Sarah Louden

Sarah Louden is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies in Music Theory and History at NYU Steinhardt. She holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University at Buffalo (SUNY). Her research focuses on music theory pedagogy, curricular innovation, accessibility, and the integration of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in teaching and learning.

Dr. Louden’s recent work emphasizes accessible and inclusive curricular design. From 2019 to 2022, she led a grant-funded redesign of the core undergraduate music theory and history curriculum at NYU Steinhardt, along with the development of a comprehensive collection of open-access texts, musical anthologies, and teaching resources. These materials received the Society for Music Theory’s 2025 Pedagogy Award. She is currently leading a redesign of the department’s Keyboard Skills curriculum. She has also served as an invited panelist on curricular reform at the Society for Music Theory, Music and the Moving Image, and the American Musicological Society.

Another focus of Dr. Louden’s pedagogical scholarship is accessibility in higher music education. She has presented papers and workshops at national conferences on accessible teaching practices and the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in music theory instruction. She is a co-author of Advancing Music Accessibility for Students with Vision Loss in Higher Education: Frameworks, Strategies, and Resources (2026) and serves as a member of the Consortium of Higher Education, Music, and Accessibility Professionals. Her current work also explores pedagogical applications of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on expanding access, supporting student learning, and developing inclusive teaching practices.

A complementary area of Dr. Louden's research examines the cognitive dimensions of multisensory perception in music and multimedia, with applications to audiovisual analysis, stage performance, digital technology, pedagogy, and accessibility. She has published and presented on these topics at national and regional conferences and currently teaches a graduate seminar on Music and the Senses.