Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. Ph.D. candidate, Ethnomusicology. Dissertation: "The Electrifying Dream: Aesthetics and Ideology in Recent Film Music of India." Advisor: Su Zheng; committee members: Mark Slobin and David Nelson (and previously, the late T. Viswanathan).

Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. M.A., Music, 1999. Thesis: "Saraswati's Journey: South Indian Karnatak Music in the United States." Advisor: Su Zheng; committee members: Sumarsam and T. Viswanathan.

Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. B.A., Religion, 1991.

Antioch University, Bodh Gaya, India. Buddhist Studies in India program, 1990.

Positions and Work Experience

Lecturer, Music Department, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut. 2000-present.

Co-Director, Youth Gamelan, Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University. 2002-present.

Graduate Teaching Assistant, for various courses including Caribbean Music, Peking Opera, and others, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1996-2001 and 2004-05

Coordinator, visits to the gamelan by Middletown Public Schools 4th grade students. 2001-04.

Visiting Lecturer, Music Department, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. Spring 2003.

Instructor of South Indian Vocal Music, Music Department, Wesleyan University. Spring 1998 and Fall 2002.

Teaching Assistant, Javanese Gamelan, Center for Creative Youth, Middletown, Connecticut. 1999 and 2000.

Graduate Archivist, World Music Archives, Olin Library, Wesleyan University. 1995-99.

Systems and Gifts Coordinator, Acquisitions Department, Oberlin College Libraries, Oberlin, Ohio. 1991-94.

Mandinka Ensemble Technician, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 1988.

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

Dissertation write-up fellowship, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 2004-05.

The Jon B. Higgins Memorial Fund, Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University, grants for research, study, and performance in Chennai, India. 2000-01 and 2004-05.

Faculty research grants, Southern Connecticut State University, for research in Chennai, India. 2000-01 and 2004-05.

Faculty travel grants, Southern Connecticut State University, for professional conference attendance. 2002 and 2003.

Research Fellow in Ethnomusicology, The Center for the Humanities, Wesleyan University. 2001-02.

Travel grant, Music Department, Wesleyan University, for paper presentation and performance at the annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology / Musical Intersections Conference, Toronto. 2000.

Co-author of proposal for a grant awarded by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India, to Wesleyan University, for Navaratri Festival of Indian Music and Dance. 2000.

Nominee, Master's Scholar Award, Northeast Association of Graduate Schools, selected as sole nominee from Wesleyan University for thesis award. 2000.

Fellowship for graduate study, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1995-2001.

President's Fund recipient, Wesleyan University, for travel to Indonesia with a faculty-student music ensemble. 1998.

Arts Administration and Academic Service

Coordinator and Committee Member, Navaratri Festival of Indian Music and Dance, Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University. 1997-present.

Co-organizer of "Tribute to Viswanathan and Ranganathan," World Music Weekend, 40th Anniversary of the Wesleyan University World Music Program. 2003.

Poster design and production, for various concerts of music from India. 1996-2004.

Concert Committee member, Music Department and Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University. 1999-2001.

Search Committee, graduate student member, for the hiring of a faculty position in Ethnomusicology for the Music Department, Wesleyan University. 2000.

Professional Memberships

Society for Ethnomusicology

Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology

College Music Society

Languages

Hindi. Basic comprehension and reading.

Sanskrit. Completed introductory course.

French. Reading knowledge.

Tamil. Basic comprehension.

Computer and Technology Skills

Skilled in the use of Word, Endnote (citation database), Excel, HTML code editing for web pages, Photoshop, scanning utilities, DVD and CD authoring, various sound synthesis and recording applications. Familiar with Quark (publishing), music notation applications.

Publications

Co-author with B. Balasubrahmanian, "Tamil Film Music: Sound and Significance," chapter in Global Soundtracks, edited by Mark Slobin. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, forthcoming.

Entries on places Sri Lanka, Bihar, New Delhi, and Chennai, in Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World (Part 2: Locations, Vol. V: Oceania and Asia). New York: Continuum Press, 2005.

