About
The purpose of the Dallas InterArts Salon is to merge the presentation of art by local artists with
community exploration of ideas inhered within works of art. Co-directors Justin Proffitt and Julia West hold doctoral degrees from Columbia University's Graduate School of Education, Health and Psychology.
Dr. Justin Proffitt
Justin Proffitt holds a Doctorate and a Master’s in Music and Music Education from Columbia University Teachers College, New York, NY, and a Master’s in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ. His undergraduate degree is in Piano Performance, and he is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through Music Teachers National Association. Justin’s doctoral research and dissertation (Proffitt, 2021) explore the lived experiences of individuals who play an active role in navigating their relationship between life as lived and life as narrated. His work approaches personal autobiography through phenomenology as both philosophy and practice. He teaches applied piano independently and has formerly served as an adjunct faculty member of both Westminster Choir College and The College of New Jersey. As a pianist, Justin has performed as a solo and collaborative pianist, including inter-arts collaborations with dancers and choreographers.
Dr. Julia West
Julia West completed her Doctor of Education in Music and Music Education at Columbia University, having graduated summa cum laude with a Master's degree in Performance and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas. Sponsored by the Columbia University Fulbright Campus Representative and Office of International Affairs, Julia received Erasmus Funding for short-term study in Limerick, Ireland in 2019. Julia has also studied abroad at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy and received a Marion Flagg Memorial Scholarship given by Sigma Alpha Iota for study at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Additionally, Julia was selected and awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for study at the J.S. Bach Institute in Leipzig, Eisenach, and Potsdam, Germany. As an early career researcher, Julia’s writings appear in peer-reviewed journals, the International Journal of Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music and in American Music Teacher, in collaboration with Justin Proffitt. She currently serves as Managing Editor of Visions of Research in Music Education.