Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, Amanda Schlegel is Assistant Professor of Music Education at The University of South Carolina. Before coming to USC, Amanda was Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Amanda taught middle and high school band and orchestra in the public schools of western Pennsylvania, along with secondary vocal music, elementary general music, drama, theory, and directed several musical theater productions.  

Amanda holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Grove City College, a Master of Music from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. At USC, Amanda teaches introduction to music education, methods for middle and high school students music through bands, measurement and evaluation, psychology of music, supervises student teachers,  advises theses and doctoral dissertations, and directs the Congaree New Horizons Band program. Amanda has also completed two levels of the Modern Band fellowship and recently formed the New Horizons Jam Band, a group that utilizes informal music learning approaches, playing by ear, flexible musicianship, and the incorporation of many music genres.

Her research interests surround music perception and cognition as a function of instrumental music teacher/conductor effectiveness, music teacher education, affective and emotional responses to music, and community music. Her research has been presented at regional, national, and international conferences, most notably the National Biennial In-Service Conference of NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, the Annual Music Education Week in Washington D. C. (MENC), International Symposium for Research in Music Behavior, Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), International Society for Music Education, Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC), and the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC). 

Her scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, and International Journal of Music Education. She is a member of NAfME, College Music Society, Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SPMC), Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), Society for Research in Music Education (SRME), and National Band Association. She has served as chair of the NAfME Perception and Cognition and Affective Response Special Research Interest Groups, and is the current chair (2022–2024) of the Adult and Community Music Education (ACME) SRIG. 

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