Editor, Silent Sounds: Literature of Students in the Public Schools of Middletown, Connecticut. Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University, and Middletown Public Schools. Annually, 2001-05.

Editor and co-editor, Navaratri Festival (arts festival program book), Wesleyan University. 1997, 2000, 2002-04.

"Navaratri and Indian Music at Wesleyan," in Navaratri Festival 2000 program book.

Program notes, concerts of South Indian Karnatak music, Zimbabwean Mbira music, and Javanese gamelan. 1997-present.

Web designer, "Sound and Images Pages." Personal web pages. 1996-present.

Assistant Editor, Ethnomusicology Online, web-based, peer-reviewed academic journal. 1997-2000.

"Sri Tyagaraja Festival at Cleveland: Musings of a Music Student." In Sri Thyagaraja Music Festival program, Cleveland State University. 1995.

Presentations at Conferences and Colloquia

"Forty-four years (and counting) of South Indian Music and Dance at Wesleyan University." Paper proposal accepted for presentation at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Atlanta. 2005.

"Performance and study of Karnatak Music during the "music season" of Chennai, India" with Susan Tveekrem, and "Observations of change in life in general, Karnatak music, and the South Indian film industry." Music Department Colloquium, Wesleyan University. 2001.

"A New Sound for a Globalizing India? National Identity in A. R. Rahman's Music." Annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology / Musical Intersections Conference, Toronto. 2000.

"Indian Film Music: An Introduction with a Focus on the Music of A.R. Rahman." Research Day, Research and Scholarship Advisory Committee, Southern Connecticut State University. 2000.

"Imagining the Image of India: Symbols of the Nation in Two Films." Society for Ethnomusicology, Northeast Chapter. Meeting at Eastern Connecticut State University. 1999.

"Aspects of South Indian Karnatak Music in the United States: Shakuntala Murthy's Transmission of Music and Building of Community in Cleveland, Ohio." Music Department Colloquium, Wesleyan University. 1998.

"Persistence of Hindu Religious Practices and Identity Among Neo-Buddhist Followers of Dr. Ambedkar in Bombay and Pune." Independent Research Project, Antioch College Buddhist Studies in India Program. 1990.

Selected Guest Lectures and Talks

"Javanese Gamelan." Presentation for 1st graders, Snow School, Middletown Public Schools, Connecticut. 2004.

"Music and Musical Instruments of India." Interactive session with Kindergarten students, Snow School, Middletown Public Schools, Connecticut. 2003.

"Varieties of Sound and Meaning in Indian Film Music." Guest lecture for the course Indian Music Seminar, Professor David Nelson, Wesleyan University. 2002.

"The Cinema of India and its Music." Guest lecture for the course First Year Music Colloquium, Professor Mark Slobin, Wesleyan University. 2002.

"Discourses in Indian Film Music Studies." Guest lecture for the course Music and Film Seminar, Professor Mark Slobin, New York University. 2002.

"Indian Film Music Studies." Guest lecture for Music Department course, Professor Michael Veal, Yale University. 2001.

"The Field of Indian Film Music Studies." Guest lecture for the course Seminar in Interdisciplinary Studies, Professor Mark Slobin, Wesleyan University. 2000.

"An Introduction to the Javanese Gamelan and Wayang Kulit." For Spouses of Trustees of Wesleyan University. 2000.

"An Overview of South Indian Music and Dance." Guest lecture for the course Worlds of Music, Professor Su Zheng, Wesleyan University. 1999.

Selected Presentations and Papers for Graduate Seminars

"Images of Bombay by Writers of the South Asian Diaspora." Literatures of the South Asian Diaspora, Professor Indira Karamcheti, Wesleyan University. 2000.

"Towards Re-Thinking the History of Contemporary India Through a Consideration of Cinema and its Music." Seminar in Historical Methodologies, Professor Su Zheng, Wesleyan University. 2000.

"The Instrument Gambang of the Central Javanese Gamelan: Aspects of Style and Creation of its Role in the Ensemble." Seminar in Comparative Music Theory, Professor Peter Hoyt, Wesleyan University. 1999.

