FSU Professor Frank Gunderson: A Closer Look at The Music Man

It might be a tall task to find someone who has devoted as much of their life to music as Frank Gunderson, a long-time professor at FSU. That commitment and his love for music have also helped define who he is and who he has become. Who that person is and who he has become is a teacher, a world traveler, a composer, an author, and a filmmaker.

Professor of Musicology

Many might know Gunderson as the Professor of Musicology at Florida State University. A position that he earned through years of study. Through his formative music years, he earned his bachelor’s from Evergreen State College.

He continued from there, attending and earning his master’s and eventually Ph.D. from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Though now a valued member of the FSU staff, Frank Gunderson has also taught music at prestigious educational venues such as Ohio University and the University of Michigan.

Student of Music

Not all of his teaching positions, however, were held in a traditional school or classroom. In fact, many of the opportunities he has had to teach music haven’t even been in the United States. Gunderson has taught music at a secondary school in Kenya and has spent considerable time studying many aspects of culture and music.

These studies and his research in these areas of music were also much of the great impetus behind many of his documentaries and writings. Additionally, his work and accomplishments have been supported by recognized by Fulbright in the form of honoring him with the Distinguished Chair Award in 2022.

The Music Man: Frank Gunderson

Accolades for Gunderson’s work have also earned him recognition from organizations like the National Endowment for the Humanities, the aforementioned Fulbright, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, among others.

This is FSU Professor Frank Gunderson, a man defined by music, and the power it has to create change and change lives.