My goal is to uplift marginalized voices in music education and help develop more inclusive choral models in music education and beyond.”
Stephanie Gregoire
PhD Candidate in Music Education
Stephanie Gregoire is a PhD candidate in Music Education in the Bienen School of Music. Her research explores how music fosters connections among groups, particularly through the lens of intersectional identities. With a background in choral conducting, her choirs have performed at many exciting places including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Network of Executive Women National Awards Ceremony, and the National Guild for Community Arts Education Conference. In addition to her studies, Stephanie is an avid ice hockey player.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience?
My research centers three core areas of music education: gender and sexual identity, singing for childhood well-being, and world music pedagogy. Collectively, I address how singing together influences individual identity, community cultivation, and a sense of belonging and well-being within diverse musical spaces. My dissertation engages both qualitative and quantitative approaches in exploring community and belonging among adult choirs that coalesce around gender and sexual identity, and how that influences the musical and social outcomes of the choir.
Tell us what inspired your research and/or work.
I came to Northwestern as a seasoned choral conductor, wanting more time to think about why I believe students should experience the power of singing together. What about group music making makes it such a special place where students want to be? Why do they feel like they belong there, and why do we continue to care about musical belonging into adulthood? What I learned very quickly throughout my time here is that belonging is dynamic and complex because humans are dynamic and complex with our own individual identities that influence how we show up to make music together.
What do you find both rewarding and challenging about your research and/or work?
As a researcher of identity, the work can be emotionally exhausting. But the people I have met and interviewed as part of my work have been so incredibly inspiring.
What is the biggest potential impact or implication of your work?
My goal is to uplift marginalized voices in music education and help develop more inclusive choral models in music education and beyond.
Why Northwestern?
The faculty at Bienen are renowned musicians and scholars and it has been a privilege to learn from them. I also deeply appreciate the focus on interdisciplinary research, as working with faculty and students from other departments has been integral to my scholarly success.
How do you unwind after a long day?
I love playing ice hockey with the Evanston Tigers Women's Hockey Club!
What books are on your bedside table?
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab; The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander
How would your closest friends describe you?
Witty, perceptive, and a good listener
What did you originally want to be when you grew up?
A professional ice hockey player
What advice would you give your younger self or someone considering a similar path?
Set work boundaries, it will still be there tomorrow. Show up and do your best but leave time to embrace your humanness and have fun!
Tell us about a current achievement or something you're working on that excites you.
I am currently the lead musical facilitator and trainer for the Music for Childhood Wellness Initiative (MCWI), which is an interdisciplinary global research initiative with the Bienen School of Music, Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, and the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern. Our ultimate goal is to provide a robust body of data supporting the notion that singing together has a measurable impact on child health and well-being across diverse cultural contexts.
What are you most proud of in your career to date?
I was recently appointed as Clinical Assistant Professor of Music Education at University of Illinois-Chicago, which I will begin in the fall of 2025.
Publish Date: March 25, 2025
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