Eric Rasmussen, PhD in Music Education, chairs the Peabody Preparatory’s Early Childhood Music department and is a music specialist at two Hopkins-affiliated early childhood learning centers. Rasmussen has been on the forefront of early childhood music education research and has authored a songbook for early childhood music educators which includes a special sequence for teaching harmony to very young children. He composes music for children ages birth to 9 years old and presents at regional, national, and international conferences including for the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association, the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML), the Zero To Three Annual Conference, and the Maryland State Department of Education Early Childhood Research Forum. He is currently performing research in music aptitude and has specialized in the Music Learning Theory of Edwin Gordon, preeminent researcher, educator, and author in music education, with whom Rasmussen personally studied for three years at Temple University. Rasmussen is a co-recipient of the Preparatory 2008 Excellence in Teaching Award. He plays trumpet with local bands whenever possible and specializes in traditional jazz.