kwasi ampene - lsa.umich.edu

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KWASI AMPENE

Dept. of Afroamerican and African Studies Room: 4634

University of Michigan Phone: 734-764-7094

505 S. State Street Fax: 734-763-0543

Ann Arbor, MI 48109 E-mail: [email protected]

Website: https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/kwasi-ampene

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Ethnomusicology 1999 University of Pittsburgh

MM Theory 1994 West Virginia University

Dip Music 1990 University of Ghana

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

May 2021-present Professor (Ethnomusicology), Department of Afroamerican and African

Studies.

Sept 2019-May 2021 Associate Professor (Ethnomusicology), Department of Afroamerican and

African Studies (DAAS), University of Michigan.

Sept 2011-Aug 2019 Associate Professor, School of Music, Theater and Dance (SMTD) and

Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS), University of

Michigan.

Aug 2007-July 2011 Associate Professor-Ethnomusicology, College of Music, University of

Colorado-Boulder.

Aug 2000-July 2007 Assistant Professor-Ethnomusicology, College of Music, University of

Colorado-Boulder.

Aug 1999-July 2000 King, Chavez, Parks Visiting Professor of Music, University of Michigan-

Flint, Departments of Music/Art, and Africana Studies.

Aug 1998-July 1999 Instructor, Indiana State University, Department of African and African

American Studies.

Administrative Positions

July 2017-Aug 2019 Associate Director, Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, University

of Michigan.

Sept 2011-Aug 2016 Director, Center for World Performance Studies (CWPS), University of

Michigan.

mailto:[email protected]

https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/kwasi-ampene

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Aug 2009-May 2010 Coordinator, Ethnomusicology Program, University of Colorado-Boulder.

Consultant

Sept 2015-April 2016 Fifth International Symposium on the Music of Africa: Master Musicians

in Performance, Princeton University.

Sept 2015-May 2016 Member of Planning Committee, Akan Festival 2016 @ Tufts, Tufts

University.

Sept 2014-June 2016 Music Consultant, African Maestro: The Life and Work of Emeritus

Professor J.H. Kwabena Nketia, a documentary film by Roaming Akuba

Films (Ghana). Commissioned by the Goethe Institut (Ghana).

Fellowship

Summer 2015 University of Ghana-Carnegie Diasporan Fellow, University of Ghana.

Leadership in Professional Organizations

Nov 23, 2020-present President of Ghana Studies Association (GSA). An international affiliate

of the African Studies Association (ASA).

Feb 16, 2020-present Member of Editorial Board, School of Oriental and African Studies

(SOAS) Studies in Music-University of London.

June 2020-present Member of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) Council.

Nov 2019-Oct 2020 Past Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for

Ethnomusicology (SEM).

Nov 2018-Nov 2019 Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for Ethnomusicology

(SEM).

Nov 2017-Nov 2018 Incoming Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for


Professional Affiliations

Society For Ethnomusicology (SEM)

African Studies Association (ASA)

International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM)

African Music Section (AfMS) in the SEM

Ghana Studies Association an international affiliate of the African Studies Association (ASA)

Research Interests

Intersections between historical/lived experience, music, and social values; music ethnography;

compositional conventions and theories in Akan music; Akan heritage of tangible and intangible

stool regalia; music and social change, and Popular music.

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PUBLICATIONS

Books

2020 Kwasi Ampene, Asante Court Music and Verbal Arts in Ghana: The Porcupine

and the Gold Stool. London and New York: Routledge Press.

2016 Kwasi Ampene, Nana Kwadwo Nyantakyi III, Engaging Modernity: Asante in the

Twenty-First Century, 2nd edition, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan

Publishing.

2015 Kwasi Ampene, Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Godwin K. Adjei, Albert K.

Awedoba. Editors, Discourses in African Musicology: J.H. Kwabena Nketia

Festschrift, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Publishing.

2005 Kwasi Ampene, Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana: The Creative

Process in Nnwonkorɔ. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Journal Articles

2021 Kwasi Ampene, “J.H. Kwabena Nketia,” Oxford Bibliographies Online, July 28.

2021 Kwasi Ampene, “Power and Responsibility: Royalty and the Performing Arts in

Asante-Ghana,” African Studies Review First View, Published online by

Cambridge University Press, June 11, pp. 1-24.

2019 Kwasi Ampene, “Iconography, Documentary Evidence, Continuity, and Akan

Musical Expressions Before the 15th Century.” Ghana Studies, Vol. 22. 191-205.

2012 Kwasi Ampene, “One on One: Max Roach in Conversation with Kofi Ghanaba.”

American Music Research Center Journal. Vol. 20. 1-26.

Journal Articles Accepted for Publication

Kwasi Ampene, “Power and Responsibility: Royalty and Performance Arts in

Asante-Ghana.” African Studies Review. Anticipated date of publication, Sept

2021.

Kwasi Ampene, “In Memoriam – J.H. Kwabena Nketia (1921-2019).” Journal of

Musical Arts in Africa. Anticipated date of publication, 2021

Book Chapter Accepted for Publication

Kwasi Ampene, “Petitioning the King: Kete Songs, Lineage and Kingship in

Asante. Essays on Representing African Music. Editors, Bode Omojola, Daniel

Avorgbedor, and George Dor. To be published by University Press of Mississippi.

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Published Book Chapter

2015 Kwasi Ampene, “Give Me Silence, Space, and a Dance: The Pianistic Style of

Thelonious Monk,” in Discourses in African Musicology: J.H. Kwabena Nketia

Festschrift. Kwasi Ampene, Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Godwin K. Adjei, Albert

K. Awedoba, editors. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Publishing. 276-

302.

Encyclopedia Article

2007 Kwasi Ampene, Mensah, E. T. New Encyclopedia of Africa, Editor in Chief, John

Middleton, Charles Scribner’s Sons/The Gale Group.

Book Reviews

2009 Jacqueline C. Djedje, Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe,

Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures. American Ethnologist. Vol. 36 no. 3, 605-608.

