Kendra Kay Friar, Ed.D., is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Previously, Kendra taught elementary methods at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR, and served as Associate Conductor of Pacific Youth Choir in Portland, OR. She also taught elementary-general music for several years in the Portland Metro region and in Texas public schools. In 2021, Kendra received the Excellence in Elementary Music Education Award from Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA).
Kendra is the Academic Editor of the Journal of General Music Education (JGME). She also serves on NAfME’s Equity Committee and Professional Learning Program Committee.
Kendra has presented sessions and webinars at national, regional, and state conferences, most recently at ACDA’s 2025 National Conference and Iowa ACDA’s 2025 Summer Symposium. Her practitioner-focused work has been published in Music Educators Journal, Journal of General Music Education, Teaching Music Magazine, and Lorenz Publications’ Activate! magazine. Kendra is also a collaborative pianist who performs regularly in school, community, and professional settings.
Kendra holds an Ed.D. in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership – Diversity and Equity Concentration – from the University of Illinois. She completed music education degrees from The University of Texas (M.M.) and The University of Illinois (B.S., Elementary-General Specialization). Her research interests include critical historical discourse analysis; music education history; cultural plurality in curricular contexts; and American modernism.
