Faculty Profile for Dr. Todd Evan Sullivan

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Dr. Todd E. Sullivan joined the Texas State University School of Music as Director and Professor of Musicology on July 1, 2022. He holds a PhD in musicology and an MM in music history and literature from Northwestern University and a BM in music education from Denison University. Previously, he served as Director and Professor of Musicology in the Northern Arizona University School of Music, Associate Professor of Musicology and Chairperson of the Department of Music at Indiana State University, and taught at Northwestern University and DePaul University.
A passionate educator and advocate for the arts, he received the Indiana State University College of Arts and Sciences Educational Excellence Award in 2000, was nominated twice for the Distinguished Teaching Award at Northwestern University, and earned accolades as a Gold Axe Award Educator of Influence at Northern Arizona University in 2018. The Flagstaff Arts Council awarded him the prestigious 2015 Viola Award for Excellence in Leadership, recognizing his contributions to the arts on campus and within the community.
Dr. Sullivan’s scholarship operates within the realm of public musicology, bridging the space between academic research and the general public. He has written thousands of program notes, liner notes, and educational materials for major performing arts organizations in the United States (Ravinia Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lincoln Center, Boston Early Music Festival, among others), Canada, Australia, and Spain. Dr. Sullivan’s research draws on history, languages, philosophy, cultural practice and values, racial and social justice, psychology, economics, religion, politics, international relations, journalism, business, and digital design and narrative—whatever complementary discipline shines light on the music and its makers.
His publications and presentations reflect a variety of research interests: Renaissance music, opera, French Baroque dance, American popular music, liturgy, and hymnology. Dr. Sullivan has presented papers at meetings of the College Music Society, National Association of Schools of Music, and American Musicological Society, and at the Second International Conference of the Cyprus Musicological Society. In addition, he has remained active as an early-music performer, choral conductor, and church musician.
Dr. Sullivan has held advisory positions on the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, Flagstaff Arts Council Board of Directors, Flagstaff Arts and Business Alliance, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, Cultural Alliance of Terre Haute (founding member), National Advisory Council for the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music at Hazard Community and Technical College, Arts Fellowship Panel of the South Carolina Arts Commission, and Opera/Choral Panel of the Illinois Arts Council.
At a national level, he has served the College Music Society as Board Member for Musicology, general editor of CMS Books & Monographs, and member of the Nominations Committee, Committee on Academic Leadership and Administration, and Program Committee for the 2016 National Meeting in Santa Fe, NM. For the National Association of Schools of Music, he was elected to the Committee on Ethics (two terms as chair), serves as a Visiting Evaluator, and is an elected member of the Commission on Accreditation.