Dr. Stanley Ralph Fink

Visiting Assistant Professor

At Drake University, Stanley Ralph Fink is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory. Previously, he was a lecturer at James Madison University. Fink holds a Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Florida State University, where he was a Legacy Fellow. He also has an M.M. in music theory from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Fink’s research interests include twentieth- and twenty-first century opera, post-tonal analysis, and musical representations of stigma and trauma; additionally, he researches forms and harmony in popular music. His article, "Benjamin Britten's Musical Characterization of the Madwoman in Curlew River" was published in the Journal of Music Theory. His article, "The 'Anchoring vi Schema' and Its Relation to Phrase Rhythm in Popular Music" was published in Popular Music. His chapter, "Embellishing the Verse-Chorus Paradigm: Max Martin and the Descant Chorus" was published in Musical Waves: West Coast Perspectives of Pitch, Narrative, and Form.

Fink has presented his research at both national and regional conferences, including the Society for American Music, the North American British Music Studies Association, and several regional music theory societies. From 2017–2020, Fink served as co-chair for the Music Theory Forum at Florida State University. In 2020, Fink joined the Society for Music Theory’s Development Committee.

An accomplished keyboardist, Fink has served as répétiteur for the Princeton Festival’s opera productions between 2011 and 2019. He studied with Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Shigeo Neriki, and Robert Durso.