About Me

Megan Lyons is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Furman University in Greenville, SC. Her research areas include music theory pedagogy, music encoding and its analysis, Joni Mitchell’s use of alternate guitar tunings, and the art songs of Amy Beach.

In 2019, she proposed a new audio publication to the Society for Music Theory. Her vision was, and still is, to bring music academia into a modern era through establishing a podcast. In addition, this publication seeks to restructure the concept of peer review - a label often used to shield racist or sexist acts behind the cloak of anonymity. Megan and the entire SMT-Pod board designed an Open Collaborative Peer Review Process to give authority to authors and maximize productive collaboration amongst their peers. SMT-Pod's inaugural season premiered in January 2022 and featured 17 episodes covering a wide array of genres and composers. It is currently in its third season.

She attended the University of Delaware where she earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education and Music Theory. She graduated in Spring 2016, Summa Cum Laude as well as a Degree with Distinction. While completing her undergraduate studies, Megan was a winner of the UD Concerto Competition performing Lowell Liebermann’s Piccolo Concerto. She was also a winner of the Newark Symphony Concerto Competition performing Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto. Megan was chosen to represent her university at the National Intercollegiate Band in 2015, serving as Principal Flute. She was awarded the DeMartini Scholarship at UD for demonstrating humanitarianism, professionalism, integrity, and unselfishness. She was also the recipient of the university’s Phi Kappa Phi Essay Contest Award for her summer research efforts and acted as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for half of her undergraduate career.

Megan completed her Masters in Music Theory and Flute Performance at CUNY Hunter College in 2018. She studied as a Cutler Scholar for her performance capabilities and was asked to perform Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto with the Hunter Symphony Orchestra. She also served as the Communications Director for the Graduate Student Association of Hunter College.

For her doctoral studies, Megan attended the University of Connecticut and pursued a PhD in Music Theory and History. During her four years there, she established the music department's first graduate music conference and was the recipient of multiple teaching awards. In April 2022, she successfully defended her dissertation titled "Unsung: A Corpus Study on the Art Songs of Amy Beach."

Megan Lyons and Dr. Peter Kaminsky presented their work “Enactive Soundscapes: Physio-musical and Formal Process in the Music of Joni Mitchell” at the 2020 Society for Music Theory national conference, and "'Preparing to Launch:' The Joni Mitchell Archives Volume I and Her Early Years" at the Joni's Blue at 50 Conference. She presented her paper "Processual Transcendence in the Art Songs of Amy Beach" at the Third International Conference on Women's Work in Music.

In her free time, Megan enjoys going on long runs, completing sudoku puzzles, and doing escape rooms.