My research centers on the history of opera and musical theatre in the United States. I am especially interested in examining the work of singers. I am currently writing my second book, a biography of Dorothy Maynor (1910–1996), an African American soprano and the founder of Harlem School of the Arts.
Monica Hershberger
Associate Professor
Musicologist
610-758-4569
moh323@lehigh.edu
Zoellner 358
Education:
PhD, Historical Musicology, Harvard University, 2017
MA, Historical Musicology, Michigan State University, 2011
MM, Piano Performance, Michigan State University, 2011
BM, Piano Performance, Bowling Green State University, 2008
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Focus Areas
Personal Statement
Biography
Dr. Monica A. Hershberger joined the Department of Music at Lehigh University in 2023. A musicologist specializing in the history of opera in the United States, her work has been recognized by the National Opera Association, funded by the Society for American Music, quoted in the New York Times, and published in journals such as the Journal of the American Musicological Society and the Journal of the Society for American Music. In her first book, Women in American Operas of the 1950s: Undoing Gendered Archetypes (University of Rochester Press, 2023), Hershberger identifies and amplifies the rustlings of modern feminism in mid-twentieth century American operas including The Consul, The Tender Land, Susannah, The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Lizzie Borden. Hershberger is currently at work on her next book, which is under contract with the University of Michigan Press. This book will examine the life and legacy of soprano Dorothy Maynor (1910–1996).
Research & Creative Work
Women in American Operas of the 1950s: Undoing Gendered Archetypes. University of Rochester Press, 2023.
“Curricular Reform and a Culture of Listening: Lessons from the Rosedale Freedom Project.” Journal of the Society for American Music 15, no. 4 (2021): 452–456.
“Music, Travel, and Circuitous Reflections of Community.” Co-authored with Sarah Suhadolnik. In Sounding Together: Collaborative Perspectives on U.S. Music in the 21st Century. Edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett and Carol J. Oja. University of Michigan Press, 2021.
“Listening to Tori Amos Reflect on Classical Music.”Women’s Song Forum. December 17, 2020.
“Feminist Revisions: Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s Mid-Century Homage to Susan B. Anthony.” Journal of Musicology 37, no. 3 (2020): 383–414.
“Seduction or Rape? The Sexual Politics of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 71, no. 1 (2018): 226–232.
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Women in American Operas of the 1950s: Undoing Gendered Archetypes (University of Rochester Press, 2023)
Women in American Operas of the 1950s: Undoing Gendered Archetypes (University of Rochester Press, 2023)