Jessica Vaughan Marra

Dr. Jessica Vaughan-Marra will be joining the faculty of the Mary Pappert School of Music as an Assistant Professor of Music Education and Program Director for the Music Education degree program. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Vaughan-Marra was an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Music Education degree program at Seton Hill University (Greensburg PA). In 2019, she completed her Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in string pedagogy at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI). Though her work spans general music (PreK-12) to instrumental music teacher education, Jessica has extensive experience teaching instrumental band and orchestra at the middle school level, specifically instrumental band and orchestra for nine years in the Cupertino Union School District (Cupertino, CA), where her ensembles received Superior Ratings at the local large ensemble festivals.

Jessica is a proud alum of Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), where she completed her B.S. in Music Education in 2006. While working as an in-service music educator, she received her M.M. Music Education in 2010 from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). Through her career, she has been an active member and presenter with the following organizations: The National Association for Music Educators (NAfME); Society for Music Teacher Educators (SMTE); American String Teachers Association (ASTA); Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA); American Educational Research Association (AERA); Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML); Michigan Music Educators Association (MMEA); California Music Educators Association (CMEA); California Band Directors Association (CBDA); as well as the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic since 2007.

As Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at Seton Hill University, Dr. Vaughan-Marra cultivated a nationally connected teacher preparation program, led annual professional development workshops for regional educators, and maintained a prolific research and publication record across her nine-year tenure. Dr. Vaughan-Marra has co-authored published materials in the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), the Journal of Music Teacher Education (JMTE), as well as contributed to The Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education and Critical Issues in Music Education: Contemporary Theory and Practice and was featured as one of Yamaha Music’s ‘40 Under 40’ Music Educators of 2024. Her research interests include: new music teacher digital mentoring and self-study approaches in music education.

Along with an active research, presentation, and conducting agenda, Dr. Vaughan-Marra is a proud mother of three children (Everett, Connor, and Amelia) and thankful to work alongside her husband, Dr. Christopher Marra. Returning to Duquesne University as a faculty member is a whole circle opportunity for both Dr. Vaughan-Marra and Dr. Marra. Dr. Vaughan-Marra is excited to join the Mary Pappert School of Music community and to invest in the growth and future of the Music Education degree program through supporting the next generation of music educators with the same passion and purpose that Duquesne first inspired in her.

• Ph.D. Music Education, University of Michigan
• Master in Music Education, Northwestern University
• B.S. Music Education, Duquesne University

• Music Education
• Instrumental Band Pedagogy
• Instrumental String Pedagogy