Meet the membership
This page includes information on our membership including institutional affiliation, research interests and brief biographical information. If you wish to be included on this list, please email the webmaster with name, affiliation, and brief (ca. 100 word) biography. The membership is listed in alphabetical order.
Members are encouraged to pay dues to the Society for Ethnomusicology and to join the section's listserv.
Members are encouraged to pay dues to the Society for Ethnomusicology and to join the section's listserv.
Hannah Adamy, University of California, Davis, PhD student
Hannah Adamy is a graduate student in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Davis. She also holds a master's degree in performance studies from Texas A&M University. Her research explores processes of identity construction and negotiation through voice, as well as sensory experiences of voice for vocalists and listeners. Currently, Hannah is designing her multi-sited dissertation research on the politics of throated singing techniques. She is committed to researching and writing in alliance with indigenous peoples.
Hannah Adamy is a graduate student in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Davis. She also holds a master's degree in performance studies from Texas A&M University. Her research explores processes of identity construction and negotiation through voice, as well as sensory experiences of voice for vocalists and listeners. Currently, Hannah is designing her multi-sited dissertation research on the politics of throated singing techniques. She is committed to researching and writing in alliance with indigenous peoples.
Theresa A. Allison, University of California, San Francisco, faculty member
Theresa is an associate clinical professor of medicine and family and community medicine at the UCSF Division of San Francisco. She is interested in the effects of singing in senior center community choirs upon diverse communities of urban elders. Although she is no longer engaged in Navajo Studies, she maintains her commitment to Shiprock Chapter to train physicians who can provide competent care for Indigenous communities. She also serves in a career mentorship role for Indigenous pre-med, professional, and postdoctoral trainees.
Theresa is an associate clinical professor of medicine and family and community medicine at the UCSF Division of San Francisco. She is interested in the effects of singing in senior center community choirs upon diverse communities of urban elders. Although she is no longer engaged in Navajo Studies, she maintains her commitment to Shiprock Chapter to train physicians who can provide competent care for Indigenous communities. She also serves in a career mentorship role for Indigenous pre-med, professional, and postdoctoral trainees.
Harold Anderson, One World Living Art
Harold Anderson is an ethnographer, folklorist, musician, and composer. He holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland, a M.Mus. from Otago University, Dunedin New Zealand, and a B.A. from St. John’s College, Annapolis Maryland. His dissertation, “A Confluence of Streams: Music and Identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand,” focuses on how indigenous, marginal and minority populations and other subaltern groups reflexively and collectively form identities in interaction with dominant groups. His area studies include Pacific, African and African American and other diasporic communities. These communities are also a focus of his academic and applied research.
Harold Anderson is an ethnographer, folklorist, musician, and composer. He holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland, a M.Mus. from Otago University, Dunedin New Zealand, and a B.A. from St. John’s College, Annapolis Maryland. His dissertation, “A Confluence of Streams: Music and Identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand,” focuses on how indigenous, marginal and minority populations and other subaltern groups reflexively and collectively form identities in interaction with dominant groups. His area studies include Pacific, African and African American and other diasporic communities. These communities are also a focus of his academic and applied research.
Dawn Avery (Mohawk), Montgomery College, faculty member
Juan Castrillon, University of Pennsylvania, PhD candidate
Juan pursues doctoral studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Anthropology from the University of Antioquia, in Colombia, where he was awarded a distinguished thesis prize. His intellectual agenda explores music and general theories about space and composite anatomies. His work is primarily ethnographic, conducting fieldwork in Turkey and Northwestern Amazon. His methods include collaborative projects for producing texts, films, digital archives, multimodal installations, and radio.
Juan pursues doctoral studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Anthropology from the University of Antioquia, in Colombia, where he was awarded a distinguished thesis prize. His intellectual agenda explores music and general theories about space and composite anatomies. His work is primarily ethnographic, conducting fieldwork in Turkey and Northwestern Amazon. His methods include collaborative projects for producing texts, films, digital archives, multimodal installations, and radio.
James E. Cunningham, Florida Atlantic University, faculty member
Beverley Diamond, Memorial University of Newfoundland, emerita faculty member
Charlotte Frisbie, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, emerita faculty member
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, she graduated cum laude from Smith College with a music major in 1962, earned an MA in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in 1964, and a PhD in Anthropology from University of New Mexico in 1970. A past president of SEM and co-founder of the Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. with the late David Brugge, she continues both anthropological and ethnomusicological research and writing. Some of her research interests include food sovereignty, indigenous knowledge, ritual drama, historic preservation, gender studies, and SEM’s history.