"The 'Site' and 'Field' in Anthropology: Current Theories Regarding Location." Contemporary Anthropological Theory, Professor Maureen Mahon, Wesleyan University. 1999.

"Imagining the Image of India: Changing Symbols of Nationalism in Two Films." Seminar in Interdisciplinary Studies, Professor Mark Slobin, Wesleyan University. 1998.

"Reflections on Salaam Bombay! and Prospects for an Ethnomusicological Discourse on Film." Seminar in Interdisciplinary Studies, Professor Mark Slobin, Wesleyan University. 1998.

"American Women in Indian Performing Arts: Interviews with Harriotte Hurie And Kay Poursine." Gendering of Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Professor Su Zheng, Wesleyan University. 1997.

"The Unveiling of Mystery: S. Rajagopala Iyer's Life and Tala System." Being an Ethnomusicologist, Professor Mark Slobin, Wesleyan University. 1996.

"How is Religion Experienced Through Music? A Review of the Literature on South Asia." Problems and Methods in Ethnomusicology, Professor Su Zheng, Wesleyan University. 1995.

Music Studies

South Indian Karnatak vocal music, with B. Balasubrahmaniyan, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 2003-present.

Javanese Gamelan music, with Artist-in-Residence I.M. Harjito, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1996-present.

Javanese Gamelan music, with Adjunct Professor Sumarsam, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1996-present.

SuperCollider sound synthesis software, with Matt Bauder, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 2003.

South Indian Karnatak flute and vocal music, with the late Adjunct Professor Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. T. Viswanathan, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1995-2002.

South Indian Karnatak percussion, instruments mridangam and kanjira, with Artist-in-Residence Ramnad Raghavan, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 1997-1999.

South Indian Karnatak vocal music, with Smt. Neeraja Chandrasekaran, private teacher and professional performer, Madras [Chennai], India. 1994-1995.

South Indian Karnatak vocal music, with Smt. Shakuntala Murthy, private teacher and professional performer, Cleveland, Ohio. 1993-1994.

South Indian Karnatak percussion, instruments mridangam and kanjira, with R. Balasubramaniam, private teacher, Cleveland, Ohio. 1993-1994.

North Indian Hindustani vocal music, with Professor Roderic Knight, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College. 1993.

Gambian (West Africa) kora music, with Professor Roderic Knight, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College. 1987-1988.

Western classical clarinet, with Larry McDonald, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College. 1986-1988.

Javanese Gamelan music, with René Lysloff, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College. 1988.

Western classical clarinet, with Patrick Gatti, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia. 1982-1986.

Western classical clarinet, with Jack Meohlenkamp, Randolph-Macon Womens' College, Lynchburg, Virginia. 1981-1982.

Fieldwork

Connecticut. Research with South Asia American organizations and individuals. 1995-present.

Chennai (Madras), India. Music study, field research on classical and popular music. 1994-95, 2000-01, and 2004-05.

Central Java, Indonesia. Music performances and site visits. 1998.

Benaras, India. Language and music study. 1996.

Cleveland, Ohio. Research with South Asian American community groups and individuals. 1993-94.

Bombay and Pune, India. Research on religious identity of neo-Buddhist communities. 1990.

Selected Recordings

Flute, guest artist on forthcoming album by world fusion ensemble The Sa-Reel Project. 2005.

"To sound them, the keys." Guest member of Louisville, Kentucky group Ut-Gret, contributing ensemble arrangements, and performances on clarinet, flutes, and gamelan instruments. 2001.

"Warrior Caste: The Getter Album." M/IQ Productions CD. Recorded and produced by Eliot Bates, Santa Barbara, California. 1999.

"Clarino," with Eliot Bates. Selected for "Wesleyan Inter Media Project." WIMP CD. 1998.

"INDIA" and "NEPAL." Tape pieces realized from personal field recordings. 1996.

Selected Performances

Javanese Gamelan, member of Wesleyan Gamelan. 1996-present.

Electronics, percussion, prepared piano, and flute, in collaboration with Toby Twining, accompaniment for performances by modern dance classes of Darla Stanley, Green Street Arts Center, Middletown, Connecticut. 2005.