2007 Ruth Stone, Music in West Africa. Ethnomusicology. Vol. 15 no. 1, 146-147.

Essays Solicited by the SEM Newsletter Editor and the SEM Leadership

2019 Kwasi Ampene, “On His Way Home With Dondology: A Tribute to Professor

Emeritus J.H. Kwabena Nketia. SEM Newsletter, Vol 53, No 3, 1-6. Website:

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ethnomusicology.org/resource/resmgr/newsletters/s

emnl_53-3.pdf

2019 Kwasi Ampene, J.H. Kwabena Nketia (1921-2019), Memorial Citation for the

Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) website:

http://www.ethnomusicology.org/general/custom.asp?page=SF_Memorials_Nketi

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Documentary Film (Indexed on the Alexander Street Press Website for streaming and global

distribution to academic institutions and public libraries)

2019 Kwasi Ampene, Gone To The Village: Royal Funerary Rites for Asantehemaa

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II. Shot on location in 2017, the documentary

chronicles the fusion of oral traditions, political authority, and national unity with

visual, musical and performance arts.

Screening of Documentary Film and Q&A

July 29, 2021 Goethe-Institut, Cantonments, Accra-Ghana.

March 31, 2021 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts.

Oct 14, 2020 UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Dept of Ethnomusicology, Nazir Jairazbhoy

Colloquium Series.

Feb 22, 2020 Charles Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit-Michigan.

Feb 15, 2020 First Presbyterian Church, Deerfield-Illinois.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ethnomusicology.org/resource/resmgr/newsletters/semnl_53-3.pdf

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ethnomusicology.org/resource/resmgr/newsletters/semnl_53-3.pdf

http://www.ethnomusicology.org/general/custom.asp?page=SF_Memorials_Nketia

http://www.ethnomusicology.org/general/custom.asp?page=SF_Memorials_Nketia

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Feb 9, 2020 Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), Detroit-Michigan.

Oct 18, 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts.

Oct 15, 2019 New England Conservatory of Music, Massachusetts.

Oct 15, 2019 Brandeis University, Massachusetts.

Oct 16, 2019 Tufts University, Medford-Massachusetts, Oct 14 & 16, 2019.

Oct 14, 2019 Tufts University, Medford-Massachusetts.

Oct 2, 2019 Michigan Theater, Premiere at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Sept 20, 2019 University of Michigan, Detroit Center.

Next Projects

Kwasi Ampene, Guest Editor, Book Forum: Kofi Agawu, The African Imagination in Music, to

be published in the Ghana Studies Journal. Contributors to the forum: Ingrid Monson (Harvard

University), Bode Omojola (Five Colleges), and Martin Scherzinger (NYU). Anticipated date for

publication, January 2022.

Kwasi Ampene, Anthology of Asante Court Music and Poetry. A collection of drums, ivory

trumpets, and flute texts, song texts, and texts of referential poetry (apae), and chronicle poetry

(kwadwom).

Kwasi Ampene, Mnemonics, Timelines, Drum Patterns, and African Rhythms in Cross-Cultural

Perspectives.

Kwasi Ampene and Kofi Kudonu (University of Ghana), Musical Expressions and Traditions in

the Borderlands: Collaborative Field Research At Aflao-Ghana.

Kwasi Ampene, Listening so the King May Hear: Royal Oratory in Asante.

Kwasi Ampene, Hip Hop in Africa (A textbook on modern African music).

RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Invited as a speaker

July 15, 2021 Excerpts from Asante Court Music and Verbal Arts in Ghana, School of

Languages, Seminar Series. University of Ghana.

April 30, 2021 Fire Fridays: The Cats Talk Back. Topic – Gendered African American Music

Cultures: An Africanist Ethnomusicological Perspective. The W.E.B. Du Bois

Department of Afro-American Studies at University of Massachusetts, Amherst in

partnership with the We Insist! Collective and the We Up Re Up Jazz Festival.

Live broadcast by WPFW 89.3 FM Jazz and Justice in Washington, DC.

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Members of panel: JD Allen, Antoine Drye, Cynthia Swan, Kwasi Ampene, and

Cheryl Keyes.

Feb 3, 2021 Conversation with Dr. Kwasi Ampene on his new book, Asante Court Music and

Verbal Arts in Ghana: The Porcupine and the Gold Stool. University of

Michigan-Flint, 2021 Africa Week.

Sept 24, 2020 Petitioning the King: Kete Songs, Lineage and Kingship in Asante. Michigan

State University, Eye On Africa, African Studies Center Speaker Series.

June 23, 2017 One Hundred and Eleven Years: Asantehemaa, Funerary Rites and the

Performance of Asante History and Socio-Political Power. UM-Wits Mellon

Symposium, Maropeng Hotel, Sterkfontein, Magaliesburg, South Africa.

Aug 31, 2016 Power and Responsibility: Royalty and the Performing Arts in Ghana.

Colloquium presentation, Department of Music, University of Ghana.

April 8, 2016 The Art of the Seperewa (Harp Lute): Osei Korankye in Dialogue with Kwasi

Ampene. Fifth International Symposium on the Music of Africa, Princeton

University.

April 8, 2016 Workshop in Akan Drumming, Ahenemma Cultural Group, moderated by Kwasi

Ampene, Fifth International Symposium on the Music of Africa, Princeton

University.

April 1, 2016 The Achievements of Akan Civilization: Why This Matters, Keynote Speech as

part of the Akan Festival @2016, Tufts University.

Mar 1, 2016 The Influence of the African Aesthetics in the Shaping of Latin American Identity.

Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Kingston, Jamaica.

Mar 3, 2016 Art as a Lived Experience. Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing

Arts, Kingston, Jamaica, March 3, 2016.

May 4, 2015 Akan Court Music. Keynote Lecture, Graduate Colloquium, Instituto Villa-Lobos,

Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Dec 16, 2014 A Glimpse Into the Royal Instruments, Music, and Regalia of the Asante Kingdom

in Ghana, Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, China.

Mar 4, 2013 Asante Court Music and Regalia, Seminar, School of Oriental and African

Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom.

Mar 6, 2013 Nnwonkoro: Tradition, Production, and Circulation. Guest Lecture for Atlantic

Africa: P/layers of Mediation in African Popular Music, Instructor: Prof. Lucy

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Duran, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London,

United Kingdom.

