2011-12 Academic Year

Position:

I am an Assistant Professor of Education in the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University (Brantford Campus) where I teach general "Curriculum Methods" in the Bachelor of Education Concurrent Program. I am also a full member of Nipissing University’s Graduate Studies Department in Education where I teach general "Research Methods."  

Teaching Experience:

I am currently in a tenure-track position with Nipissing University, with over 5 years of post-secondary teaching experience in Ontario, including appointments at York University and Lakehead University (Orillia Campus). I have also taught for both Public and Catholic School Boards in Ontario for 14 years, including 2 years at the elementary level and 12 years at the secondary school level. The majority of my Ontario School Board experience was spent teaching secondary school music (choir, strings, band, guitar, and music technology) where I also served as Department Head of the Arts at Victoria Park Collegiate Institute in Toronto.  

Research: 

Since I have spent over 12 years in the secondary school music classroom, it is not surprising that music lies at the core of my overall research agenda. From a research perspective, I have identified 4 portals of interest:  

Portal I tackles the issue of music education advocacy, dealing with important questions such as: (a) why is music education important?  (b) how do we politicize the importance of music? and (c) how can we stop the marginalization of music in public schools? 

Portal II focuses on music education with a specific interest in achieving musical literacy through alternative pedagogy and curriculum, informal learning, and self-teaching, dealing with such questions as: (a) how do we teach music? (b) what methods/pedagogies are most effective? and (c) do different styles of music necessitate different teaching approaches?

Portal III address the variety of ways that we consume music in the 21st century, with special attention given to media applications and technology.  Some of the principal questions in this portal are: (a) how do we listen to/experience music? (b) in what settings/situations do we listen to/experience music? and (c) how does music help us understand the world around us?

Portal IV is creative scholarship, which focuses on my public performances, compositions, and recordings. This creative scholarship serves as an umbrella portal that connects all of the previous three portals together, as one of the primary goals of music education is to create future generations of music makers (performers and composers).

Professional Musical Experience: 

As a bass player, I have over 1100 professional performances to my credit, including national and international festivals, concerts, television shows, and private functions. I have also recorded and toured internationally with Juno Award winner and platinum selling artist Robert Michaels. Other performance credits include playing bass for Order of Canada Recipient Guido Basso, comedian Joan Rivers, Michael Burgess, and over 500 performances with two-time Juno Award winner Liberty Silver. I have also opened up for numerous headlining acts including Neil Sedaka, Don Rickles, The Temptations, and Andy Kim to name a few. Compositional credits include the score to award-winning children's animated film Attic-in-the-Blue (first place winner at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival).

Contact Information:

Dr. John L. Vitale, Assistant Professor of Education
50 Wellington St. Brantford, Ont. N3T 2L6
Office: B 106 -- 67 Darling St.
Tel: (519) 752-1524
Fax: (519) 752-8372 
Email: johnv@nipissingu.ca
Web Site: http://drjohnvitale.weebly.com/