Flute, bharatanatyam dance recital of Lauren Paul, Sandisfield Arts Center, Massachusetts. 2005.

Guest artist, flutes and percussion, with world fusion ensemble The Sa-Reel Project. 2004-05.

Guest artist, tympani, saxophone, bass, Wes Winds Ensemble, Wesleyan University. 2004-05.

Director of South Indian music groups, Baccalaureate services, Wesleyan University. 2004 and 2005.

Guest artist, saxophone, Concert Band, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut. 2005.

Dhvani, Hindi and Tamil film music ensemble, woodwinds and guitars. Performances at University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Tamil Sangam of Connecticut, wedding parties, etc. 2002-05.

Guest artist, Javenese Gamelan, at Drew University, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Smith College, New York Indonesian Consulate Gamelan, Boston Village Gamelan, Brown University, Bates College, Bard College, Vassar College. 2000-05.

Flute, bharatanatyam dance recital of Bonnie Navakov Lawlor, Kripalu Yoga Center, Massachusetts. 2004.

Tamil Christian music, service at South Congregational Church, Middletown, Connecticut. 2004.

Woodwinds and rebab, music for play "Blood Wedding," Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. 2004.

Saxophones, Oddfellow's Playhouse Children's Circus, Middletown, Connecticut. 1997-2004.

Sanskrit language Hindu chants and devotional songs, Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, Lutheran Church of St. Mark, Glastonbury, Connecticut. 2003.

Flute, gamelan instruments, percussion, and vocal, Oddfellow's Playhouse production of Mahabharata by Peter Brook, Middletown, Connecticut. 2003.

Flute, Leela Dance Theater production Gajamukham. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut. 2002.

Flute-vocal duo recital with Susan Tveekrem, accompanied by U. Mali, mridangam. Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai (Madras), India. 2001.

Graduate Recital, featuring South Indian Karnatak music, Javanese gamelan gadhon music, and Indian Film Music Orchestra. World Music Hall, Music Department, Wesleyan University. 2001.

Solo flute recital, with mrigandam and vocal accompaniment. "Feed your soul" series, Center for the Arts. World Music Hall, Wesleyan University. 2000.

Vocal, group performance led by T. Viswanathan of M. Dikshitar's Navavarana Kritis. Murugan Temple, Bridgewater, New Jersey. 2000.

Support flute for T. Viswanathan's flute recitals. 2000.

Flute accompaniment for installation (pranaprathisthapana) of deities Sri-Sri Radha-Krishna. Connecticut Valley Hindu Temple Society, Middletown, Connecticut. 2000.

"First Light," member of Sanskrit chant group, led by A.V. Srinivasan, Hindu priest and founder of Connecticut Valley Hindu Temple Society. Interfaith gathering at dawn on the banks of the Connecticut River, Hartford, Connecticut. January 1, 2000.

Flute duo with percussionist Shane Shanahan, "Khanda Jog." Performance at The Hartt School, Hartford, Connecticut. 1999.

"The War." Collaboration with Shane Shanahan, for woodwinds and percussion to accompany choreography by Adair Landborn. Dance Department, performances in Theatre, Wesleyan University. 1999.

World Premiere of "Music for Voices and Gamelan Instruments," and "Music for Gamelan Instruments." Compositions of Alvin Lucier. Performance at Art Summit Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. 1998.

Javanese Gamelan, gadhon (small) ensemble led by I.M. Harjito. Taman Budaya Propisi Jawa Timur [State Government Arts Institute]. Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. 1998.

Saxophone and clarinet, Anthony Braxton's Large Ensemble, Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra, and Klezmer Group. 1995-97.

Clarinet, Oberlin Conservatory of Music Symphonic Band. 1987.

Clarinet, All-State Band, Virginia. 1986.

Principal Clarinet, Regional High School Bands, Southwest Virginia. 1985-1986.

Principal Clarinet, Roanoke Youth Symphony, Roanoke, Virginia. 1984-1986.

Principal Clarinet, Heritage High School Symphonic Band. 1983-1986.

updated June 21, 2005

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