Andrew Aziz
Associate Professor, Music Theory
Office: M237
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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
Andrew Aziz (b. 1985) is currently serving as Associate Professor of Music Theory 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 twenty-five regional, national, and international conferences, including at Society for Music Theory (2012, 2013, 2018), MTSNYS (2012, 2013, 2018), EuroMAC (2014, 2017), SMPC (2011, 2017), and topic-themed conferences such as “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”: The Music and Lyrics of Billy Joel (2016), and Claude Debussy, 1918-2018: A Centenary Celebration (2018). In April of 2018, he hosted the first-ever regional meeting of the regional West Coast Conference for Music Theory and Analysis in the city of San Diego; he has served in the role of 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 the field of 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 served as a reader for four summers (2017-20).
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), Sonus(2016), Proceedings of EuroMac IX (2017), and forthcoming in Music Theory Spectrum. 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.
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.