Faculty

William J. Coppola is assistant professor of Music Teaching and Learning at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he teaches graduate courses in music education philosophy, cultural diversity and research methods. He is chair-elect of the Philosophy Special Interest Research Group for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the global music representative for California Music Educators Association (CMEA).

Coppola’s research examines the ethics of superiority, elitism and exclusion in music teaching, learning and performance contexts. His forthcoming book, Egotism, Elitism, and the Ethics of Musical Humility, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2025. His research has also been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education; Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; Psychology of Music; Research Studies in Music Education; Music Education Research; the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education; and Arts Education Policy Review.

He is also co-author of two books within the seven-volume World Music Pedagogy series, edited by Patricia Shehan Campbell: World Music Pedagogy, Volume IV: Instrumental Music Education (Routledge, 2018) and World Music Pedagogy, Volume VII: World Music in Higher Education (Routledge, 2020). Written at the intersection of music education and ethnomusicology, both volumes address practical strategies for developing culturally inclusive music curricula in instrumental ensembles and college-level music classes, respectively.​ He regularly presents his work nationally and internationally, including Cape Town, Veracruz, Tel Aviv, Kathmandu, Glasgow and Dar es Salaam.

William Coppola holds degrees from the University of Washington (Ph.D., 2018), New York University (M.A., 2011) and Hofstra University (B.S., 2008). He is a certified Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy and Kodály educator, and was previously an elementary music director with New York City Public Schools.