Gary E. McPherson studied music education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before completing a master of music education at Indiana University, a doctorate of philosophy at the University of Sydney and a Licentiate and Fellowship in trumpet performance through Trinity College, London. He is the Ormond Professor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and has served as National President of the Australian Society for Music Education and President of the International Society for Music Education. His research interests are broad and his approach interdisciplinary. His most important research examines the acquisition and development of musical competence, and motivation to engage and participate in music from novice to expert levels. With a particular interest in the acquisition of visual, aural and creative performance skills, he has attempted to understand more precisely how music students become sufficiently motivated and self-regulated to achieve at the highest level. His publication record is prolific with well over 300 research articles and book chapters, and a host of volumes for Oxford University Press including The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (2012), The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance (2022), Musical Prodigies (2016), The Child as Musician (2006, 2016), Music in Our Lives (2012). Along with Don Hodges, he is second author of the 3rd edition of Music in the Human Experience (Routledge, 2025).
Google Scholar: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wb18CgZolKFlnBM97fNLgcS?domain=scholar.google.com.au
Find an Expert: https://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/display/person25385
Wikipedia: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/6B8uCjZroMFjkOW8vHRz0Sw?domain=en.wikipedia.org
