- Educator -

Walter Muelling’s passion for anti-oppressive education drive both his teaching and his personal studies.

Mr. Muelling’s experiences in education began early. Early in high school, he ran a private music studio for violin, viola, piano, guitar, and bass guitar students which grew a small interest into a larger vision. After the decision to officially enter the profession, he earned a Bachelor of Music Education in both Instrumental and General Music Education (EC-A) from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, College of Education and Human Services. He later earned a Master of Music with a major of Music Education from Boston University, College of Fine Arts while André de Quadros chaired the department. His capstone was The Kodiak Orchestra Model: Instrumental Music as a Provenance of Social Justice. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Feinstein College of Education at the University of Rhode Island to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Education specializing in Teaching, Learning and Development in PreK-12 Contexts. He is a critical scholar who believes in research as a form of activism for radical sociocultural transformation, and his research interests include belongingness, musicking, and anti-oppressive pedagogy

Mr. Muelling has worked with a diverse group of students throughout his career. During his undergraduate studies, he spent a summer serving students with disabilities at the Wisconsin Lions Camp. He also completed 72 clinical hours teaching middle school orchestra at South Park Middle School and Carl Traeger Middle School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Finally, he completed his student teaching directing the orchestras at Appleton North High School and Appleton West High School in Appleton, WI under the tutelage of Craig Kellenberger and Dr. Heather McWilliams and in general music at Roosevelt Elementary and Jefferson Elementary in Oshkosh, WI under the tutelage of Lynn Bridwell and Dr. Kenneth Liske. Upon graduating, he was awarded the National Association for Music Education Professional Achievement Award (2014).

After earning his B.M.E., Mr. Muelling accepted a position directing the orchestra program for the Kodiak Island Borough School District in Kodiak, Alaska. While there he gained invaluable experience teaching in a unique setting. In town, he taught classes in the middle school and high school, including the creation of new courses as well as redesigning and reactivating others. During this time, he became very interested in critical pedagogy and the Empowering Song method, and he researched and wrote his capstone on the use of these philosophies to redesign his high school curriculum. One of his duties in Alaska was to develop a virtual violin course serving students living in Alutiiq villages around the archipelago, which blended aspects of Alutiiq culture/language with violin technique. All of the beginning repertoire used in this program was a result of transcriptions of both traditional and contemporary Alutiiq songs. During his seven years serving the students of Kodiak, Mr. Muelling was a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award (2017), a nominee for the BP Teachers of Excellence Award (2018), and received the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Educator of Distinction Award from Rafael Bitanga (2019). He has also served as clinician, invited presenter, adjudicator, and guest conductor in settings such as university programs, state music festivals, and concert tours.

Mr. Muelling is currently under contract as a Teaching Artists for Community MusicWorks in Providence, Rhode Island. This organization is vital for the neighborhoods it serves, and graciously accepts donations and volunteer applications. He is not currently accepting any private students outside of this commitment, but is willing to work as a guest clinician for schools in the Rhode Island area.

Mr. Muelling also served as a graduate assistant at the University of Rhode Island for three years (2021-2024). His duties include teaching courses to undergraduate education majors and serving as the project assistant for Rhode Island Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (RIMESA), which equips teachers to help underserved middle and high school students excel in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) through hands-on invention education.

For more detailed information on Mr. Muelling’s educational career, please feel free to request his Curriculum Vitae.

Awards in Education:

  • University of Rhode Island Graduate Assistantship in Education (2021-2024)

  • Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Educator of Distinction Award (2019)

  • BP Teachers of Excellence Award Nominee (2018)

  • GRAMMY Music Educator Award Quarterfinalist (2017)

  • National Association for Music Education Professional Achievement Award (2014)

Professional Associations:

  • American String Teachers Association (National Board Member - Community Music)

  • National Association for Music Education

  • Society for Research in Music Education

  • Rhode Island Music Education Association

  • American Educational Research Association

  • Mayday Group

  • American Viola Society

  • Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia