Christa Cole ’17

(she/her/hers)

  • Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Areas of Study

Education

  • PhD, music theory, Indiana University, 2023 

  • BMus, violin performance, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, 2017

Biography

Christa Cole studies how the physical and expressive gestures of musical performers intersect with notation and aural experience, especially in post-1900 repertoires. Most recently, she has written and presented on the music of Elisabeth Lutyens, Cecil Taylor, and J.S. Bach. Cole’s performance experience in violin, piano, and more recently mandolin strongly informs her research and teaching.

Cole served as coeditor of the Indiana Theory Review from 2019 to 2022.

Spring 2025

Aural Skills IV — MUTH 202

Music and the Body — MUTH 267PT

Fall 2025

Music Theory II — MUTH 132

Music and the Body — MUTH 267PT

Notes

Division of Music Theory Members Present at Music Theory Society of New York State Meeting

April 9, 2025

Three members of the Division of Music Theory — Associate Professor Andrew Pau, Assistant Professor Christa Cole, and Visiting Assistant Professor Sylvie Tran — presented a special session titled "Constructing Identity in Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels's Omar (2022)" at the annual meeting of the Music Theory Society of New York State on April 5. The session was based on a panel that the three faculty members gave in conjunction with Omar at Oberlin in December 2024.

News

Meet the Conservatory’s Newest Tenure-Track Faculty

October 4, 2023

Five members of the conservatory faculty have been granted tenure-track positions beginning this academic year. They span the disciplines of music theory , composition , trombone , and TIMARA —...

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