About Professor Hannaford

Marc Hannaford is a music theorist whose interests lie at the intersection of jazz and improvisation, identity (especially race, gender, and disability), and performance. The Society for Music Theory awarded him an Emerging Scholar Award for his article “Fugitive Music Theory and George Russell’s Theory of Tonality” in 2023. He also received the University of Michigan’s highest award for early- and mid-career scholars, the Henry Russel Award in 2025. His current book project examines a genealogy of music theory developed by African American musicians in the twentieth century.