Doctoral Student in Music, School of Music, IU Bloomington

Lieber Memorial Teaching Associate Award

Certain words tend to recur in Victoria Malawey’s end-of-semester evaluations. Enthusiastic. Dedicated. Organized. Inspirational. Or, as one student put it, “She works magic.”

An associate instructor at IU Bloomington’s School of Music, Malawey’s passion for music theory is contagious—even in those courses that some students approach more with dread than anticipation. During the two years of her master’s degree studies and three years of doctoral study at IU, Malawey has taught skills courses including ear training, sight singing and advanced chromatic ear training.

“I have found that some music students believe music theory is too abstract and (that it) consequently lacks meaning in their lives as performers or composers,” Malawey said. “I strive to show that music theory enhances the listening experience and makes learning music more efficient and productive.”

Her techniques include contextual listening activities (sometimes involving popular music), and student performances for in-class analysis, as well as a series of exercises that “maintain a balance between the abstract and the concrete.” She also makes a point of learning her students’ names and developing personal connections, to make each individual feel like an important part of the class.

Malawey’s enthusiasm can melt the heart of even the most skeptical pupil. In an E-mail to her at the end of the 2001 spring semester, Ching Yi Lin wrote: “You have been so much help these last few horrible weeks. I thought for sure your high energy was going to drive me up the wall at the beginning (cuz you were just Toooo happy!) but it really lifted up my spirits! (I’m not going to get in trouble for telling you this, right?) I think you will make a great professor.”