Abby South
Assistant Professor of Music Education Dr. Abby South is a lifelong resident of Louisiana with a distinguished career in music education. She holds an undergraduate degree in music education from Loyola University New Orleans, and both a master’s degree in music and a PhD in music education with a minor in psychology from Louisiana State University. Dr. South has dedicated 16 years to teaching and directing K-12 music programs in Louisiana, including general music and beginner, intermediate, and high school bands. Dr. South’s bands earned consistent superior ratings at assessment and her students were chosen regularly as members of audition-based ensembles.
Dr. South is a respected honor band director, conference clinician, and teacher mentor throughout South Louisiana. As a K-12 band director, she supervised multiple student teacher interns from several universities and held leadership positions at both the school and district level. Her expertise and dedication have earned her accolades, including Teacher of the Year at Juban Parc Junior High (2014) and Band Director of the Year in LMEA District VI (2010). As an adjunct instructor of music education at LSU, Dr. South taught several undergraduate music education courses, was a college coordinator of student teachers, and worked in community outreach by connecting undergraduate students with community music teachers.
Through her work with Kids' Orchestra, an after-school nonprofit music program for underserved youth, Dr. South developed a passion for providing music education to any interested child, regardless of their ability to pay tuition or purchase instruments. Her work as a teacher coach and music education advocate at Kids’ Orchestra introduced Dr. South to instructional practices that extend beyond the ensemble paradigm. This experience fostered her interest in pedagogical practices from around the globe and desire to explore diverse music philosophies and pedagogies during pre-service teacher education.
Dr. South's research focuses on music cognition, trauma-informed practices, and teacher mentorship. She has presented research at state, regional, and national conferences, including the SunCoast Music Education Research Symposium at the University of South Florida in February 2023, the Society of Music Teacher Education conference held in Salt Lake City, UT, in October 2023, and the National Association for Music Education conference to be held in Atlanta, GA, in November 2024. Her research on trauma-informed professional development will be highlighted in a 2024 edition of Teaching Music, the National Association for Music Education’s practitioner journal.
Dr. South is an active member of the Louisiana Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, Phi Beta Mu, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She is a wife and mother who values a healthy work-life balance for both students and professionals.