As an ethnomusicologist, educator, and performer I have a variety of interests relating to music and culture.
Pedagogy
My primary focus is the study of musical pedagogy, specifically in cross-cultural settings. My MA thesis “Cross-cultural pedagogy in North Indian classical music” deals with the experience of North American students studying Hindustani classical music. The implications of this research suggest the efficacy of alternate approaches to the transmission and acquisition of musical proficiency and knowledge.
Identity and Representation
Music performance can be used to represent the self, and the other, in many ways. I’m interested particularly in how reggae musicians relate to Rastafari and their African heritage through music. I’ve also conducted research on elements of African and African-American music in twentieth-century classical music and jazz.
Music and Sport
I am especially interested in the intersection of sports and music as mutually dependent performance activities. One prominent example is Muay Thai with the Ram Muay (traditional dance) preceding each match and the sustained musical performance of the traditional Muay Thai orchestra throughout each round of the fight. Similarly, the martial art/dance/game of Capoeira Angola consists of musical accompaniment in the form of a bateria (percussion ensemble) and group singing.