Jan 15, 2013 African Rhythm, Rhabindra Bharati University, Distinguished Lecture Series,

Kolkata-India.

Oct 15, 2013 Power and Responsibility: Royalty and the Performing Arts Among the Asante in

Ghana, Tufts University Musicology Colloquium, October 15, 2012.

Oct 15, 2012 Power and Responsibility: Royalty and the Performing Arts Among the Asante in

Ghana, Tufts University Musicology Colloquium.

Dec 14, 2010 The Odurugya Flute: Recalling the Past, Articulating Cultural Values and

Experience in Akan Court Music, Department of Afroamerican and African

Studies, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Jan 15, 2009 Experience And Values in Akan Court Music, Musicology-Theory Colloquium

Series, University of Colorado-Boulder.

Aug 27, 2008 Compositional Conventions in Nnwonkoro, Presented in the Music Department

(School of Performing Arts), University of Ghana.

Oct 3-5, 2006 Talking Points: Commentary on Kofi Agawu’s JAM’S Article “Structural Analysis

or Cultural Analysis? Competing Perspectives on the ‘Standard Pattern’ of West

African Rhythm, Music Dept., College of Creative Arts, West Virginia

University.

Dec 9, 2005 Formal Templates of Song Units as Compositional Models in Nnwonkoro, Invited

presenter at the 2nd International Symposium on the Music of Africa, Princeton

University.

Oct 16, 2005 Melodic Structures and Modal Orientations in Akan Nnwonkoro Songs: Creative

Models for African-Based Written Compositions, at the Symposium, Africa Meets

Asia: Dialogue Between China And Africa in Music, at the Central Conservatory

of Music, Beijing (China).

Oct 16, 2005 Workshop: West African Highlife, at the Symposium, Africa Meets Asia:

Dialogue Between China And Africa in Music, at the Central Conservatory of

Music, Beijing (China).

Feb 2, 2004 The Talking Drum Looks Ahead: The Missing Link in Thelonious Monk Research,

University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Music, Musicology Colloquium

Series.

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Nov 6, 2000 Give Me Silence, Space, and a Dance: The Pianistic Style of Thelonious Monk,

University of Colorado at Boulder, College of Music, Musicology Colloquium

Series.

Sept 20, 2000 Give Me Silence, Space, and a Dance: The Pianistic Style of Thelonious Monk,

Conference at New York University, Crossing Boundaries: The African Diaspora

in the New Millennium, Co-Sponsors: History Department, NYU and the

Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Oct 7-9, 1999 Give Me Silence, Space, and a Dance: The Pianistic Style of Thelonious Monk,

University of Pittsburgh, Symposium and Festival – Towards African Pianism:

Keyboard Music of Africa and Its Diaspora, Organized by Prof. Akin Euba, Dept.

of Music, and A Bridge Across: Intercultural Composition, Performance, and

Musicology.

National and International Conferences

Nov 7, 2019 Show Your Trumpets; Show Your People: Ivory Trumpeters, Poetic Rhetoric and

the Concept of Numbers in West Africa. 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for

Ethnomusicology (SEM), Bloomington-Indiana, Nov 7-11, 2019.

July 10, 2019 The Court Crier, the Drummer, and the Executioner: The Akan Concept of

Creation and Knowledge Production in the Performing Arts. 3rd Triennial

Conference of the Ghana Studies Association, University of Ghana.

Jan 16, 2019 Sonic Actions, Creativity and Performance in Kete Songs as Compositional

Resources for Written Compositions in Africa. Symposium in Honor of Professor

Emeritus Akin Euba, University of Lagos-Nigeria.

Nov 29, 2018 Roundtable. Reframing the Reach of Archaeology in Ghana: Commemorating

James Anquandah (1938-2017), 61st Annual Meeting of the African Studies

Association (ASA), Atlanta-Georgia.

Nov 15, 2018 Petitioning the King: Kete Songs, Lineage and Kingship in Asante. 63rd

Annual

Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Albuquerque-New Mexico,

November 15-18, 2018.

Sept 13, 2015 Negotiating Ethnomusicological and Institutional Praxis: Collaborative

Strategies in Researching and Publishing Over Five Hundred Years of Tangible

and Intangible Heritage of Regalia in Ghana. SEM-ICTM First Joint Forum,

University of Limerick, Ireland.

Dec 1, 2012 Oral History and Cultural Memory: Challenges in Recalling Extensive Oral

History and Cultural Memory for Asanteman in the 21st Century Project, 55th

Annual Meeting of African Studies Association (ASA), Philadelphia (PA), Nov.

29-Dec 1, 2012.

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Nov 29, 2012 Chair of Session: Material Culture and (Historical) Stock Taking, 55th Annual

Meeting of African Studies Association (ASA), Philadelphia (PA).

Nov 1, 2012 Chair of Session: Music for and Against the Nation, American Musicological

Society, Soiety for Ethnomusicology, Society for Music Theory Joint Conference,

New Orleans.

Nov 19, 2011 Chair of Session: Ethnomusicologies II, Society for Ethnomusicology & Congress

on Research in Dance, Joint Annual Meeting-Moving Music/Sounding Dance,

Philadelphia.

Sept 23, 2011 The Past in the Present: Remembrance Rites and the Construction of Asante

Experience in the Drumming and Dance of Fontomfrom, Two-Day International

Conference on the Life and Works of Professor Emeritus J.H. Kwabena Nketia.

Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

Nov 12, 2010 Discussant: World Music Theories: Context and Concept, with Panel Members:

Brenda Romero (CU-Boulder) Munir Beken (UCLA), Steven Mullins (CU-

Boulder), Victoria Levine (Colorado College), at the 55 Annual Meeting of the

Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM).

Nov 21, 2009 The Odurugya Flute: Recalling the Past, Articulating Cultural Values and

Experience in Akan Court Music, Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the

Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Mexico City.

Nov 21, 2009 Chair of Session: Reading the Past in the Present: Multiple Interpretations of

African Music, 54th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM),

Mexico City, Mexico.

Nov 16, 2006 Pre-Performance Composition and Composition-in-Performance: Towards a

Theory of Improvisation in Akan Nnwonkoro. Presented at the 51st Annual

Conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Honolulu, Hawai’I.

