Richard Nelson is Professor and Head of Music Theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  He received a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Ph.D. from Eastman School of Music. He studied harmony and Solfège with Nadia Boulanger, Conservatoire Americaine, Fontainebleau, France. He is former associate professor of music at Mercer University and former instructor at Eastman School of Music. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Music Theory, Gamut, Journal of Musicological Research and College Music Symposium. He has presented papers at regional and national meetings of the Society for Music Theory, American Musicological Society, The College Music Society, and others. He is former president of the Georgia Association of Music Theorists and Music Theory Southeast, and a published composer. He is a reader for the Graduate Record Examination in Music and for the Advanced Placement Test in Music for the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey. He is a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, Society for Music Theory, and the American Guild of Organists. He was appointed to the CIM faculty in 1996.