Dr. Charles Ciorba

Dr. Charles R. Ciorba, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Music Education, teaches courses in music education. Prior to joining the faculty at George Mason University, Dr. Ciorba was Associate Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Music Education at the University of Oklahoma, where he (a) gained extensive experience supervising graduate research and (b) taught courses in the areas of research, psychology, philosophy, sociology, assessment, and quantitative analysis.  Dr. Ciorba also served as Assistant Professor of Music Education at Millikin University.  Over the past 19 years, he has (a) taught numerous graduate and undergraduate music education courses; (b) supervised student teachers in the areas of choral, instrumental, and general music; and (c) organized numerous outreach efforts, which offered high quality laboratory experiences to undergraduate students majoring in music education.  As a public-school teacher, Dr. Ciorba’s teaching experience is quite extensive and includes a comprehensive background in educational technology.  While employed with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, he was able to create an innovative and comprehensive music curriculum in the areas of general and instrumental music.

Dr. Ciorba is an active researcher, specializing in jazz improvisation achievement, self-perception, and performance assessment. His most recent research includes the development of an educational theory pertaining to the teaching and learning of jazz improvisation.  The results of these efforts are designed to help jazz educators diagnose the musical imperfections exhibited by beginning improvisers with the intention of creating appropriate solutions.  In addition, music educators can utilize these results to develop innovative curricula that can be used effectively to teach the art of jazz improvisation to their students.  Dr. Ciorba has presented his research at numerous regional, national, and international conferences and has articles published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and Contributions to Music Education. He also served as a member of the editorial board for UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education.

Associate Professor

• Doctoral Music Education Seminars
• Instrumental Pedagogy and Literature
• Instrumental Music Methods
• Laboratory Ensembles

Degrees

• PhD, Music Education, University of Miami, Florida
• MM, Music Education, Bowling Green State University
• BM, Music, Wayne State University