Nov 16, 2006 Chair of Session: African Popular Music, 51st Annual Conference of the Society

for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Honolulu, Hawai’I.

Nov 16, 2005 Themes for African Drums: Kofi Ghanaba’s Conception of Afro Jazz and the

Development of Avant Garde, Free, Modern, and Post-Modern Jazz, Presented at

the 50th Annual Conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Atlanta,

Georgia.

April 6, 2005 Music Composition or Improvisation: Oral Composition in Akan and its

Challenge to Western Musicology, Presented at the 31st Annual Meeting and

Conference of the African Literature Association (ALA), University of Colorado-

Boulder.

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Jan 27, 2005 Choral Music in the African Idiom in Ghana, Presented at the Annual Meeting of

Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA), Colorado Springs.

Oct 23, 2002 Chair of Session: Focusing on Music: Repertoire Study, Modes of Transmission,

and Performances, 47th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology

(SEM), Estes Park Center/YMCA of the Rockies, Colorado..

Dec 5, 2002 Akyeame, Mesan Aba, and Hiplife: Representing Ghanaian Highlife in the New

Information Age, Presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the African Studies

Association (ASA), Washington DC.

March 6, 2002 African World Arts, Aesthetics and Performance Traditions: Towards a Unified

Theory and Pedagogical Methodology in the Study of the Arts in the African

World, presented at the 26th Annual International Conference of the National

Council for Black Studies (NCBS), San Diego, California.

Dec 5, 2001 African Artistic Response to New Media, 45th Annual Meeting of the African

Studies Association (ASA), Washington DC.

Jan 27, 2001 African and Western Perspectives on Sampling, Rap and Digital Orality, joint

presentation with Jeremy Smith (CU-Boulder) at the Colorado Music Educators

Association (CMEA), Colorado-Springs, Colorado.

Oct 2001 Chair of Session: Performance Practice in Africa and Southeast Asia, The 46th

Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Southfield, Michigan.

Oct 1998 Recontextualizing Nnwonkorɔ Music in Akan Communities of Ghana, presented at

the 43rd Annual Conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Indiana

University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Nov 1996 The Sounds of Heritage's Spiritual Commitment: Engendering Racial Identity and

Survival Among African Americans in Post Modern U.S. Annual Conference of

the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS), Gallaudet University,

Washington D. C.

Oct 1995 Choral Music: A New Art Form in Relation to Social and Cultural

Transformations in Ghana, 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for

Ethnomusicology, Los Angeles.

June 1995 African Art Music: A Report on the Current State of Research, Annual

Conference, National Council for Black Studies (NCBS), Inc. San Francisco.

GRANTS AND FUNDING FOR RESEARCH

April 16, 2021 LSA Summer Research Program Award to “Purchase small-scale

equipment for field research” for Summer 2021 Field Research in Ghana.

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April 30, 2020 African Humanities and Heritage Initiative (AHHI) at the African Studies

Center (ASC) Collaborative Seed Grant. Project title, Musical Expressions

and Traditions in the Borderlands: Collaborative Field Research at Aflao-

Ghana.

March 31, 2020 Center for World Performance Studies (CWPS) Faculty Fellowship.

Project title, Musical Expressions and Traditions in the Borderlands:

Collaborative Field Research at Aflao-Ghana.

Feb 7, 2019 Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion funding support for Lawer

Akunor’s short-term visit to UM to complete editing of video

documentary, Gone to the Village.

Dec 2018 African Studies Center (ASC) funding support for my travel and

presentation of research at International Symposium in honor of Prof.

Akin Euba at the University of Lagos-Nigeria.

Dec 2018 Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) funding

support for my travel and presentation of research at International

Symposium in honor of Prof. Akin Euba at the University of Lagos-

Nigeria.

Nov 2018 African Humanities and Heritage Initiative (AHHI) funding support for

Lawer Akunor’s short-term visit to UM to complete editing of video

documentary, Gone to the Village.

Nov 2018 DAAS/SAIO funding support for Lawer Akunor’s short-term visit to UM

to complete editing of video documentary, Gone to the Village.

Nov 2018 African Studies Center (ASC) funding support for Lawer Akunor’s short-

term visit to UM to complete editing of video documentary, Gone to the

Village.

Oct 2018 LSA Attend an Event/Conference. To present research at two professional

association conferences in Albuquerque-New Mexico for the SEM, and

Atlanta-Georgia for the ASA.

Oct 2017 UMOR Office of Research Small Scale and Preliminary Projects, to

support my project, “Media Coverage of Final Funerary Rites of Asante

Akan Queen” in Ghana.

Nov 2017 Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Discretionary Fund, to support my project, “Media Coverage of Final

Funerary Rites of Asante Akan Queen” in Ghana.

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Oct 2017 DAAS South African Initiative Fund to support my project, “Media

Coverage of Final Funerary Rites of Asante Akan Queen” in Ghana.

Oct 2017 African Heritage and Humanities Initiative (AHHI), African Studies

Center (ASC) to support my project, “Media Coverage of Final Funerary

Rites of Asante Akan Queen,” in Ghana.

Feb 2017 UMOR Office of Research Faculty Grants and Awards Program to support

my audio-visual documentation of the “Burial, Installation and

Enstoolment of Asante Queen in Ghana.

Feb 2017 LSA Scholarship/Research Grant to support my audio-visual

documentation of the “Burial, Installation and Enstoolment of Asante

Queen in Ghana.

Feb 2017 DAAS South African Initiative Fund to support my audio-visual


Queen in Ghana.

Feb 2017 African Studies Center (ASC) funding to support my audio-visual


Queen in Ghana.

Feb 25, 2016 LSA Associate Professor Support Fund (APSF) for one year Sabbatical,

April 29, 2016.

Feb 25, 2016 Primary Investigator, University of Michigan Humanities Collaborative

Grant for project titled, Audio-Visual Africa, with Professors Kelly Askew,

Paul Conway, and Frieda Ekotto.

Aug 11, 2016 Book Subvention, University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR)

and LSA Publication Subvention to pay for publication costs of, Engaging

Modernity: Asante in Twenty-First Century, 2nd edition.

