Biography

• BME, music education, Susquehanna University
• MM, percussion performance, Southern Methodist University
• PhD, music education, Temple University

An instrumental specialist, Nate Buonviri is Associate Professor of Music Education at Temple, where he has taught Percussion Methods, Introduction to Music Teaching and Learning, Teaching Instrumental Music to Inclusive Populations, Theory I, Jazz Education—Instrumental, Collaboration and Creativity, Measurement and Evaluation, and Music Education Through Contemporary Ensembles. Before coming to Temple, he taught instrumental music in high schools in Texas and California.

Buonviri has presented research and workshops at local, regional, national, and international conferences. His main research interest is aural skills pedagogy, with additional interests in percussion performance and pedagogy, and jazz pedagogy. He is published in Journal of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Percussive Notes, The Instrumentalist, Research and Issues in Music Education, and Music Educators Journal. Both of his books, Building Better Dictation Skills and The Subtle Side of Teaching, are published by Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Buonviri is an active orchestral musician with Utah Festival Opera, and has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Empire Brass, and Nell Carter. He recorded two CDs with the Dallas Wind Symphony, under the direction of Jerry Junkin and Frederick Fennell. 

Works and Publications 

Books

Buonviri, N. O. (2019). The subtle side of teaching. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Buonviri, N. O. (2015). Building better dictation skills. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.  

Articles 

Buonviri, N. O. & Paney, A. S. (2020). Technology use in high school aural skills instruction. Advance online publication. International Journal of Music  Education. doi:10.1177/0255761420909917

Buonviri, N. O. (2018). Effects of silence, sound, and singing on melodic dictation accuracy. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66, 365-374.  doi:10.1177/0022429418801333

Buonviri, N. O. (2017). Effects of two listening strategies for melodic dictation. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65, 347-359.  doi:10.1177/0022429417728925

Buonviri, N. O. (2017). Successful AP music theory instruction: A case study. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 36(2), 53-61.  doi:10.1177/8755123317724326

Paney, A. S. & Buonviri, N. O. (2017). Developing melodic dictation pedagogy: A survey of college theory instructors. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 36(1), 5158. doi:10.1177/8755123316686815

Buonviri, N. (2017). Fixing cymbal crashes. The Instrumentalist, 71(6), 16–18.

Buonviri, N. (2016). Percussion in the pit. The Instrumentalist, 71(5), 36–39.

Buonviri, N. O. (2015). Effects of a preparatory singing pattern on melodic dictation success. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63, 102-113. doi:10.1177/0022429415570754

Buonviri, N. O. (2015). Effects of music notation reinforcement on aural memory for melodies. International Journal of Music Education, 33, 442-450.

Buonviri, N. O. & Paney, A. S. (2015). Melodic dictation instruction:  A survey of AP music theory teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63, 224-237. doi:10.1177/0022429415584141 

Buonviri, N. O. (2014). Three music education majors’ journeys through Aural Skills 101. Advance online publication. Journal of Music Teacher Education. doi:10.1177/1057083714552328

Buonviri, N. O. (2014). An exploration of undergraduate music majors’ melodic dictation strategies. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/8755123314521036

Paney, A. S. & Buonviri, N. O. (2013). Teaching melodic dictation in AP music theory. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61, 396-414.  doi:10.1177/0022429413508411

Buonviri, N. (2013).  I can’t do that! Improvisation for classically trained musicians. Music Educators Journal, 99(4), 23–25. doi:10.1177/0027432113486251. Offers informative discussion of the unique aural and improvisation needs of many classically trained musicians, with an in-depth step-by-step example to illustrate. 

Buonviri, N. (2012). Ear training for percussionists. The Instrumentalist, 67(5), 37–39. Illustrates approaches to aural skills development that are especially helpful to student percussionists at any level.

Buonviri, N. (2012). Musical approaches to the two-beat show on drumset. Percussive Notes, 50(6), 52–54. Provides detailed description and numerous examples of how to approach interpretation of this popular style.

Meyerdierks, B., Buonviri, N., Burrack, F., & VanWeelden, K. (2012). Developing creative assessment. In T. Brophy and A. Lehmann-Wermser (Eds.), Music Assessment Across Cultures and Continents (pp. 329–341). Chicago: GIA Publications. Proceedings of a panel discussion presented at the Third International

Symposium on Assessment in Music Education, Bremen, Germany, March, 2011.

