JW Turner is an educator, researcher, and musician dedicated to understanding how music shapes identity, culture, and meaning. As an Associate Professor of Music at High Point University, His teaching combines an inclusive, student-centered foundation with the provocations of creative disruption, using methods like gamification and AI integration to challenge norms and inspire growth. Frustrated by the limitations of traditional college music programs, he also conceived and directed a bold curriculum revision that fosters creativity, self-reliance, and community engagement. His research explores the sociology of music, with a focus on the impact of traditional and contemporary music on identity formation in Sangkum-era Cambodia and present-day Japan.