April 14, 2015 African Heritage Initiative (AHI) Seed Grant for Collaborative Research

Projects, for my project, “English Translation of Ancient Akan Texts and

Ritual Poetry for Book Manuscript,” at the University of Ghana.

April 17, 2015 University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR) Office of Research

Faculty Grants and Awards Program, for my project, “English Translation

of Ancient Akan Texts and Ritual Poetry for Book Manuscript,” at the

University of Ghana.

Oct 2013 International Institute Fund for Conferences Workshops to support

residency of Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty.

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Sept. 2012 International Institute Fund for Conferences and Workshops to support

residency of James Acheampong, Ghanaian Drum Carver and Performer

from the Center for National Culture in Kumase.

April 30, 2012 The African Heritage Initiative of the African Studies Center. Seed Grant

to support collaborative research to document stool regalia and music at

Manhyia Palace in Kumase, Ghana.

Sept 28, 2012 Rackham Deans Strategic Funding to support residency of James

Acheampong, Ghanaian Drum Carver and Performer from the Center for

National Culture in Kumase.

Sept 20, 2012 Humanities Institute Mini Grant for Humanities-Related Event/Program to

support residency of James Acheampong, Ghanaian Drum Carver and

Performer from the Center for National Culture in Kumase.

Jan 31, 2012 Instructional Development Fund, Center for Research on Learning and

Teaching, to pay for field trip for my class, AAS 206 Performing Arts and

Power in Africa, to travel to Detroit to see the Broadway Musical, Fela!

Jan 16, 2012 Arts at Michigan Course Connections, to pay for field trip for my class,

AAS 206 Performing Arts and Power in Africa, to travel to Detroit to see

the Broadway Musical, Fela!

Feb 2010 The Anschutz Foundation. To pay for the total cost of a two-week

Residency for Asante Chiefs and a Queenmother.

March 2010 The Colorado Trust. Funding for the 10th Annual Spectacular Highlife

Concert.

Feb 2010 Tomadachi Foundation (Eugene, Oregon). Funding for the 10th Annual

Spectacular Highlife Concert, February 2010.

March 2010 The Cowry Capital Group. Funding for the 10th Annual Spectacular

Highlife Concert, March 2010.

Nov 4, 2009 Roser Grant for Visiting Artists. Title: Residency for Asante Chiefs and

Guest Performance in the 10th Annual Highlife Concert, November 4th,

2009. Amount:

Dec 4, 2009 President’s Fund for the Humanities. Title: Residency for Asante Chiefs

and Guest Performance in the 10th Annual Highlife Concert.

Jan 20, 2009 Roser Mini Grant For Visiting Artist. Title: Residency for Koo Nimo and

His Adadam Agofomma and Guest Performance in the 9th Annual

Highlife Concert.

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Nov 24, 2008 President’s Fund for the Humanities. Title: Residency for Koo Nimo and


Highlife Concert.

Dec 12, 2008 Diversity and Excellence Award. Title: Residency for Koo Nimo and His

Adadam Agofomma and Guest Performance in the 9th Annual Highlife

Concert.

Nov 21, 2008 CHA/GCAH Visiting Artist Grant. Title: Residency for Koo Nimo and


Highlife Concert.

Nov 16, 2007 CHA/GCAH Research/Creative Work Grant for my field research trip to

Ghana for my project: “Experience and Values in Akan Court Music.”

Feb 19, 2007 CHA/GCAH Visiting Artist Grant. Title, Residency for the West African

Percussion Trio and Performance in the 7th Annual Highlife Ensemble.

Dec 4, 2006 Diversity and Excellence Grant. Title, Residency for the West African


Nov 20, 2006 President’s Fund for the Humanities. Residency for the West African


Nov 1, 2006 The Council on Research and Creative Work (CRCW) Seed Grant for

field research trip to Ghana for my project, “Experience and Values in

Akan Court Music.”

Dec 5, 2006 Implementation of Multicultural Perspectives and Approaches in Research

and Teaching (IMPART). Faculty Fellowship for field research trip to

Ghana for my project, “Experience and Values in Akan Court Music,”

December 5, 2006.

April 14, 2006 Council for Humanities and the Arts (CHA)/Graduate Council for the Arts

and Humanities (GCAH) Travel Grant for field research trip to Ghana for

my project, “Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture: The Resources and

Repertoire of Asante Court Music.”

June 30 The CU-Boulder Outreach Committee, Multi-Year grant for my outreach

program: Presentation of African Music and Cultures Series to

Communities and K-12 Audiences Throughout the State of Colorado. June

30th, 2006.

Nov 15, 2004 IMPART grant for my summer field research trip to Ghana. Project title:

Themes for African Drums: Kofi Ghanaba’s Conception of Afro Jazz and

the Development of Avant-Garde, Free, Modern and Post-Modern Jazz.

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April 14, 2003 Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH) Travel Grant

for field research in Ghana to collect additional data for my research on

Thelonious Monk.

April 2001 Special Projects Grant by the Graduate Committee on the Arts and

Humanities (GCAH) for the African Instruments and Costume Project to

purchase African instruments and costumes from Ghana.

Nov 15, 2000 IMPART grant for the African Instruments and Costume Project, by the

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Equity, University of

Colorado at Boulder, to purchase African instruments and costumes from

Ghana.

GRANTS FOR GUEST ARTISTS AND VISITING SCHOLARS

Dec 4, 2006 Diversity and Excellence Grant for two-month residency of The West

African Percussion Trio from Ghana. The Trio performed as guests in the

7th Annual Highlife Concert, presented a Master Class in the Percussion

Studio and several Lecture-Demos in various classes in the College of

Music.

Nov 20, 2006 President’s Fund for the Humanities for two-month residency of the West




Music.

Dec 2006 Roser Mini Grant for Visiting Artists for two-month residency of The

West African Percussion Trio from Ghana. The Trio performed as guests

in the 7th Annual Highlife Concert, presented a Master Class in the

Percussion Studio and several Lecture-Demos in various classes in the

College of Music.

Feb 2007 CHA/GCAH Visiting Artists Grant for two-month residency of The West




Music.

Feb 14, 2005 Visiting Artist Grant by CHA Graduate Committee on the Arts and

Humanities (GCAH), for the world-renowned percussionist, Okyerema

Asante, to perform as guest in the 5th Annual Highlife Concert.

