David J. Elliott is Professor of Music Education at New York University. He previously taught and coordinated music education at the University of Toronto. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, a frequent speaker at conferences and universities worldwide, and an award-winning composer/arranger who has several choral and instrumental works in publication with Boosey and Hawkes.

Essays in this new book, written by a diverse group of internationally renowned music education scholars on a wide variety of contemporary music education topics, are carefully reasoned and well written. However, the real beauty of this collection of writings can be found in the diversity of perspectives and opinions presented...There is something for everyone in this book- those who identify with music education as aesthetic education, those who connect more closely with praxial philosophy, and those who may not have yet given formal music education philosophy a single thought.

• 1: David J. Elliott: Introduction 2: Marie F. McCarthy, J. Scott Goble: The Praxial Philosophy in Historical Perspective 3: Wayne D. Bowman: The Limits and Grounds of Musical Praxialism 4: Constantijn Koopman: The Nature of Music and Musical Works 5: Wilfred Gruhn: Understanding Musical Understanding 6: Heidi Westerlund, Marja-Leena Juntunen: Music and Knowledge in Bodily Experience 7: Robert A. Cutietta, Sandra L. Stauffer: Listening Reconsidered 8: Wayne. D. Bowman: Why Musical Performance? Views Praxial to Performative 9: Jeffrey Martin: Composing and Improvising 10: Margaret Barrett: A "Systems View" of Musical Creativity 11: C. K. Szego: Praxial Foundations of Multicultural Music Education 12: Thomas A. Regelski: Curriculum: Implications of Aesthetics vs. Praxial Philosophies 13: Shiela Woodward: Critical Matters in Early Childhood Music Education 14: Pamela Burnard: What Matters in General Music? 15: Lori-Anne Dolloff: Elementary Music: Building Cultures and Practices 16: Patricia O'Tooole: Why Don't I Feel Included in these Musics, or Matters 17: Kari K. Veblen: Community Music and Praxialism: Narratives and Reflections