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, she graduated cum laude from Smith College with a music major in 1962, earned an MA in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in 1964, and a PhD in Anthropology from University of New Mexico in 1970. A past president of SEM and co-founder of the Navajo Studies Conference, Inc. with the late David Brugge, she continues both anthropological and ethnomusicological research and writing. Some of her research interests include food sovereignty, indigenous knowledge, ritual drama, historic preservation, gender studies, and SEM’s history.
Richard Haefer, Arizona State University, emeritus faculty member
Richard is an ethnomusicologist, musicologist, and musician with interests in the indigenous musics and music instruments of North (O'odham, et al) and Central American (Guarijio, Rarámuri), and Colombia. Additional he works with medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque musics of Europe and the New World (specifically Gregorian Chant, Renaissance polyphony and Colonial musics of Mexico, California, and New Granada)
Richard is an ethnomusicologist, musicologist, and musician with interests in the indigenous musics and music instruments of North (O'odham, et al) and Central American (Guarijio, Rarámuri), and Colombia. Additional he works with medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque musics of Europe and the New World (specifically Gregorian Chant, Renaissance polyphony and Colonial musics of Mexico, California, and New Granada)
Chad S. Hamill (Spokan), Northern Arizona University, faculty member
Chad S. Hamill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies and Special Advisor to the President on Native American Affairs at Northern Arizona University. His current project explores how traditional Indigenous songs reflect and embody physical landscapes within Indigenous communities and/or their ancestral territories.
Chad S. Hamill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies and Special Advisor to the President on Native American Affairs at Northern Arizona University. His current project explores how traditional Indigenous songs reflect and embody physical landscapes within Indigenous communities and/or their ancestral territories.
Charlotte Heth, University of California, Los Angeles, emerita faculty member
Irene Karongo Hundleby, University of Otago, PhD candidate
Irene is currently conducting PhD research exploring how women's identities and roles are composed and performed, expressed and constructed within women's music in Lau-Baelelea, North Malaita, Solomon Islands. This project aims to give a voice to North Malaitan women—allowing them to honestly and accurately share and describe their cultures and their music. As a bicultural researcher (Solomon Island-New Zealand) Irene is focused on using and developing collaborative methods that embrace indigenous epistemologies and values. Irene also co-owns 'Relics' an independent music/record store and online music store operating from Dunedin, New Zealand.
Irene is currently conducting PhD research exploring how women's identities and roles are composed and performed, expressed and constructed within women's music in Lau-Baelelea, North Malaita, Solomon Islands. This project aims to give a voice to North Malaitan women—allowing them to honestly and accurately share and describe their cultures and their music. As a bicultural researcher (Solomon Island-New Zealand) Irene is focused on using and developing collaborative methods that embrace indigenous epistemologies and values. Irene also co-owns 'Relics' an independent music/record store and online music store operating from Dunedin, New Zealand.
Justin R. Hunter, University of Arkansas, faculty member
Justin is lecturer at the University of Arkansas where he teaches on world, Western art, and popular musics. He also teaches graduate seminars on globalization and ethnomusicology theory and history. His research interests center on global Indigenous social movements and ethnic tourism. With concentrations in Indigenous, Japanese, and tourism studies, Justin’s research focuses on the Indigenous Ainu of Japan and globalization theory. Justin is developing projects that will further explore the meanings and issues of global Indigeneity with cross-cultural and comparative studies between Asia, the Pacific, and North America. Additionally, he is interested in Japanese wartime histories, Ozark folk music, and applied ethnomusicology.
Justin is lecturer at the University of Arkansas where he teaches on world, Western art, and popular musics. He also teaches graduate seminars on globalization and ethnomusicology theory and history. His research interests center on global Indigenous social movements and ethnic tourism. With concentrations in Indigenous, Japanese, and tourism studies, Justin’s research focuses on the Indigenous Ainu of Japan and globalization theory. Justin is developing projects that will further explore the meanings and issues of global Indigeneity with cross-cultural and comparative studies between Asia, the Pacific, and North America. Additionally, he is interested in Japanese wartime histories, Ozark folk music, and applied ethnomusicology.
Kristina Jacobsen, University of New Mexico, faculty member
Kristina is an Assistant Professor of Music and Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. Her research centers around voice, expressive culture and the politics of indigenous identity. Her forthcoming book, Indian Cowboys: Diné Country Music and the Politics of Language and Belonging, is based on two and half years of singing, learning Navajo, and playing lapsteel guitar with country bands on the Navajo Nation. A performing singer/songwriter and country artist, Kristina teaches classes in songwriting, honky tonk performance, global indigenous media, music and language, and the anthropology of music.
