Lee R. Bartel is a Canadian music educator, researcher, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He is known for his work in general education, music education, social psychology, and interdisciplinary work at the intersection of music, health, and neuroscience. His career spans contributions to music performance, public education, church music, and academic leadership. He is the Founding Director of both the Music and Health Research Collaboratory (MaHRC) and the Canadian Music Education Research Centre at the University of Toronto. He also served as Associate Dean of Research at the university's Faculty of Music.
Early life and education He was born in 1948 in Steinbach, Manitoba. Bartel completed his Ph.D. in education and music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (University of Illinois UC) in 1988, a Master of Education (1984) and a Bachelor of Arts in history (1973) at the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Music (1975) from Brandon University. In parallel with his academic studies, Bartel pursued conservatory-based training in music performance earning the Associate in Music (A.Mus., 1981) and the Licentiate in Music (L.Mus., 1983) in vocal performance from the Western Board of Music. Having begun as a guitarist and violinist, he focused his advanced study on vocal training with renowned instructors Bernard Diamant at University of Toronto, Clifton Ware at University of Minnesota, and William Warfield at University of Illinois UC.
Career Bartel began his career as a middle school science teacher and music educator in 1969 and for the next decade contributed to the Manitoba public school system as a teacher, consultant, and teacher educator with appointments in the St. Boniface, St. Vital, and Morris-MacDonald school districts and concurrently held sessional appointments at Brandon University and the University of Manitoba. His primary contribution was the development of guitar programs including creating a widely used program published by Yamaha called Get into Guitar, consulting on the Provincial curriculum guide for guitar in Junior and Senior High schools, running implementation workshops for teachers, and culminating in his Master thesis evaluating guitar programs. Between 1975 and 1985, he served as Chair of the Music Department at Steinbach Bible College, where he played a role in the development of a four-year music degree, the design of a new music department building, and the institutional accreditation processes. Concurrently he held sessional appointment at Providence University College and Theological Seminary focusing on church music. He also served as founding president of the Steinbach Arts Council. In 1987, Bartel joined the University of Toronto as assistant professor of Music Education in the Faculty of Music. He was promoted to associate professor in 1993 and Full Professor in 2009. He also held long-term appointments as a Continuing Member of the School of Graduate Studies from 1994, and served in cross-appointed roles with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, and the Institute for Life Course and Aging. His teaching and supervisory activities spanned a range of subjects, including music education, social psychology of music, music and the brain, and research methodology. Bartel served as Founding Director of the Canadian Music Education Research Centre and later as Founding Director of the Music and Health Research Collaboratory (MaHRC) at the University of Toronto. From 2003 to 2004, he was a Visiting Research Scholar and Professor at the University of South Florida. His leadership extended to institutional accreditation and curriculum review, including service with the Canadian Association for Music Therapy and conducting an on-site review of a proposed Bachelor of Health Science and Music program at McMaster University in 2019. Since his retirement from full-time academic duties in 2017, Bartel has remained actively engaged in research and advisory roles. He has been on the Board of the Room 217 Foundation promoting the use of music in long-term-care contexts, is currently affiliated with the Music and Health Research Institute at the University of Ottawa, an advisory board member of the Ozmo Institute for Neuroaesthetics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and sits on the International Advisory Board of VIBRAC – The Skille-Lehikoinen Centre for Vibroacoustic Therapy and Research at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Since 2019, he has served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Neuro Spinal Innovation, Inc.
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