She is the associate provost for strategic initiatives in the Office of Academic Affairs and previously served as associate dean of research and global engagement in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of choral music, music education, music research, and world music and cultures and has served as a core faculty member for the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dekaney earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred music (piano) at the Seminário Teológico Batista do Sul do Brasil and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the Universidade Federal Fluminense. She continued her studies in the United States, earning a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City under Eph Ehly and a Ph.D. in choral music education from the Florida State University under André Thomas, Judy Bowers, Clifford Madsen, and Rodney Eichenberger.

As a conductor, music educator, and scholar, Dekaney has presented at various interdisciplinary conferences and music symposia. She has conducted all-state choirs, honor choirs, and choral festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Her choral arrangements of Brazilian folksongs for middle school choirs are published by Carl Fischer, BriLee, and La Voz Music Publishing. Her latest book, “Music at the Intersection of Brazilian Culture: An Introduction to Music, Race, and Food” (Routledge, 2021), takes an interdisciplinary approach by utilizing several aspects of Brazilian music, race, and food as a window into understanding Brazilian culture, with music at the core.

An active researcher, Dekaney’s scholarly research focuses on aesthetic responses to music, world music and cultures, International Phonetic Alphabet, Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian culture, and clinical simulation applied to music education. She has published books, book chapters, and articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education, The Choral Journal, International Education, Music Educators Journal, Contributions to Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and Update. She is currently a research partner with the Social & Affective Neuroscience Institute, an interdisciplinary and international, multi-institutional group of researchers seeking knowledge that will aid in conflict resolution, promote cooperation, and solve complex challenges while elevating respect for human collectivity and diversity.

Dekaney and her husband, Joshua Dekaney, are the founders and directors of Samba Laranja, Syracuse University’s Brazilian Music Ensemble. Under their direction, the group has performed numerous concerts for K-12 schools, churches, and communities across the northeastern United States and several times at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Additionally, Samba Laranja is the recipient of three Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMY) for Best Recording Other Style for the recordings “Native Orange” (2011), “Pathways” (2015), and “Guaraná” (2019).

As part of her service to her profession, Dekaney has served for several years in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) as repertoire and standards chair for ethnic and multicultural perspectives in New York State and the Eastern Region. She also served as chair of the Special Research Interest Group in Learning and Development of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). As a member of the ACCelerate Festival of Creativity and Innovation steering committee, she engaged in curatorial work to support an interdisciplinary festival sponsored by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) institutions and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Currently she serves on the ACDA Research and Publication National Standing Committee.

Civic Morning Musicals awarded Dekaney the 2006 Paul and Veronica Abel Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Choral Performance and the 2015 Tiffany Award for Outstanding Service to the Cause of Music. She was also a recipient of the 2007 VPA Outstanding Faculty Award and the 2017 Visionary Community Award (Hispanic Heritage). She was a 2011 fellow with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Curt Silberman Seminar and a 2018 fellow with the ACC Academic Leaders Network.

Education

• Ph.D., Florida State University
• M.M., University of Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music
• Bachelor’s degree, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Bachelor’s degree, Seminário Teológico Batista do Sul do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Expertise

Choral music, music education, music research, world and music cultures