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Home › News & Events › News › Faculty Feature: Dr. Gebrian – Assistant Professor of Viola and 2022 Early Career Scholar

Faculty Feature: Dr. Gebrian – Assistant Professor of Viola and 2022 Early Career Scholar

March 24, 2023
Dr. Molly Gebrian - Assistant Professor of Viola and 2022 Early Career Scholar Awardee

Congratulations to Dr. Molly Gebrian for receiving the 2022 Early Career Scholars Award! Dr. Gebrian is a professional violist with a background in neuroscience. She has combined these two passions by studying and applying the science of learning and memory to practice and performing. Her work and research on the science of practicing and the intersection of early language acquisition and music has been published in journals and magazines such as The Strad, Journal of the American Viola Society, Frontiers in Psychology, and the Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain. 

As a musician and violist, her performance has focused on marginalized composers and groups that are traditionally underrepresented in classical music. Her first album, recorded with Danny Holt in 2017 was highly regarded and included in a list of top 100 albums by music critic Ted Gioia. She holds degrees for neuroscience and viola from Oberlin College, her masters in viola performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and her DMA from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Her principal teachers have included Pete Slowik, Carol Rodland, James Dunham, and Garth Knox.

When asked what led her to pursue two branches of study that some might consider very different, Dr. Gebrian noted that it all began in her undergraduate studies when she attended a neuroscience seminar and was immediately hooked. She decided to double-major in viola and neuroscience but did not have plans to pursue neuroscience after graduation. Once in her master’s program at the New England Conservatory, she began to feel unbalanced without her neuroscience studies which were not offered at the conservatory. However, they did allow her to independently study and research the brain in conjunction with music. When she got into Rice University, Gebrian was able to take graduate level courses and continue her studies in neuroscience while she finished her DMA in Viola performance. She was also able to teach a class about music and the brain and continue the independent studies she had begun at the conservatory. While career has not looked the way she originally expected, she is glad to be able to use both of her interests. 

Dr. Gebrian also hosts a popular YouTube channel on the science of practice. Her hope is that students will learn how to practice more effectively so that they can perform confidently and achieve their musical goals. She finds that when students are unable to perform as well as they would like to, it usually stems from how they are practicing. She hopes that her work and videos would help equip students to be able to play the way they would like to. She is excited for her book on the neuroscience of practicing for Oxford University Press to be published in 2024 and is looking forward to continuing her research, presentations, and creating resources to help students and musicians practice better. 

Her YouTube channel can be found at this link:  https://www.youtube.com/@DrMollyGebrian

 

Article by Isabelle Joy Knowles

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music updated their cover photo.
2 months ago
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Love chamber music?
Join Arizona Friends of Chamber Music - AFCM tomorrow at 7 pm in Holsclaw Hall for a string quartet concert featuring 3 of our amazing Alumni!
Student tickets are only $12!
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Join us tonight at 7:30pm to hear a fantastic program featuring our own Fanya Lin performing Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto and Respighi's Pines of Rome conducted by recent graduate Yudai Ueda. ... See MoreSee Less

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

University of Arizona School of Music faculty artist, Fanya Lin, piano, was recently featured on Arizona Illustrated.

Dr. Lin is performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 this Saturday with the Tucson Repertory Orchestra in Crowder Hall at 7:30 p.m.

https://music.arizona.edu/events/…

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
4 months ago
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Congratulations to our School of Music graduates as they step into the spotlight. May their talent resonate through the world and inspire others to follow their passion.

#graduation
#UAZMusicGrads
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Congratulations graduates 🎓

Beautiful photos capturing immense joy and celebration!! Congratulations to our graduates and a special thank you to faculty and staff in the School of Music!!

Mazel tov

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

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👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

How do I apply

Congratulations to you all! I am so proud of each of you and I want to say thank you for sharing your talents, passion, dedication, and creativity with us in the School of Music!

♥️♥️♥️♥️

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College of Fine Arts

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 North Olive Road
Music Building, Room 111
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: finearts@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1302