McAllister, associate professor of music education, has served as the School of Music’s interim director since last May. He replaces Robert Kvam, who is now dean of the College of Fine Arts.

“I look forward to leading our team of 71 music professors, nine staff and 600 undergraduate and graduate music majors as we expand into our second building, the Music Instruction Building, next year,” McAllister said. “I’m also looking forward to directing the launch of the school’s new record label for classical and jazz music this coming year.”

McAllister came to Ball State in 1995 to work as an assistant professor of music. He went on to become coordinator of undergraduate programs in music. He has taught music in K-12 schools in Ohio, Ontario and Quebec. He has also taught at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, McGill University and Kent State University.

McAllister served on The Music Educators Journal’s editorial committee and was recently appointed chair of the perception and cognition research group for the National Association for Music Education (MENC).

Along with teaching, McAllister has premiered more than 30 classical guitar compositions, co-edited 11 books and recorded professionally with Fanfare Records (Canada) and Carleton Records (England).

“The School of Music is already a top tier school in the Midwest and is now poised to move into the top 50 schools of music in the country,” McAllister said. “Our focus will be to become known for excellence in music learning and teaching at the national and international levels.”

For more information on the School of Music, log on to www.bsu.edu/music.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact McAllister at (765) 285-5402 or pmcallis@bsu.edu. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)