Stephen Shearon teaches courses to both undergraduates and graduate students on the history of Western classical music, the history of American music, and research. His research interests center on sacred music: in particular, certain Christian sacred-music cultures. Currently he is studying the world of southern gospel convention singing, an amateur musical tradition based primarily in the southern United States. Since 2005 Shearon has presented papers on this subject at two Music of the South Symposia (Oxford, MS), the Society for American Music, the Tennessee Music Educators Association, the International Country Music Conference, the Society for Ethnomusicology, and at other scholarly venues. With videographer Mary Nichols he produced I'll Keep on Singing, a documentary about contemporary seven shape note singing in the southern United States.

Phone:  (615) 898-5984
E-mail:  stephen.shearon@mtsu.edu