About Margaret
Praised for her “keyboard ivory fireworks” and “youthful passion with impressively effortless technique” (CVNC), Margaret Brown is a PhD student in Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin, where she is a student of Dr. Robert Duke.
At UT Austin, Brown is a member of the Gaze Behavior and Teaching and Learning labs, where she studies musicians’ gaze behavior, preservice teacher identity, allocation of attention, expertise, and skill learning. Her research has been published in the MTNA e-Journal, American Music Teacher, and the SC Musician. Brown has been invited to present her research and give teacher development clinics at national and international conferences. Upcoming engagements include presenting at the 2024 Music Teachers National Association conference and teacher development workshops for the Austin District Music Teachers Association and the Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum.
Brown is dedicated to improving community access to excellent music education. A recipient of the 2022-2023 Rainwater Grant at The University of Texas at Austin, Brown co-founded the Little Longhorn Honor Orchestra (LLHO), a free afterschool strings program for elementary school students enrolled at UT Elementary School, a Title I charter school in East Austin. She recruits, trains, and mentors preservice music education majors to teach in the LLHO, providing them with valuable field experience in a Title I school setting.
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Brown holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin (MM, Piano Performance) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BM, Piano Performance; Minor, Hispanic Studies), where she was a Kenan Music Scholar. Her principal teachers include Dr. Clara Yang, Dr. Andrew Brownell, Mr. Jan Jiracek von Arnim, and Dr. Douglas Weeks.
Brown currently teaches group piano and piano pedagogy courses for undergraduate and graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, she supervises and trains student teachers in the Butler School of Music’s community music outreach program, Piano Project. A Suzuki trained teacher, she maintains a private piano studio in the Austin area, where she teaches students of all ages. Outside of her research and teaching, Brown enjoys drinking coffee, running, and spending time with her family.