He also teaches courses in music theory and analysis. He received a bachelor's magna cum laude from Northern State College, South Dakota and received his master's and docorate in music theory from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has numerous publications and papers to his credit. Bruns is writing a book on the music of American composer George Crumb. His other research interests are 19th-century music (in particular, Schubert, Brahms, and Gustav and Alma Mahler), Schenkerian theory, and theory pedagogy. To find out more, visit Brun's website.