Scholarly Advisory Panel
Our Curriculum project benefits from a distinguished panel of scholars, musicians and music educators, who contribute their invaluable expertise in African and African American culture, music and history.
Dr. Portia Maultsby is Laura Boulton Professor Emerita of Ethnomusicology, Professor Emerita of Folklore and Ethnomusicology and founding director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture at the University of Indiana. She is the most preeminent ethnomusicologist, and unparalleled expert, in African – American music and culture. She is co-editor of such definitive publications as African American Music: An Introduction (Routledge Press, 2006) and Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (Routledge Press). She is also sub-editor of the African – American section of the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, United States and Canada and was Guest Editor for a special issue on Black Music in Ethnomusicology, Volume 19 (3). Other publications have appeared in numerous American and European journals, edited volumes, and as essays in music trade publications including Billboard and Rolling Stone. In the area of public ethnomusicology, Dr. Maultsby has served as a researcher, curator, designer, and consulting scholar for museum exhibitions, film and radio productions. These include Black American Popular Music: Rhythm & Blues 1945-1955 (Museum for American Culture/Smithsonian Institution); Wade in the Water, a 26-part series on Black gospel (National Public Radio/Smithsonian Institution) and many other public programs about African – American music. With such an renowned presence in the area of African American music studies, Dr. Maultsby has lectured on these topics throughout the US, and in Russia, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Malawi, England, Norway, and the Netherlands. She is also the recipient of numerous awards and prestigious fellowships, including the Ford Foundation and National Research Council. Dr. Maultsby received a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She will conduct a workshop with EACP fellows about the Africanity of African – American music and how to use musical Africanisms to teach African – American cultural identity. Read About Dr. Portia Maultsby Online
Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin is an ethnomusicologist, Fulbright Scholar and Associate Professor in the Department of Music at Howard University. He received a PhD in Ethnomusicology from University of Maryland, College Park and has taught jazz history, African and African - American music history, flute studies and graduate studies at Howard for eighteen years. He is founder and Executive Director of the innovative Howard University Center for Ethnomusicology, and has founded five cutting edge performance ensembles in the Department of Music. Dr. Kamalidiin has lived in all regions of the African continent, from Ghana, South Africa and Morocco to Senegal and Egypt, where he conducted extensive field work and research on various forms of African music and culture. In 1995, he received the prestigious J. William Fulbright Scholarship to study mbira music and Shona culture in Zimbabwe for one year. During his time in Africa, Dr. Kamalidiin lectured at the Evelyn Hone College of Music in Lusaka, Zambia and served on the faculty of the Zimbabwe College of Music. Dr. Kamalidiin is also a well-known jazz musician (flute, plus nine other instruments) and leads his own critically acclaimed jazz quintet. He will contribute his expertise in African and African - American music, history and cultures towards the development of curricula in these areas. He will also conduct a workshop with EACP fellows about African musical ideologies and African - American music traditions. Read About Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin Online
Dr. Kofi Gbolonyo is a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology, and a graduate certificate in African studies, from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Founder and Director of Nunya Academy and Director the Ghana School Project. He is also an accomplished drummer and dancer with expert knowledge of Ghanaian music and culture. Dr. Gbolonyo has traveled the world giving lectures and workshops on West African music and culture. He will contribute his expert knowledge garnered from field studies, and as a culture bearer, to areas in the curricula involving West African music, the African Diaspora, African history and cultures. Dr. Gbolonyo will conduct a two hour online workshop with EACP fellows related to West African history, culture and music. If possible, he will also conduct in-person workshops with EACP fellows on African history, Ghanaian songs, music and dance. Read About Dr.Kofi Gbolonyo Online
Dr. Luana Ozemela is an international expert on race and gender. She is a Latin Americanist and economist with expertise on Afro descendant groups of South and Central America, and the Caribbean. As the Gender and Diversity Specialist for the Inter-American Development Bank, she works with national governments in Latin America to develop programs that promote racial equality and inclusion for Afro descendants, indigenous groups, and for women of color. Dr. Ozemela will contribute her valuable knowledge related to nation states, photographs, research, and documentary footage, as well as hard to access statistics, about Afro descendant groups in Latin America towards the development of the curricula, especially related to her home nation of Brazil. She will also conduct workshops with EACP fellows related to parallel challenges and the shared histories of Latin American Afro descendants and African Americans. Read About Dr. Luana Ozemela Online
Jaimeo Brown, Motema Recording Artist and jazz drummer, has toured across the globe. He used an ethnomusicological approach with his debut project, Transcendence, incorporating the music of the women quilters of Gee's bend Alabama and classical Indian vocals. His second project with Motema, Worksong, is an innovative amalgamation of African - American work songs and jazz. The research he conducted for his MA thesis from Rutgers University, on the relationship between jazz and the music of the early African church, is the driving force behind his recordings. He will contribute his extensive knowledge of jazz and early African - American traditional music towards curriculum development. Read About Jaimeo Brown Online
Allyson Chamberlain is an award winning music educator and powerhouse gospel vocalist with over seventeen years of experience in teaching and performance. She is a Music Educator at Moten Elementary School and a coordinator of the District of Columbia Public Schools Turn Around Arts Program. In 2016, Ms. Chamberlain received a Fund for Teachers fellowship to study Ghanaian music in Ghana, West Africa. The Washington Post featured an article about her fellowship in September 2016. The choir she directs at Moten has performed all over the Washington DC area, including the White House for First Lady Michelle Obama. This appearance was featured in Capitol Community News. Ms. Chamberlain received a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal music from Lincoln University. She is also pursuing a Master of Arts degree in arts curriculum integration at Towson State University. She is seasoned in using music to educate at-risk African – American children and will contribute her expertise in vocal pedagogy and lesson plan design towards the curriculum development component of the project. Mrs. Smith will also perform vocals on song recordings for each curriculum and record an online collection of African – American and West African songs for EACP fellows to reference when implementing curricula. Mrs. Smith will also conduct workshops with EACP fellows on lesson planning, music education methods and classroom management. Read About Allyson Chamberlain Online (Washington Post)
