Paul Metz will be retiring from the School of Music, Theatre and Dance at the end of the fall semester after 30 years at CSU.
Metz has served as coordinator of music theory at CSU since he arrived in 1986. During his time in the department he has also been assistant chair, acting chair and interim chair for the School, in addition to director of undergraduate studies, coordinator of the B.A. in Music degree program and an adviser to honors students.
Metz received his B.A. in Music from Gettysburg College, and an M.M. and Ph.D. in Music Theory from the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati.
As a leader in music theory pedagogy, Metz’s teaching techniques, including those outlined in The Clock Diagram: An Effective Visual Tool in Set Theory Pedagogy, are used in music theory classes across the country.
For Metz, significant career accomplishments in teaching, research and service are centered on his students.
“While I have always been gratified to read the kind words that my students and department chairs have written about me over the years, I am more proud of my students’ accomplishments,” he said.
Many of Metz’s students have pursued graduate work, earned extremely high scores on their music theory diagnostic exams at some of the top music schools in the country, or are music education students following in his footsteps.
“Many [students] have contacted me at some point after beginning their career as a high school music teacher to excitedly tell me that I inspired them to create a music theory class at their school where no such course had existed before,” Metz said.
Away from CSU, Metz spends his free time in the mountains, racing down them in the winter and climbing up them the rest of the year. Highlights include completing the Colorado 14ers circuit in 2001; climbing to 21,000 feet on Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest point in the Western Hemisphere, before being forced down by high winds in 2006; finishing the 2007, 2009 and 2011 seasons ranked #1 in the U.S. in his age group in the National Standard Race ski racing program; and, in the last four years, qualifying for the finals of the Lindsey Vonn Race Series, finishing first twice and second twice.
Metz plans to continue his adventures on the slopes. Messages may be sent to him at http://music.colostate.edu/