Jan 11, 2005 Roser Visiting Artist Grant for the legendary Mac Tontoh, a founding

member of Osibisa

.

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Jan 14, 2005 Roser Mini Grant for the world-renowned percussionist, Okyerema

Asante, to perform as guest artist in the 5th Annual Highlife Concert.

July 19, 2004 CU-Boulder Outreach Committee grant for my Outreach Program with the

Highlife Ensemble in Salida, Colorado.

Jan 27, 2004 Roser Mini Grant for Maputo Mensah, percussionist and dance

choreographer from Ghana, to rehearse and perform as guest in the 4th

Annual Highlife Concert.

April 15, 2003 IMPART grant to cover the cost of bringing Kofi Agawu, Princeton

University music Professor, to CU-Boulder, for his lecture in the Fall

2003, Musicology Colloquium Series in the College of Music.

Fall 2002-2010 CU Outreach Grant. Multi-Year Outreach grant to extend resources of the

CU African Ensemble to K-12 and community audiences in Colorado.

Feb 28, 2002 Roser Visiting Artist Grant, to bring Kakraba Lobi, Xylophone virtuoso

from the Lobi Ethnic group in Ghana to perform as guest artist in the 2nd

Annual CU African Ensemble Concert, and Master Class for the

Percussion Studio.

Feb 28, 2002 The President’s Fund for Diversity, to pay the honorarium for Adjei

Abankwa, a professional dancer and choreographer with the Ghana Dance

Ensemble, to choreograph dances for the CU African Ensemble for three

semesters, Spring 2002 to Spring 2003.

Feb 21, 2002 Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH) grant for

Visiting Scholars to cover the cost of bringing Kakraba Lobi, Xylophone

virtuoso from the Lobi ethnic group in Ghana, to CU-Boulder to perform

in the 2nd Annual CU African Ensemble Concert, and Master Class for the

Percussion Studio.

Feb 2001 Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH) Award for

Visiting Artists/Scholars to bring Agya Koo Nimo, Pre-eminent Palm

Wine guitarist from Ghana. Koo Nimo performed as guest with CU

African Ensemble in Grusin Hall on April 8, led Master Classes, Lecture-

Demonstration in the College of Music Convocation.

INITIATIVES AS DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR WORLD PERFORMANCE STUDIES

(CWPS)

Developed the following programs

Graduate Certificate in World Performance Studies

Annual Faculty Symposium

Faculty Summer Funding

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Visiting Scholars and Artists Residency

Faculty Sponsored Scholars/Artists Residency Program

General Students and Faculty Funding

Signature Events Featuring Concerts by Visiting Artists

CWPS Newsletter and Brochure

CWPS Steering Committee

Organized international symposium

Performing the Other: A Symposium on Cultural Exchanges Between China and Africa,

in collaboration with UofM Confucius Institute.

Scholars Brought to CWPS for Short and Long-Term Residencies

April 3-6, 2016 Kofi Asare Opoku, African University College of Communications-

Ghana. DAAS Africa Workshop, “Water to Swallow the Pill of Wisdom:

Humor in African Proverbs.”

March 17-21, 2015 Kofi Agawu, Princeton University. Guest Lecture in the CWPS Graduate

Seminar and Musicology Distinguished Lecture.

Sept 7-Oct 11, 2014 Nana Kwadwo Nyantakyi III (Chief of the Treasury, Manhyia Palace-

Kumase) and Nana Afia Adoma II (Queen of Krobo), King-Chavez-Parks

Visiting Professors. Taught combined class, AAS 366 Music of Africa and

AAS 480 Visual Cultures of Africa, and gave public lectures in DAAS

and the Ann Arbor District Library.

Feb 8-15, 2014 Sanjoy Bandopadhyah, Ustad Alauddin Khan Professor of Instrumental

Music at the Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, India. Musicology

Distinguished Lecture Series and concert at UMMA.

March 29-30, 2013 J.H. Kwabena Nketia, Chancellor, Akrofi-Christaller Institute of

Theology, Mission and Culture-Ghana. Keynote Speaker, Performing the

Other: A Symposium on Cultural Exchanges Between China and Africa,

in collaboration with UM Confucius Institute.

March 29-30, 2013 Patricia Tang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Speaker,

Performing the Other: A Symposium on Cultural Exchanges Between

China and Africa, in collaboration with UM Confucius Institute.

March 29-30, 2013 Kimasi Browne, Director of Ethnomusicology and Music Research, Azusa

Pacific University in California. Speaker, Performing the Other: A

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Symposium on Cultural Exchanges Between China and Africa, in

collaboration with UM Confucius Institute.

Fall 2013 Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty, Center for World Performance Studies

Scholar/Artist in Residence. Dr. Chakraborty is master of the sarod from

Kolkata (India). Lectures and performance of Hindustani Classical Music;

patient therapy sessions at the UM Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Artists Brought to CWPS for Short and Long-Term Residency

April 3-7, 2016 Osei Korankye (Seperewa-Harp-Lute Master) from Ghana. Lecture-Demo

in Music and DAAS.

Jan 16, 2015 Dobet Gnahoré in Concert, as part of CWPS Signature Event, Michigan

Theater.

Nov 8-14, 2015 Janusz Prusinowski Kompania from Poland for Workshops, Lectures, and

Concert.

Feb 18-22, 2013 Dobet Gnahore and Acoustic Africa in collaboration with the UM

Museum of Art exhibition, “El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You About

Africa.

March 31, 2012 Rony Barrak, Master of Darbouka, percussionist, composer, and producer

from Lebanon; and the Fontomfrom Drum & Dance Ensemble from

Ghana in Concert. CWPS Signature Event.

Oct. 1-31, 2012 James Acheampong, Drum Carving and Exhibition, Workshops, Lecture-

Demos in Palmer Commons.

Oct 7-9, 2012 Grupo Tucandira, a five-member group of Colombian vocalists and

musicians directed by Arecio Manjarres Garcia, in collaboration with the

Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACS), lectures and performance.

Jan 11-14, 2012 Vusi Mahlasela, Lecture-Demo, screening of film documentary, Amandla!

and Q&A, and Signature Event concert in collaboration with UMMA.