Buonviri, N. (2012). [Review of MENC Handbook of Research on Music Learning (vols. 1 & 2)]. Research and Issues in Music Education. Retrieved from http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol10/index.htm Provides a detailed evaluative summary from researcher and practitioner perspectives.

Buonviri, N. (2012). Drumset basics. The Instrumentalist, 66(7), 28–30.Outlines sequential, logical strategies for coaching student percussionists through interpretation of various drumset styles.

Buonviri, N. (2012, Spring). Three recent studies of aural skills development. PMEA News, 34–35. Summarizes recent aural skills research by the author for an audience of preservice and inservice music educators.

Buonviri, N. (2011). Technology for teaching. [Review of the book and CD-ROM. Fundamentals for the aspiring musician]. Music Educators Journal, 98(3), 33.Provides an evaluative summary of these classroom resources from the music educator’s viewpoint.

Buonviri, N. (2011, Fall). The authentic assessment environment: What can we learn from the pros?” PMEA News, 43–44. Describes ways of preparing authentic circumstances in which to conduct school music assessments.

Buonviri, N. (2011, January). Cultivating the interdisciplinary music teacher. PMEA District 12 Newsletter, 1–2. Explores ways that teacher trainers at the university level can lead by example in fostering interdisciplinary approaches to music education.

Buonviri, N. (2010). For your library [Review of the book Minds on music: composition for creative and critical thinking]. Music Educators Journal, 97(1), 16–19.
Provides an evaluative summary of the book from the music educator’s viewpoint.

Buonviri, N. (2009). Quick tips for percussionists. The Instrumentalist, 64(4), 30–34.Outlines specific advice, drawn from professional performance experience, to supplement percussion instruction at all levels.

Buonviri, N. (2009). Sound thinking for musical success. Percussive Notes, 47(2), 30–31. Provides specific pedagogical approaches to mental focus on musicality while practicing drumset; applicable to the study of all percussion instruments.

Buonviri, N. (2009). For your library [Review of the book Composition for dummies]. Music Educators Journal, 95(3), 30–32. Provides an evaluative summary of the book from the music educator’s viewpoint.

Recordings

Healthy Me!, James Lamar and Friends, funded by an educational grant from First 5 Napa County, 2005.

Strike, The Music of Motion, Meadows Percussion Ensemble, Robert Stroker, Director, Gasparo Records, 2000.

Psalms, The Turtle Creek Chorale, Timothy Seelig, Conductor, Reference Recordings, 1999.

Marches I've Missed, Dallas Wind Symphony, Frederick Fennell, Conductor, Reference Recordings, 1998.

Strictly Sousa, Dallas Wind Symphony, Jerry Junkin, Conductor, Reference Recordings, 1998.

Compositions 

International Premieres

Left Unspoken, for flute, bassoon, and marimba. Premiered 12 June 2012 by Rafael Rodríguez, Maria Buonviri, and the composer, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia, South America.

Aura Maria, for string quartet.  Premiered 18 December 2009 by the Huari String Quartet, Bogotá, Colombia, South America.

A Fine Afternoon, for solo clarinet.  Premiered 28 April 2004 by Javier Vinasco, XII Encuentro Universitario de Clarinete, Escuela Nacional de Música UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico.

Encuentros Con Dos Personajes, for bassoon and piano.  Premiered 15 January 2004 by Maria Lucia Garavito, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia, South America.

National Premieres

Consensus, for percussion duo. Premiered 11 July 2011 by the composer and Aaron Nix, Logan, UT.

…and steal away, adapted for marimba duo. Premiered 5 April 2010 by the composer and Phillip O’Banion, Philadelphia, PA.

Waiting for My Love, for tenor and piano. Premiered 27 December 2003 by Taylor and Stephanie Armstrong, Patuxent River Church, California, MD.

…and steal away, for solo marimba. Premiered 8 February 2003 by the composer for the dedicatory recital of Stretansky Hall, Selinsgrove, PA.

Tuesday Mourning, for oboe and bassoon. Premiered 17 November 2002 by Maria Garavito and Katherine Sellmansberger in O’Donnell Recital Hall, Dallas, TX.

Psalm 28, for SATB chorus. Premiered 6 October 2002 by the Good Samaritan Episcopal Choir, Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, Dallas, TX.

Sketches From the Wild, for doumbek and frame drum. Premiered June 2001 by the composer at Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior, Michigan, as part of the National Park Service’s Artist-in-Residence program.

The Odyssey Project, composition of entire percussion soundtrack for Plano Repertory Theater, Premiered June 10, 2000, Plano, TX.