Rate My Professor Anita Hardeman

Anita Hardeman, Ph.D., is Professor of Musicology and Director of the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts and Communication at Western Illinois University. She joined the faculty in 2012, advancing from assistant professor to her current professorial rank. Prior to her appointment at WIU, Hardeman taught at the University of Western Ontario, her doctoral alma mater, and served as Visiting Instructor of Music at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. She earned her Ph.D. in 2010 from the University of Western Ontario, completing a dissertation entitled "Re-presenting Vénus: Music, Drama, and Allegory in André Campra and Antoine Danchet's Hésione." Her research focuses on the performative intersections of text, music, staging, and dance in French opera of the 17th and 18th centuries, with particular attention to the musical and dramatic characteristics of the goddess Vénus in French theatrical works. Hardeman has presented her scholarship at major conferences, including the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society and the Biennial International Conference on Baroque Music. Her publications appear in prestigious journals such as Early Music and the Journal of the American Musicological Society. Notable works include her forthcoming article "Travels with Hésione: the tragédie en musique outside Paris," part of a collection from Steglein Press derived from her dissertation research, and she is currently preparing a scholarly edition of André Campra's Hésione.

Hardeman's excellence in teaching has been recognized with several awards: the Provost's Award for Academic Excellence in Teaching in 2019, the College of Fine Arts and Communication Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018, and the Honors College Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2016. She served as Graduate Coordinator for the School of Music from 2019 to 2024, acted as interim director beginning in 2024, and was appointed permanent Director effective July 1, 2025. Additionally, she advises the Beta Omicron chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon and InVoxicated, the WIU A Cappella Association. An avid amateur Baroque dancer, Hardeman enriches her scholarly pursuits with practical engagement in historical performance practices.