March 2012 Fontomfrom Drum & Dance Ensemble, Master drummers and dancers,

former members of the National Dance Company based at the Center for

National Culture, Kumase-Ghana. Lecture-demos and Signature Event

concert at Palma Commons.

Sept 9-13, 2012 Samuel and Fradreck Mujuru, Mbira Masters and Makers from

Zimbabwe. Lecture-demos.

TEACHING

19

Undergraduate Courses

African Musics and Cultures

Performing Arts and Power in Africa

Hip Hop in Africa

Symbolic Language and Communications in West African Visual and Performing Arts

Advising and Mentorship of Undergraduates

Independent Study

Winter 2019 Alexis Lombre (Jazz Studies, School of Music, Theater and Dance),

“Music, Cultural History, and National Politics in South Africa.

June 21, 2012 Terrence Robinson (LSA Bachelor in General Studies), “Lil Wayne:

Southern Hip Hop and Youth Masculinity.”

Undergraduate Research Assistants

AY2016-17 Khairah Green (LSA BA English), undergraduate assistant for my LSA

Associate Professor Support Grant. Gathered bibliography and collated

transcribed Twi texts with English Translations for my book manuscripts.

Fall 2013 Kristina Johnson (LSA Undeclared Major), undergraduate assistant.

Identified and assembled still images for my manuscript.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Mentor

AY 2018-2019 Diarratou Kaba, to assist with my book manuscript and presentations at

annual meetings of the SEM and ASA. Her work include gathering

bibliography using the Zotero software and assisting with PowerPoint

design.

Graduate Seminars

Introduction to Ethnomusicology

Ethnography in Ethnomusicology

Field Research Methods in Ethnomusicology

Special Topics in Ethnomusicology

Proseminar in World Performance Studies (CWPS, UM)

Advising and Mentorship of Graduates

Chair of Dissertation/Doctoral Committee

Dec 2010 Daniel Nunez, PhD in ethnomusicology “Music, Identity, and Afro-

Venezuelan Culture: The Dynamics of a Contemporary Tradition as

Manifested in the Central Coastal Region.” University of Colorado-

Boulder.

As Member of Dissertation/Master’s Thesis/Doctoral Committees

20

2014 Camela (Tanya) Logan, PhD. Romance Languages and Literatures

(French), “Dressing Masculinity Among Black Men in Paris Since the

Mid-1970s.” University of Michigan.

Fall 2013-Aug 2015 Daniel Piccolo, DMA in Percussion, School of Music, Theatre and Dance,

University of Michigan.

Winter 2016 Shane Jones, DMA in Percussion, School of Music, Theatre and Dance,

University of Michigan.

AY 2016-17 V. Harriet Barnes-Duke, MA in Ethnomusicology, Music Department,

Tufts University, Medford, MA.

AY 2016-17 Ben Paulding, MA in Ethnomusicology, Music Department, Tufts

University, Medford, MA.

Independent Study-Graduate Students

Fall 2020 Jessie Bakitunda (MA International And Regional Studies-International

Institute, University of Michigan).

Fall 2020 Daniel Iddrisu (MA International and Regional Studies-International

Institute, University of Michigan).

Fall 2020 Zacharia El-Magharbel (Jazz Improvisation, School of Music, Theater and

Dance, University of Michigan).

Served on Masters and Doctoral Committees at the University of Colorado-Boulder, 2002-

2011

Mary-Lynn Sindoni, Ross Hagen, Janice Osburn, Candace E. Ellman, Tracey Schmidt, Catherine

Burge, Kevin Ownby, Greg Harris, Jennifer Dodson, Obadia Ariss, Deborah Lissner, Josh Aerie,

Hermes Camacho, Dan Kaplan, Serha Kwak, Yenlik Bodaubay, Chad Hamill, Said Boakye

(Economics), Hermes Camacho, John Hilton, Christina Fitts Brady, Robin Edridge, Damani

Philips, George Figgs (Linguistics), Chad Hamill, Tracy Schmidt, Mark Arnett, Ross Hagen,

John Hilton, Debby Lissner, Shane Lieberman (German Studies), Obediah Ariss, Teera Price,

Joao Janqueira, Denise C. Pelusch, Shin-han Chu, Marcus Turner, Erin D. Keller, Lucas Reeves,

Emily Dixon, Kimberly C. Eberhardt (School of Journalism and Mass Communication).

Special Teaching Assignments

2012 and 2013 Faculty Director, Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates

(GIEU), Summer Programs in Ghana, Organized by the Center for Global

Intercultural Study (CGIS), University of Michigan.

Summer 2013 Faculty, Engineering Appropriate Technologies: Needs, Design and

Entrepreneurship, College of Engineering (UofM) summer program at the

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),

Kumase-Ghana.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

21

As Participant

Spring/Summer Course Design Worship Series hosted by the Center for Academic Innovation

(CAI) and Center for Research on Learning & Teaching (CRLT) at the University of Michigan.

April 20, 2020 Getting Started/Moving Toward Designing Your Online Class.

April 21, 2020 Curating & Creating Compelling Online Content.

April 23, 2020 Building your Learning Community: Creating & Facilitating Collaborative

Online Experiences.

April 24, 2020 Transferring & Transforming Assessments for Online Courses.

April 28, 2020 Copyright and Online Courses.

April 29, 2020 Inclusive Teaching in Remote Contexts.

As Faculty

May 29-June 2, 2007 Kwasi Ampene, “Call and Response in Theory.” College Music Society

(CMS) Institute on the Pedagogy of World Music Theories, for University

Professors, University of Colorado-Boulder.

June 7-11, 2005 Kwasi Ampene, “Compositional Conventions in Akan Nnwonkoro.”

College Music Society (CMS) Institute on the Pedagogy of World Music

Theories, for University Professors, University of Colorado-Boulder.

SERVICE

External Reviewer of Dissertation

April 2021 Evaluation of doctoral dissertation for The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for

The Authority for Research Students in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Assessor of Publications for Fellowship

2019 Reviewed nomination file for the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

2010-11 Member of Local Arrangements Committee, Symposium and Festschrift in honor

of Prof. Emeritus J. H. Kwabena Nketia. Organizers: Institute of African Studies,

University of Ghana.

