Education
PhD (2023), Music Education, Western University.
M.Mus. (2017), Music Education, Western University.
B.Ed. (2016), Redeemer University; Ontario College of Teachers Certified.
ARCT (2015), Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto (Piano Performance).
BA (2015), Music Major (Piano Performance), Redeemer University.
Courses
- Keyboard Proficiency I (MUS-104)
- Keyboard Proficiency II (MUS-105)
- Keyboard Proficiency III (MUS-106)
- Foundations of Worship (MUS-131)
- Worship Band Instrumental Skills (MUS-211)
- Worship in the Christian Church (MUS-310)
- Music in Culture (MUS-322)
- World Musics (MUS-326)
- Worship Music Leadership (MUS-332)
- Senior Recital/ Lecture Recital (MUS-390/490)
About
Laura Benjamins is an Assistant Professor of Music and Program Lead of Music at Redeemer University. Laura holds a PhD and M.Mus. from Western University, an ARCT in Piano Performance through the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and has a BA in Music and a B.Ed. from Redeemer University. Her research explores the interdisciplinary connections between church music and music education. Laura’s experiences as an elementary music educator and active church musician continue to shape her teaching and research interests. Laura teaches courses in Foundations of Worship, Worship Band Instrumental Skills, World Musics, and Music in Culture.
Research Interests
- Contemporary Worship Music, liturgical theology, church worship, congregational participation
- Music education; formal, informal, non-formal music learning; popular music education
- Experiential learning & reflective practice
Selected Research Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Benjamins, Laura. “Habitus formation through Contemporary Worship Music in two church cases: Implications for intergenerational worship.” Religions 16, no. 2 (2025): 237.
Benjamins, Laura, and Anneli L. Thiessen. “Fun, trendy, upbeat: Musical tastes, social conditioning, and contemporary worship music for kids.” Religions 16, no. 4 (2025): 472.
Hodgson, Aaron, and Laura Benjamins. “‘A teacher by day and performer by night’: Performer-educator identity tensions in a graduate community of practice course.” Music Education Research 27, no. 3 (2025): 332-345.
Benjamins, Laura. “An analysis of researcher positionality in religious worship contexts.” Transform: New Voices in Community Music 1, no. 4 (2022): 78-91.
Benjamins, Laura. “Musicking as liturgical speech acts: An examination of contemporary worship music practices.” Studia Liturgica, 2021.
Benjamins, Laura, Sophie L. Roland, and Kelly Bylica. “The complexities of meaningful experiential learning: Developing a model of reflective practice in music performance education.” International Journal of Music Education 40, no. 2 (2021): 163-176.
Bylica, K., Roland, S. L., and Laura Benjamins. “Brokering reflective spaces in experiential learning: Interdisciplinary engagements in a summer opera program.” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 2021.
Benjamins, Laura. “Learning through praise: How Christian worship band musicians learn.” Journal of Popular Music Education 3, no. 3 (2019): 417-433.
Book Chapters
Benjamins, Laura. “The why and how of contemporary worship music leadership: Connections to popular music education pedagogy.” In The why and how of popular music education: A Canadian perspective, edited by S. Giddings and D. Hamilton. Steve’s Music Room Publishing (accepted).
Benjamins, Laura. “Caring through dialogical relations in community music settings.” In The Oxford handbook of care in music education, edited by K. Hendricks, 103-114. Oxford University Press, 2023.
Benjamins, Laura. “Facilitating relational spaces of musicking: A music educator’s practice of care.” In Authentic Connection: Music, Spirituality, and Wellbeing, edited by K. Hendricks & J. Boyce-Tillman. Peter Lang, 2021.
Practitioner/Trade Journal Publications
Benjamins, Laura. “Refocusing one’s practices: Extending community music principles into formal education contexts.” Massachusetts Music Educators Journal 71, no. 3 (2023): 43-44.
Benjamins, Laura. “Immigrant families, music education, and social mobility in Canada.” Canadian Music Educator 59, no. 3 (2018): 5-10.
Presentations
Benjamins, Laura. “Pedagogy through Praise: Age-Diverse Approaches to Music Learning and Theological Formation in Contemporary Worship Music.” Presentation at the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music Conference, Trinity Christian College, Illinois, February 26, 2026.
Research Funding
SSHRC Insight Grant with Dr. Aaron Hodgson (Western University), April 2026-March 2029
Teacher-Scholar Grant, Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, 2026-2027
SSHRC Explore Grant for Summer Undergraduate Research Support, Redeemer University, 2025
Internal Research Grant, Redeemer University, 2025
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, 2020-2023
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), 2019-2021
Collaborative Grant Funded Research through Western University Teaching Fellows Program (for Dr. Sophie Roland)