Chris McDonald

Associate Dean, School of Arts & Social Sciences

Chris McDonald teaches a variety of courses in ethnomusicology, popular music, and music theory. His research interests include Atlantic Canadian folk and traditional music, with a recent emphasis on Cape Breton’s unique piano accompaniment style. He researches rock music in relation to social class, and is the author of Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown, which as published by Indiana University Press in 2009. He has also published on the topics of popular culture and the middlebrow, singer-songwriters, and music analysis topics, such as rock harmony, and the relationship of timbre to rhythmic feel or groove. He authored numerous entries in reference works such as The New Grove Encyclopedia of American Music, the Sage Encyclopedia of Music and Culture, and the Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues. At CBU, he is serving as Teaching Chair in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (2018-2020). He is currently the chair of the Executive of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, and the secr

Expertise:

Popular Music, Atlantic Canadian Folk and Traditional Music, Social Class, Ethnomusicology, Music Theory