Kristina is an Assistant Professor of Music and Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. Her research centers around voice, expressive culture and the politics of indigenous identity. Her forthcoming book, Indian Cowboys: Diné Country Music and the Politics of Language and Belonging, is based on two and half years of singing, learning Navajo, and playing lapsteel guitar with country bands on the Navajo Nation. A performing singer/songwriter and country artist, Kristina teaches classes in songwriting, honky tonk performance, global indigenous media, music and language, and the anthropology of music.
Elaine Keillor, Carleton University, emerita faculty member
Elaine Keillor, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, has devoted her research to several areas including the development of the piano quartet, the discovery and performance of Canadian historical and contemporary compositions, and the musical traditions of the First Peoples of North America. She introduced the first Canadian university course devoted to the musical expressions of Canadian Indigenous people. Keillor is the author of numerous essays and encyclopedia entries as well as three books – John Weinzweig: The Radical Romantic (1994), Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity (2006), and Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America (2013).
Elaine Keillor, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, has devoted her research to several areas including the development of the piano quartet, the discovery and performance of Canadian historical and contemporary compositions, and the musical traditions of the First Peoples of North America. She introduced the first Canadian university course devoted to the musical expressions of Canadian Indigenous people. Keillor is the author of numerous essays and encyclopedia entries as well as three books – John Weinzweig: The Radical Romantic (1994), Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity (2006), and Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America (2013).
Ryan Coons, University of California, Los Angeles, faculty member
Ryan A Koons, University of California, Los Angeles, faculty member
Ryan is a lecturer in UCLA's Departments of Musicology and of World Arts & Cultures where he teaches courses in music history and field methods and directs the UCLA Early Music Ensemble. His primary research addresses Indigenous relationships with nonhuman persons via ecological ritual performance practice and derives from over a decade of collaboration with the Muskogee Creek Apalachicola Tribal Town. A recent co-authored publication, "The Politics of Performing the Other" in Ethnomusicology Review, is based on an early music concert he designed and directed of repertoire from the "Age of Discovery." He also conducts research on early music performance communities, Scandinavian folk music, black liberation movements, and others.
Ryan A Koons, University of California, Los Angeles, faculty member
Ryan is a lecturer in UCLA's Departments of Musicology and of World Arts & Cultures where he teaches courses in music history and field methods and directs the UCLA Early Music Ensemble. His primary research addresses Indigenous relationships with nonhuman persons via ecological ritual performance practice and derives from over a decade of collaboration with the Muskogee Creek Apalachicola Tribal Town. A recent co-authored publication, "The Politics of Performing the Other" in Ethnomusicology Review, is based on an early music concert he designed and directed of repertoire from the "Age of Discovery." He also conducts research on early music performance communities, Scandinavian folk music, black liberation movements, and others.
Victoria Lindsay Levine, Colorado College, faculty member
Victoria Lindsay Levine has taught ethnomusicology and Southwest Studies at Colorado College since 1988. Most of her research involves collaborations with Native peoples of Oklahoma whose ancestors originated in the Southeast. In addition to the work listed in the “ographies,” she has published numerous articles in sources such as the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, revised edition. Levine’s other research interests include Spanish New Mexican music and music curricula at liberal arts colleges.
Victoria Lindsay Levine has taught ethnomusicology and Southwest Studies at Colorado College since 1988. Most of her research involves collaborations with Native peoples of Oklahoma whose ancestors originated in the Southeast. In addition to the work listed in the “ographies,” she has published numerous articles in sources such as the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, revised edition. Levine’s other research interests include Spanish New Mexican music and music curricula at liberal arts colleges.
Liz Przybylski, University of California, Riverside, faculty member
Liz Przybylski is an interdisciplinary popular music scholar who specializes in hip hop practices in the United States and Canada. Recent and forthcoming publications in academic journals and edited volumes focus on both her ethnographic research in hip hop communities and also popular music pedagogy. An Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Riverside, she teaches a variety of courses on popular music, Indigenous music, and gender and sexuality studies. Liz earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research with hip hop musicians and broadcasters in Winnipeg. Her research uses a hybrid ethnographic method to investigate the sampling of heritage music in Indigenous hip hop and analyze how the circulation of this music in urban environments contributes to continuing dialogues about cultural change. On radio, Liz hosted the world music show “Continental Drift” on WNUR in Chicago and broadcasted interviews with musicians for programs including “At The Edge of Canada: Indigenous Research” on CJUM in Winnipeg.
