylvania Department of Education Teacher Prep to Practice Award, for which she served as Principal Investigator.

Dr. Raponi’s developing research in artificial intelligence examines human artistry, creativity, ethics, and music learning in an increasingly technological landscape. Her work includes The Musical Human Artist in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Will AI Replace the Musician? Student Perspectives on Creativity and Musicianship in the Age of AI, presented at the 2026 International Society for Music Education World Conference in Montreal, Canada. Her AI scholarship also extends across the College of Fine Arts through her participation in the CFA AI Working Group and interdisciplinary teaching and research concerning artificial intelligence and artistic practice.

At Carnegie Mellon, Dr. Raponi leads a research-driven graduate thesis program in Music Education, mentoring emerging scholars toward inquiry that grows from the lived questions of teaching and returns new knowledge to practice. Graduate research under her direction has moved beyond degree completion into publication and professional presentation. Her vision for graduate study is grounded in the development of teacher-scholars willing to question inherited assumptions, pursue new possibilities, and contribute meaningfully to the evolving field of music education.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Publications

Differentiation in Music Education: An Inclusive Approach for the Neurodiverse Classroom

Susan Raponi
Bloomsbury Academic / National Association for Music Education, 2026

Bloomsbury:

Differentiation in Music Education introduces DIME, an original curricular theory integrating differentiation and praxial music education. Moving beyond deficit-based conceptions of dis/ability, DIME embraces a strengths-based, neurodiversity-informed understanding of musical learning. Its four pillars—Musical Environment, Musical Understanding, Progressive Assessment, and Musical Praxis—provide a flexible curricular approach grounded in the potential of every student.

Praise for Differentiation in Music Education

“Beautifully written, intellectually rigorous, emotionally moving, and brimming with practical wisdom, Differentiation in Music Education is grounded in robust research and the pragmatic realities of neurodiversity and inclusive classroom musicking. Essential reading for anyone committed to ethically guided music education.”

Dr. David J. Elliott
Professor Emeritus of Music and Music Education, New York University, USA

“Belonging, community, praxis, student-led, and neurodiverse settings are beautifully described through narratives, active experiences, and opportunities for reflection. This book leads us to the next step in our quest to understand the experiences of all students and the musical choices throughout their lives. I recommend this book to anyone interested in creating a home for students who want to make music with others.”

Dr. Alice M. Hammel
Author of Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities

“Susan Raponi has provided an essential resource, grounded in theory, and demonstrated in practice. This work seeks to include those young musicians often silenced and overlooked in the world of music teaching and learning – a challenge to all of us to create classrooms where everyone can experience the joy of meaningful and expressive music making.”

Dr. Lori-Anne Dolloff
Associate Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, Canada

“Differentiation in Music Education (DIME) offers an inclusion-centered roadmap for teaching in mixed-ability and neurodiverse music classrooms. By linking praxial music education with differentiation, Raponi provides a justice-driven framework that helps educators build band and choir communities where difference is not simply accommodated but also becomes a catalyst for belonging and meaningful music-making.”

Dr. Shelley Jagow
Associate Professor, Director of Bands, Wright State University, USA

Graduate Research & Thesis Mentorship

Selected Published Graduate Theses, 2026

Nicholas A. Fagnilli
The Sound of Listening: An Exploratory Survey of Listening Activities in K–12 Music Classrooms

Chenyu Song
Orff-Schulwerk in Chinese Music Education: A Culturally Responsive Scoping Review

Lisa C. Stein
Reimagining Ensemble Pedagogy: A Theoretical Inquiry into Collective Composition as Liberatory Practice