Music Fellow

Dr. Amanda Draper

Dr. Amanda R. Draper is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where she teaches undergraduate and graduate course work in topics related to research and inclusive musical practices. Amanda is also the founder and director of the collaborative community music program The MusiColAbility Project. The mission of this program is to foster collaborative music learning and creative music making between university students and Disabled musicians in the Bloomington community. The project includes weekly classes with participatory music making and individual collaborative music lesson—all of which privilege the musical interests and desires of the Disabled community musicians.

As the 2022-2023 Gretsch Fellow in Children’s Music, Amanda examined representation of disability in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and the ways in which Fred Rogers celebrated and promoted Disabled voices in his work. Most recently, she has been collaborating with Christi Engels (née: Thompson) on a narrative study regarding her experiences as a Disabled cast member of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In 1974-1975, Engels played the role of Chrissy Thompson as a child. She returned to the neighborhood after graduating high school in 1985.

Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Coe College in Cedar Rapids IA and a master’s degree and PhD in music education from Northwestern University. She has presented regionally, nationally, and internationally and has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, The Oxford Handbook of Special Music Education and Music Therapy, and Music Educators Journal. Her academic interests include investigating musical experiences for diverse learners with a focus on music and autism research, expansive music education practices, Disability Studies in music, and teacher preparation for special music education.