Frank Lehman

I am an Associate Professor of Music at Tufts University, and hold degrees from Brown University (B.A.) and Harvard University (PhD). As a music theorist, I am interested in how music works and what effects it has on its listeners. My research interests span a wide variety of subjects, from film and multimedia, to symphonies (especially those by underrepresented composers) to contemporary ambient music. My primary specialization is the music of composer John Williams.

Books

I am currently writing a new book The Skywalker Symphonies: Musical Storytelling in Star Wars, under contract with Oxford University Press. The first truly synthetic book on John Williams’s contribution to this famous series from 1977 through present day, The Skywalker Symphonies will bring together music history, music criticism, and a whole lot of music analysis, offering a perspective that is both comprehensive and deep on this cycle of nine monumental film scores. Keep an eye out on this page for many more updates in months to come!

My first book, entitled Hollywood Harmony: Musical Wonder and the Sound of Cinema, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. This book examines the way that music in American cinema structures a filmgoer’s experience of both narrative and temporality, and it focuses especially on the evocation of the affect of wonder through non-functional ‘pantriadic’ chromaticism.

My newest book is an multi-author volume with Routledge Press, entitled Music Analysis and Film: Studying the Score, with a stellar line up of distinguished music theorists of film: Chelsea Oden, Rebecca Eaton, Scott Murphy, Andrew Powell, Janet Bourne, Táhirih Motazedian, Charity Lofthouse, Erik Heine, Juan Chattah, and James Buhler. You can order this book now!

Public Musicology

My work on film music has shown up in some prominent public venues. In 2023, The New York Times published a major interactive article on subject of scoring action scenes in the Indiana Jones series. You can check it out it here. (Be sure to have your speakers on!)

I also recently contributed to a segment on the “Press Play with Madeleine Brand” show on KCRW on the lesser-known scores of John Williams you can listen to here.

My work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Chronicle of Higher Ed, NPR (KERA, UPR, WBUR, WFAE, & KCRW), The Boston Globe, The Ringer, and an ever-increasing number of podcasts and interviews. Public Musicology and outreach are extremely important to me: I have given talks on musical structure, meaning, and psychology at a variety of venues, including at the opening season of the Tanglewood Learning Institute in Lenox MA.

My catalogue of the musical themes of Star Wars, accessible on this site, has been widely shared and publicized; be sure to check it often to see what’s been updated and added lately. I’ve also put together thematic catalogues for Williams’s contributions to the Indiana Jones (including the Dial of Destiny!) and Home Alone series, and have plenty more planned. Stay tuned!

Professional Activities

At Tufts, I serve as the Music Theory Coordinator for the Music Department, and also sit on the Academic Awards Committee. In Fall 2024 I’ll assume the roll of Director of Graduate Studies at Tufts Music. I’ve previously served as Director of Undergraduate Studies, as well as Secretary for the New England Conference of Music Theorists and the Vice Chair for the Film & Multimedia Interest Group at the Society for Music Theory. I served as the Reviews Editor for Music Theory Spectrum and have sat on the editorial board for several music journals, including The Journal of Film Music and Journal of the Society for American Music.

I am available for talks, lectures, interviews, and classroom visits. I’ve also provided expert consultation for legal disputes on matters of musical intellectual property.

Feel free to peruse and download anything you find on my personal site, and reach out to me (frank.lehman@tufts.edu) if there’s anything you’d like to hear more about!

Contact Me