Erzsie MERA
Honoring the rhythm children bring to the classroom. Bridging research to best practices
Music Education Research & Advocacy
I’m Elisabeth “Erzsie” DeRichmond — a researcher, writer, and advocate based in Seattle,
Washington. This site is home to my work at the intersection of equity, access, and what
happens when young people are given the tools to find their voice through music. Whether
you’re a fellow researcher, a music educator, a school administrator, or a parent who
has watched music change a child’s life, I’m glad you’re here.
I came to this work personally. I grew up without a music program in elementary school,
and I felt that absence, even if I didn’t have words for it at the time. Finding choir in middle
school changed things for me. It gave me community, confidence, and a place to belong
at an age when belonging is everything. That experience has never left me, and it is the
quiet engine behind everything I do.
I’ve spent the better part of a decade studying, writing, and advocating for the idea
that music education isn’t a luxury — it’s the infrastructure. My doctoral dissertation,
which I’m completing at National University, examines how culturally responsive music
education practices and community social capital sustain general music programs in
under-resourced Title I schools. It’s qualitative, it’s personal, and it centers the voices
of the educators, administrators, and community members who fight every budget
cycle to keep music alive for the kids who need it most.
Beyond my dissertation, I publish on music education equity and policy, work with students
one-on-one, and attend school board meetings so that the data doesn’t have to speak
alone. I believe that research only matters if it reaches the people who can act on it, and
this site is part of how I try to make that happen.
Here you’ll find my writing on music education equity, culturally responsive pedagogy, and
arts program policy; updates from my doctoral research; and the advocacy work that
connects the two. Take a look around, and don’t hesitate to reach out. This work is better
when it’s in conversation.
Erzsie MERA 