Nathan Irby

Nathan Irby is a visiting assistant professor of instrumental music education at Virginia Tech, where he teaches band methods, instrumental techniques, and introduction to music technology. Prior to his appointment at Virginia Tech, he served as a graduate assistant at The Ohio State University while completing his Ph.D., teaching similar coursework. During his time at OSU, Irby was recognized for outstanding teaching by the music education area (2022–23), the College of Arts and Sciences (2023–24), and the university graduate school (2024–25).

Before entering higher education full time, Irby spent nine years as a public school band director in Roseburg and Salem, Oregon, and from 2015 to 2017, he served as an adjunct jazz ensemble instructor at Umpqua Community College. Ensembles under his direction earned numerous awards at regional festivals. While completing his master’s degree, he was a graduate teaching fellow at the University of Oregon, working with music education students and athletic bands.

His research focuses on the mental wellbeing of music educators and school jazz ensemble pedagogy, and his scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Oregon Music Educator Journal, and TRIAD: The Official Publication of the Ohio Music Education Association.

Irby earned a Ph.D. in music education from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Music Education, a Bachelor of Music Education, and a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Oregon. He has served as chair and contest manager for the OSAA State Solo Event and was a member of the Oregon Band Directors Association IDEA Committee.