Alison Farley

Dr. Alison Farley is a Lecturer in the Music Education department at the University of Washington where she teaches courses in music education, alternative teaching approaches and advises graduate students.  She also serves as a member of the Laboratory for Music Cognition, Culture and Learning.  Her research interests include psychology of music, student directed learning, teacher education and perception and performance of written notation.

In addition to her appointment in Music Education, Dr. Farley is also a research coordinator at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.  She coordinates projects related to group musical interactions and empathy and also synchrony and pro-social behavior in young children.  Dr. Farley also served as a Lecturer in the Ensembles area at UW, directing the Campus Band.

Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Farley completed her doctoral work at the University of Washington where she was the Graduate Assistant Director for the Husky Marching Band and Assistant Conductor for the Symphonic Band.  Dr. Farley also taught public school in Steelville, Missouri (near St. Louis) where she taught middle and high school band, jazz band and chorus.

Dr. Farley has presented her research at the National Association for Music Education National Conference (NAfME), Asia-Pacific Symposium on Music Education Research (APSMER), International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC), Society for Music Perception and Cognition (SMPC), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Athletic Band Symposium, Northwest Music Educators Conference (NWMENC) and Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) Conference. 

Dr. Farley holds a BME from the University of Kansas, an MM in Wind Conducting from the University of Louisville and a PhD from the University of Washington.