Founder & director / NYU MusEDLab
S. Alex Ruthmann
Music, creative learning and the design of new possibilities.
Professor of Interactive Media & Business, NYU Shanghai
Professor (Associated) of Music Education & Music Technology, NYU Steinhardt
Designing for music curiosity, engagement, and learning.
Alex Ruthmann is a music educator, researcher and designer based at NYU Shanghai. He founded the NYU Music Experience Design Lab in 2013, bringing together students, educators, artists, developers and cultural partners to explore how people make and learn music.
His work connects musical practice with creative learning, interactive media and participatory design. It includes browser-based instruments, spatial listening experiences, research on music learning and sustainable creative careers, and current inquiry into AI and musical judgment.
Projects are collaborative. Their individual records identify the people, institutions and creative contributions behind the work.
Meet the lab and its alumni →Leadership and service
University and lab roles
- Founder and Director, NYU Music Experience Design Lab (2013–present).
- Area Head, Interactive Media & Business, NYU Shanghai (2021–2026).
- Program Director, Music Education, NYU Steinhardt (2017–2018).
At NYU Shanghai, Alex worked with faculty on curriculum development and academic program review. MusEDLab projects involve staff, students, scholars and collaborating developers and designers.
Music education organizations
Alex serves on the Board of Directors and Publications Committee of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). He previously chaired ISME’s Music in Schools and Teacher Education Commission, served as President of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, and chaired the Creativity Special Research Interest Group of the Society for Research in Music Education.
Journal roles
Alex is Co-Editor of the International Journal of Music Education. He previously served as Co-Editor and Managing Editor of the International Journal of Education & the Arts and Associate Editor of the Journal of Music, Technology and Education.
His editorial and advisory board service includes the British Journal of Music Education, Journal of Popular Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education and Journal of Music and Meaning.
Selected work
Project directory →Selected writing
- Scratch Music Projects · with Andrew R. Brown, 2020.
- The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education · co-edited with Roger Mantie, 2017.
- The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology and Education · co-edited with Andrew King and Evangelos Himonides, 2017.
- Learning music theorising through inspiration and curiosity · with Cecilia Björk and Mats Granfors, 2024.
- Surfacing Motives in Scholarly Publication: The Ethics of Authorship and Editorship · with Roger Mantie, 2025.
A continuing inquiry
Early work at the University of Michigan connected music technology, composition, physical interfaces and performance. The recovered Michigan collection preserves contemporary descriptions of that work, including intonation training tools and sensor-based musical systems.
Academic appointments at Indiana State and UMass Lowell preceded NYU. Since founding MusEDLab in 2013, Alex has developed collaborations across New York, Shanghai and international educational and cultural settings. He served as NYU Steinhardt’s Music Education Program Director in 2017–2018 and NYU Shanghai’s IMB Area Head in 2021–2026.