Academic Advisory Board
Get to know our board members.
David Locke
Professor of Ethnomusicology, Tufts University
- B.A. Wesleyan University (Ethnomusicology)
- Ph.D. Wesleyan University (Ethnomusicology)
- Founder and Director, Agbekor Drum and Dance Society (1979–present)
- Professor of Ethnomusicology, Tufts University (1986–present)
- Author: Drum Gahu: The Rhythms of West Africa; “Music-Cultures of Africa” in Worlds of Music: An Introduction to Music of the World’s Peoples
- Music: Drum Damba: Talking Drum Lessons; Kpegisu: A War Drum of the Ewe
Myran Parker-Brass
Executive Director for the Arts, Boston Public Schools
- B.A. University of Illinois Chicago (Music Performance)
- M.F.A. and M.M.Ed. Governors State University
- Faculty, Northeastern Illinois University (1984–1989)
- Director of Education and Community Programs, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1991–2011)
- Co-founder, New England Spiritual Ensemble (1994–present)
- Executive Director for the Arts, Boston Public Schools (2011–present)
- Solo and ensemble performances throughout the US, Spain, Italy; soloist with Boston Pops Orchestra
Olabode Omojola
Associate Professor of Music, Mount Holyoke College
- B.A. University of Nigeria (Music)
- M.A. University of Ibadan (African Music)
- Ph.D. University of Leicester (Ethnomusicology)
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellow, University of Cologne
- Radcliffe Institute Fellow in African Music, Harvard University (2004–2005)
- Five College Associate Professor of Music, Mount Holyoke College (2006–present)
- Author: Yoruba Music in the Twentieth Century: Identity, Agency and Performance Practice; Multiple Interpretations of Dynamics of Creativity and Knowledge in African Music Traditions: A Festschrift in Honor of Akin Euba Rochester
Janna Behrens
Assistant Dean/Director of Education Abroad, Amherst College
- B.S. Syracuse Universtiy (Art and Biology)
- M.P.P. Tufts University
- U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Ghana (1995-1997)
- U.S. Peace Corps New England Regional Recruitment Office (1997-2001)
- Program & Orientation Coordinator, Tufts University Programs Abroad (1998-2007)
- Assistant Dean/Director of International Experience, Amherst College (2007-present)
- International Travel Medicine First Aid Certification (Wilderness Medical Associates)
Jennifer Smith
Associate Professor/Chair of Dance Department, Knox College
- B.A. Columbia College
- M.A. Columbia College
- M.F.A. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Artistic Director, Back & To The Left Productions
- Associate Professor/Chair of Dance Department, Knox College
- Philip Green Wright/Lombard College Award for Distinguished Teaching, Knox College (2003)
- Author: “Developing an Integrated Dance Curriculum” (Teaching Artists’ Journal)
Tianna S. Paschel
Assistant Professor of African American Studies, University of California Berkeley
- B.A. University of California Los Angeles
- M.A. University of California Berkeley (Sociology)
- M.A. University of California Los Angeles (Latin American Studies)
- Ph.D. University of California Berkeley (Sociology)
- Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago (2012-2015)
- Assistant Professor of African American Studies, University of California Berkeley (2015-present)
- Dance: Founder, Kimbara Dance Company
- Author: Afro-Latinos in Movement: Critical Approaches to the Study of Blackness and Transnationalism in the Americas
Jonathan King
Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology, UNC Asheville
- B.A. Amherst College (Geology)
- M.S. University of Montana Missoula (Geology)
- M.A. Columbia University (Music Theory)
- Ph.D. Columbia University (Ethnomusicology)
- Guest Faculty, Sarah Lawrence College (2007–2014)
- Co-director of ensembles with Nyoman Saptanyana (Balinese Gamelan), Andy Algire (Afropop), and Famoro Dioubate (Guinean Balafon)
- Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology, UNC Asheville (2014–present)
Joel Larue Smith
Lecturer/Director of Jazz Activities, Tufts University
- B.A. The City College of New York (Music)
- M.M. Manhattan School of Music (Piano Performance)
- Collaborations: Francisco Mela, Wynton Marsalis,Betty Carter and Terence Blanchard
- Performances/lectures: Callaloo Conference at Casa de Las Americas (Havana, Cuba) and University of Ghana
- Awards: Ford Foundation Fellow, ASCAP (George & Ira Gershwin Composition Award), Meet the Composer
- Instructor: Orchestra of St. Luke’s Education Program; Classical Composition & History (1995–1998)
- Director of Jazz Activities, Tufts University (1996–present)