Liz Przybylski is an interdisciplinary popular music scholar who specializes in hip hop practices in the United States and Canada. Recent and forthcoming publications in academic journals and edited volumes focus on both her ethnographic research in hip hop communities and also popular music pedagogy. An Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Riverside, she teaches a variety of courses on popular music, Indigenous music, and gender and sexuality studies. Liz earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research with hip hop musicians and broadcasters in Winnipeg. Her research uses a hybrid ethnographic method to investigate the sampling of heritage music in Indigenous hip hop and analyze how the circulation of this music in urban environments contributes to continuing dialogues about cultural change. On radio, Liz hosted the world music show “Continental Drift” on WNUR in Chicago and broadcasted interviews with musicians for programs including “At The Edge of Canada: Indigenous Research” on CJUM in Winnipeg.
Magda Pucci, Leiden University, PhD student
Musician, musical producer, musicologist, music educator, Magda has developed an extensive research agenda in music from the world since 1993. Her main activity is producing and directing Mawaca band (www.mawaca.com.br), where she conducts research on songs, arrangements, and performances. Magda graduated in music (Conducting) at University of São Paulo and got her master's degree in anthropology at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo where she developed research on Amazonia indigenous music and audio archiving. She is now a PhD student in creative arts and performance and cultural musicology at Leiden University in Holland. For 13 years, Magda hosted the first Brazilian world music radio show, “Planeta Som,” broadcasted by USP–FM in São Paulo and by MULTIKULTI in Germany and Sweden. Additionally, she writing music education textbooks about indigenous Brazilian musics. She directed the “Mediterranean Orchestra,” a project with 21 musicians from all over the Mediterranean that resulted in a CD and DVD produced by SESC. Magda worked as a volunteer at Meninos do Morumbi Ação Comunitária ONGs and directed a group of African Refugees based in São Paulo and many others projects.
Musician, musical producer, musicologist, music educator, Magda has developed an extensive research agenda in music from the world since 1993. Her main activity is producing and directing Mawaca band (www.mawaca.com.br), where she conducts research on songs, arrangements, and performances. Magda graduated in music (Conducting) at University of São Paulo and got her master's degree in anthropology at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo where she developed research on Amazonia indigenous music and audio archiving. She is now a PhD student in creative arts and performance and cultural musicology at Leiden University in Holland. For 13 years, Magda hosted the first Brazilian world music radio show, “Planeta Som,” broadcasted by USP–FM in São Paulo and by MULTIKULTI in Germany and Sweden. Additionally, she writing music education textbooks about indigenous Brazilian musics. She directed the “Mediterranean Orchestra,” a project with 21 musicians from all over the Mediterranean that resulted in a CD and DVD produced by SESC. Magda worked as a volunteer at Meninos do Morumbi Ação Comunitária ONGs and directed a group of African Refugees based in São Paulo and many others projects.
Jacob Rekedal, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, faculty member
Jacob Rekedal is a visiting professor of ethnomusicology at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile, and holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside. He lives in southern Chile, where he has conducted fieldwork on popular music from a Mapuche perspective since 2009, with support from the UC Pacific Rim Research Program, Fulbright, and the Chilean government. Since 2015, Rekedal has served as the Chile Liaison Officer to the International Council for Traditional Music.
Jacob Rekedal is a visiting professor of ethnomusicology at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile, and holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside. He lives in southern Chile, where he has conducted fieldwork on popular music from a Mapuche perspective since 2009, with support from the UC Pacific Rim Research Program, Fulbright, and the Chilean government. Since 2015, Rekedal has served as the Chile Liaison Officer to the International Council for Traditional Music.
Dylan Robinson (Stó:lō), Queen's University, faculty member
Dylan Robinson is a Stó:lō scholar who holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts at Queen’s University, located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. Dr. Robinson’s research spans a range of topics including Indigenous composition, the politics of Indigenous inclusion and recognition in classical music; Indigenous ontologies of music; and Indigenous sound art. These areas of research are united by a common theoretical concern with the sensory and affective politics of sound. Recent publications include the collection Opera Indigene: Re/Presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures (Ashgate, 2011) which examines operatic representations of First Peoples and the lesser-known history of opera created by Indigenous composers and artists, and Arts of Engagement: Taking Aesthetic Action In and Beyond the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2016).
