Dr. Andrew Aziz
Professor of Music, Theory
SDSU
Bio
Andrew Aziz (b. 1985) currently serves as Professor of Music and
coordinates the music theory area in SDSU’s School of Music and
Dance. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Brown University
(2007), earning a double concentration in music and applied
mathematics (magna cum laude, with honors in music), and his Ph.D.
in music theory at the Eastman School of Music (2013). Before
moving to San Diego, he held faculty positions at Brown University,
Rhode Island College, and Florida State University. Andrew’s main
theoretical interests lie within the investigation of formal issues in the
eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, ranging from Mozart
and Beethoven to Debussy and Ravel, with the latter serving as the
central focus of his dissertation. He has cultivated additional interests
in music theory pedagogy, mathematical applications, and popular
genres—particularly the discography of Billy Joel and Bernstein’s
West Side Story.
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Andrew began piano study at age 3, with
formal training at the Juilliard School Pre-College (age 8), Manhattan
School of Music Preparatory Division, and Boston University’s College
of Fine Arts; at these institutions, he immersed himself in solo and
chamber repertoire and set the stage for his academic career. Since
his foray into music theory, Andrew has presented at over thirty
regional, national, and international conferences, including at Society
for Music Theory, MTSNYS, EuroMAC, SMPC, and topic-themed
conferences such as “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”: The Music and
Lyrics of Billy Joel, and Claude Debussy, 1918-2018: A Centenary
Celebration. In 2018, he hosted the first-ever regional meeting of the
regional West Coast Conference for Music Theory and Analysis in
San Diego; he has served as Vice President of the society since 2020.
(Also) in 2018, he was awarded an endowed lectureship—the Steve
Larson Distinguished Lecture Series—from the University of Oregon,
showcasing the work of an emerging scholar in music research. Andrew’s interests in music theory pedagogy delve beyond the realm
of research and the university setting and into the assessment of the
Advanced Placement Music Theory Exam, in which he has
participated as a reader for six summers. He has also served as a
dedicated blind reviewer for several top journals, and on the
programming committee for Society for Music Theory’s 2023 Annual
Conference.
Andrew’s publications may be found in Journal of Music Theory
Pedagogy-Online (2015, 2018), Music Analysis (2021), Music Theory
and Analysis (2020), Music Theory Online (2014, 2015, 2022), Music
Theory Spectrum (2022), Proceedings of EuroMac IX (2017), Sonus
(2016). He also co-edited, with Jack Boss, a collection of papers
based on 2018’s WCCMTA, entitled Musical Waves: West Coast
Perspectives of Pitch, Narrative, and Form (Cambridge Scholars
Press, 2020). See more at https://sdsu.academia.edu/AndrewAziz.
During his 2023-24 sabbatical year, he is working on a monograph to
make music theory more accessible to classical students and teachers
in the piano studio.
In his “free” time, Andrew enjoys the Yankees, hole-in-the-wall
Chinese food wherever he can find it, one-handed tennis backhands,
a good IPA, and a refreshing swim, in no particular order.
Education
- A.B., Music and Applied Mathematics, Brown University (magna cum laude, with honors in music)
- Ph.D., Music Theory, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
