Justin Lader

Music Education and String Pedagogy

Justin Lader received his PhD in music and human learning from The University of Texas at Austin, Master’s degree in viola performance with emphasis in string pedagogy from the University of Oregon, and Bachelor’s of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory. He also earned a BA in environmental studies from Oberlin College and is still an environmentalist and advocate for sustainability. In terms of research, Dr. Lader studies how musicians form motor memories and specifically the effects of practice duration, frequency, and role of auditory and motor coactivation in the brain. Outside of neuroscience and psychology, Dr. Lader continues to explore the value of philosophical dialogue in the music classroom.

Dr. Lader began teaching private lessons in 2008 while completing his studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He served as orchestra department coordinator and faculty instructor at the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts – Community Music School from 2009-2017, instructing both violin and viola. From 2010-2016 Dr. Lader served as an adjunct instructor teaching private lessons, coaching chamber music, and group classes at the University of Oregon’s Community Music Institute and Suzuki Strings Program. From 2013-2014 Dr. Lader taught world music at the The Village School, a Public Charter School inspired by Waldorf Education, in Eugene, Oregon. From 2014 to 2019 he conducted the strings program at the Eugene Waldorf School. In 2015 he created, directed, and taught at The Shedd Institutes Chamber Strings camp. The summer 2016 he taught and directed The Shedd’s Chamber Music Camp, in addition to a Beginning Strings Camp, as well as guest instructed at the Off The Hook Arts Summer Music Workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2019 Dr. Lader began teaching at the University of Texas String Project in addition to being a teaching assistant and assistant instructor for various undergraduate and graduate courses at UT.

Dr. Lader has performed under Sir Simon Rattle and James Gaffigan in the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra. He has studied with Leslie Straka, Peter Slowik, Karen Ritscher, and Roger Chase. For two years, he played in a flute quartet, which performed in Oregon. Dr. Lader regularly performs throughout the West Coast with Celtic Harper, David Helfand. The duo performs original and traditional music that is influenced by Middle Eastern, Celtic, and Indian styles. Together the duo has released three albums, Through the Portal, From a Distant Time: Inspirations from the Celtic Lands, and After the Rain. Dr. Lader’s compositions have been featured in documentaries by Reiko Fujii (Detained Alien Enemy – Japanese American Internment) and Matt Cook (Exploring the nature of Oregon). Other collaborative projects include recording and performing with Jake McNeillie on his albums, Dream Country and Delirium: A Southern Gothic Fable, as well as recording with singer-songrwriter Albert Howell, We Have A Ghost, and This Patch of Sky. Additionally, Dr. Lader has done outreach work with CardioStart International, performing live to support the organizations mission to provide free heart surgeries in developing countries.