Dylan Robinson is a Stó:lō scholar who holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts at Queen’s University, located on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. Dr. Robinson’s research spans a range of topics including Indigenous composition, the politics of Indigenous inclusion and recognition in classical music; Indigenous ontologies of music; and Indigenous sound art. These areas of research are united by a common theoretical concern with the sensory and affective politics of sound. Recent publications include the collection Opera Indigene: Re/Presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures (Ashgate, 2011) which examines operatic representations of First Peoples and the lesser-known history of opera created by Indigenous composers and artists, and Arts of Engagement: Taking Aesthetic Action In and Beyond the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2016).
Brenda Romero, University of Colorado at Boulder, faculty member
David Samuels, New York University, faculty member
Anthony (Tony) Seeger, UCLA, emeritus faculty member; Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, director emeritus
Tony is an ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, audiovisual archivist, and musician. His research and applied activities have focused on the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon region of Brazil. He is the author of three books on the Kĩsêdjê/Suyá Indians in Brazil, among them Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People, and over 120 articles on anthropology, ethnomusicology, audiovisual archiving, music ownership, and intangible cultural heritage. He has served as director of three audiovisual archives, taught at three universities, and been President of the Society for Ethnomusicology and the International Council for Traditional Music. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Tony is an ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, audiovisual archivist, and musician. His research and applied activities have focused on the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon region of Brazil. He is the author of three books on the Kĩsêdjê/Suyá Indians in Brazil, among them Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People, and over 120 articles on anthropology, ethnomusicology, audiovisual archiving, music ownership, and intangible cultural heritage. He has served as director of three audiovisual archives, taught at three universities, and been President of the Society for Ethnomusicology and the International Council for Traditional Music. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Laurel Sercombe, University of Washington, Archivist, Ethnomusicology Program
Elyse Carter Vosen, The College of St. Scholastica, faculty member
Elyse Carter Vosen is associate professor of Global, Cultural, and Language Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at The College of St. Scholastica. She has worked closely with members of Anishinaabe communities in northern Minnesota for seventeen years and taught Ojibwe language for fourteen. Her dissertation, “Seventh Fire Children” explored drum and dance performance as decolonizing forces in the lives of Anishinaabe young people. She co-authored the “Ojibwe” music article in the American New Grove (2nd ed.) and wrote “We Need More Than Love: Three Generations of North American Indigenous Protest Singers” in the 2013 Routledge volume on Music and Social Protest. She lives with her husband David and her children Abigail and Zipporah in Duluth, MN.
Elyse Carter Vosen is associate professor of Global, Cultural, and Language Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at The College of St. Scholastica. She has worked closely with members of Anishinaabe communities in northern Minnesota for seventeen years and taught Ojibwe language for fourteen. Her dissertation, “Seventh Fire Children” explored drum and dance performance as decolonizing forces in the lives of Anishinaabe young people. She co-authored the “Ojibwe” music article in the American New Grove (2nd ed.) and wrote “We Need More Than Love: Three Generations of North American Indigenous Protest Singers” in the 2013 Routledge volume on Music and Social Protest. She lives with her husband David and her children Abigail and Zipporah in Duluth, MN.
Nolan Warden, University of California, Los Angeles, faculty member
Nolan Warden is a lecturer in ethnomusicology at UCLA where he also earned his PhD. His dissertation on Wixárika (Huichol) music of Mexico studied the historical adaptations of Spanish and Mestizo instruments and musical practices into Wixárika life. His research focused primarily on the history of Mexican popular music in Wixárika communities, the use of Indigenous identity in performances for non-Indigenous audiences, and the role of ethnography in the commodification of identity.
Nolan Warden is a lecturer in ethnomusicology at UCLA where he also earned his PhD. His dissertation on Wixárika (Huichol) music of Mexico studied the historical adaptations of Spanish and Mestizo instruments and musical practices into Wixárika life. His research focused primarily on the history of Mexican popular music in Wixárika communities, the use of Indigenous identity in performances for non-Indigenous audiences, and the role of ethnography in the commodification of identity.
Max H. Yamane, University of Maryland, College Park, student
Maxwell is a M.A. Ethnomusicology student at the University of Maryland. Outside of Academia, he is an active fancy dancer and southern singer with the drum group, Zotigh Singers. His primary interests are powwows in Oklahoma and the Kiowa Gourd Dance. Some current research interests include Indian-play in Cold War American countercultures and mediatization of powwow music.
Maxwell is a M.A. Ethnomusicology student at the University of Maryland. Outside of Academia, he is an active fancy dancer and southern singer with the drum group, Zotigh Singers. His primary interests are powwows in Oklahoma and the Kiowa Gourd Dance. Some current research interests include Indian-play in Cold War American countercultures and mediatization of powwow music.