Samuel J. Brannon, Ph.D.

About me

Greetings! My name is Dr. Sam Brannon. I am a scholar and musician based in Neptune, New Jersey. I currently teach computer science and robotics at Ranney School. I also am an adjunct professor of music at Randolph-Macon College. I have previously taught at The Steward School (Richmond, VA) and at The Walker School (Atlanta, GA).

I hold undergraduate and graduate degrees in music composition from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. I received a doctorate in music history (musicology) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

To learn more about my music, you can read my artist’s statement. To learn more about my research, you can read my research statement. To contact me, send me an email at samuel.j.brannon at gmail.com

Music

As a composer, I believe in an ethical responsibility to reach audiences directly and personally. I strive to work closely with individuals and local communities. I compose for many different kinds of performing forces, ranging from solos to large ensembles, and particularly enjoy writing modern arrangements of classic folk and hymn tunes for solo piano and amateur choirs. My music features an interplay between extended tonal harmonies and vibrant rhythmic pulses. I aim to create shared emotional experiences among listeners by commmunicating vivid stories.

To listen to some of my music, visit my YouTube channel.

Research

As a musicologist, I write and talk about the music of the past. My main research topic is Renaissance music theory and the medium of print, with a special focus on the lives and works of Gioseffo Zarlino and Vicente Lusitano. I completed my Ph.D. in 2016, with a dissertation titled Books about Music in Renaissance Print Culture: Authors, Printers, and Readers. I also publish scholarly editions of music that I study at IMSLP and CPDL.

My research has been supported by fellowships and grants from the American Musicological Society, the Newberry Library, and Fondazione Giorgio Cini, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.