Thomas Adam Regelski

He is the co-founder (with J.T. Gates) of the MayDay Group,[1] an international, interdisciplinary society of nearly 500 scholars interested in music, music education, and socio-cultural research concerned with action for change in music education as predicated on Critical Theory.[2] From its inception until 2007, he was the founding editor of its e-journal Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education,[3] now a leading publication in its field. Later, he was also the founding editor of TOPICS for Music Education Praxis, with a focus on translating theory into praxis, and praxis into theory.

He is author of Principles and Problems of Music Education (Prentice-Hall, 1975); Arts Education and Brain Research (Alliance for Arts Education/MENC, 1978); Teaching General Music: Action Learning for Middle and Secondary Schools (Schirmer Books, 1981); Teaching General Music in Grades 4-8: A Musicianship Approach (Oxford University Press, 2014);[4] co-editor (with J.T. Gates) of Music Education for Changing Times (Springer, 2009); and A Brief Introduction to Music and Music Education as Social Praxis (Routledge 2016). In preparation with Oxford University Press is Curriculum Philosophy and Theory for Music Education: A Pragmatic Account, a monograph covering philosophical influences on curriculum theory in music education; and an Introduction to Japanese Arts and Antiques: The Regelski Collection is awaiting completion of its extensive photography of his collection. His choral compositions and arrangements have received positive acclaim as well.[5]

He has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles (see Google Scholar) on teaching ethics, philosophy, aesthetics, musicology, curriculum, psychology and sociology of music and music education. Since 1995, he has been a leading scholar of a philosophy of praxis, a social and ethical philosophy (stemming from Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics) that seeks to supplant aesthetics as the foundation of music appreciation and music education. And, along with David Elliott, he has been a leader in making praxial theory a topic of growing influence in music and music education scholarship.[6][7] A praxial philolosphy denies the claims of traditional aesthetics about the supposedly "good-for-its-owns sake” benefit of aesthetic experience.[8] Instead, it promotes the “doing” of music (i.e., “musicing”) in its many forms (e.g., composing, listening, performing, “amateuring”[9] recreation, therapy) as music’s pragmatic contribution to society and Culture.[10] As seen by social philosophy, psychology and sociology of music, ethno-musicology, and cultural theory, musicing in society and schools is a social praxis and not, as advocated by aesthetics, the distancing of music as above daily life.  Thus, praxialism argues for exactly what aesthetic theory denies: the pragmatic and social meaning of both ‘classical’ and popular music.

• Regelski, Thomas A. (July 2006). "'Music appreciation' as praxis". Music Education Research. 8 (2): 281–310. doi:10.1080/14613800600779584. ISSN 1461-3808.
• Regelski, Thomas A. (1975). Principles and problems of music education. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0137098405. OCLC 468343115.
• Regelski, Thomas A., 1941- (1978). Arts education & brain research. Music Educators National Conference. OCLC 4135475.
• Regelski, Thomas A. (1981). Teaching general music : action learning for middle and secondary schools. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-872070-9. OCLC 832414256.
• Regelski, Thomas A., 1941- (2004). Teaching general music in grades 4-8 : a musicianship approach. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513778-7. OCLC 1131477748.
• Thomas A. Regelski, J. Terry Gates. (2010). Music Education for Changing Times. Springer Netherlands. ISBN 1282839209. OCLC 732599355.
• Regelski, Thomas A. 1941- Verfasser (2016). A brief introduction to a philosophy of music and music education as social praxis. Routledge. ISBN 9781138921238. OCLC 936628578.
• "Symposium: Philosophy: Exploring the Potentials in the School Curriculum". Philosophy of Music Education Review. 13 (2): 131–132. 2005. doi:10.1353/pme.2005.0041. ISSN 1543-3412.