Blind Review of Book Manuscripts

2021 Internal Review for SOAS Music Series (UK)

2009 Ashgate Publishing Ltd (UK).

2003 Oxford University Press.

2002 Oxford University Press.

22

Blind Review of Articles for Refereed Journals

2021 Journal of West African Languages.

2020 Ethnomusicology Forum.

2012 Volume! The French Journal of Popular Music Studies.

2012 The Journal of the Musical Arts of Africa.

2006 The Journal of New Music Research.

2005 Africa Today.

2004 Black Music Research Journal (BMRJ).

2004 Black Music Research Journal (BMRJ).

2001 the International Journal of Africana Studies (IJAS).

Blind Review of Grant Proposals

2010 For the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Vienna, Austria.

2010 Review of grant proposal for the American Council of Learned Society (ACLS) and the

African Humanities Institute at the University of Ghana. The AHI is made up of

universities in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Republic of South Africa.

Service in professional organization

Nov 2020-present President, Ghana Studies Association (GSA). An international affiliate of

the African Studies Association (ASA)

Oct 2020-present Member of Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) Council

Nov 2019-Nov 2020 Outgoing Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for


Nov 2018-Nov 2019 Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for Ethnomusicology

(SEM).

Nov 2017-Nov 2018 Incoming Chair, African Music Section (AfMS) in the Society for


External Reviewer for Promotion and Tenure Cases

2017 University of South Carolina, School of Music.

2017 University of Colorado-Boulder, College of Music.

23

2014 University of Ghana (Legon), Department of Music.

2012 Oakland University (Michigan), Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

2011 Department of Ethnomusicology, University of California-Los Angeles.

2011 Binghamton University, Department of Africana Studies, SUNY.

Member of Committee

2006-2009 Society for Ethnomusicology’s Crossroads Project for Diversity and Difference.

2004-2005 Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) for the 31st Annual Meeting and

Conference of the African Literature Association (ALA) at the University of

Colorado-Boulder.

2002 Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) for the 47th Annual Meeting of the

Society for Ethnomusicology, Estes Park, Colorado.

University of Michigan

Sept 2020-present Member of Graduate Committee, Dept of Afroamerican and

African Studies

Sept 2019-present Member of Executive Committee (EC), African Studies Center.

Sept 2018-May 2020 Member of DAAS Executive Committee (EC).

Sept ll 2018-present Review of African Presidential Scholars applications for the

African Humanities and Heritage Initiative.

Sept 2019-Feb 2020 Member of Black Popular Culture Search Committee.

Sept 2019-March 2020 Member of Marko Mwipopo Lecture I Review Committee.

June 2018 Member of Ghana Delegation, UM Provost’s Visit to Ghana.

Winter & Spring 2018 Member of Planning Committee, UM Provost’s Three Nation

African Tour.

Fall 2017-present Member of African Humanities and Heritage Initiative.

Winter 2018 Chair, Review Committee for Scott Ellsworth LEO Lecturer IV

Promotion.

Fall 2017 Chair, Review Committee for Nyambura Mpesha LEO Lecturer IV

Promotion.

24

Fall 2017-present Steering Committee Member, African Heritage and Humanities

Initiative (AHHI) in the African Studies Center (ASC).

Nov 2017 Review of funding proposal for University of Michigan Office

Research.

July 2017 Review of funding proposal for University of Michigan Office of

Research.

April 2015 Review of funding proposal for University of Michigan Office of

Research.

Sept 2012-May 2014 Member of Executive Committee (EC), Dept. of Afroamerican and

African Studies, University of Michigan.

2011-2015 Member, Arts Consortium, Chair: Senior Vice Provost for

Academic Affairs, University of Michigan.

2011-2012 Dept. of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) Exhibitions

Committee. Oversee activities of GalleryDAAS.

Jan 2013 Reviewer for the Office of the Vice President for Research Faculty

Grants and Awards proposals.

CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS AS DIRECTOR OF UNIV. OF COLORADO WEST

AFRICAN HIGHLIFE ENSEMBLE

April 17, 2010 10th Annual Highlife Concert, Macky Auditorium, University of

Colorado-Boulder. Featuring Traditional Oath Swearing Ceremony by

Special Guests: Chiefs and Queenmothers from the Asante Kingdom of

Ghana and Traditional musicians from New York. Additional Guests: Jazz

Professors John Gunther and Brad Goode.

April 21, 2009 9th Annual Highlife Concert, Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado-

Boulder, with guest: Grammy Award Winner, Victor Wooten.


Boulder, with guests: The West African Percussion Trio featuring Paa

Kow (drum set), E. Adu Twum (double bells), and Atta Addo (kpanlogo,

jembe, & gome drums).


Boulder, with guests, Mac Tontoh of London-Based Osibisa Fame,

Kwame Seth Asiedu, CU Jazz Professors, Brad Goode and John Gunther,

and the Umoja Gospel Singers.

25


Boulder, with guests: Legendary percussionist Okyerema Asante and

Kwame Seth Asiedu.

April 9, 2005 Highlife Ensemble performs at the closing banquet of the 31st Annual

Meeting and Conference of the African Literature Association (ALA).

Oct 29, 2004 Highlife Ensemble performs at the University of Colorado Annual

President’s Dinner, The Wildlife Experience, Parker, CO.


Boulder.

April 6, 2003 3rd Annual Highlife Concert, Grusin Hall, University of Colorado-

Boulder.

Jan 23, 2003 Highlife Concert for the annual meeting of the Colorado Music Educators

Association (CMEA), The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado-Springs.

Oct 24, 2002 Highlife Ensemble performs at the Official Welcome Reception, 47th

Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), The YMCA

of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado.

April 7, 2002 2nd Annual Highlife Concert with guest artist, Kakraba Lobi, Xylophone

virtuoso from the Lobi Ethnic group in Ghana, Grusin Hall, College of

Music.

April 8, 2001 1st Annual Highlife Concert, Grusin Hall, College of Music, University of

Colorado at Boulder, with guest artist, Agya Koo Nimo, Palwine guitarist

from Ghana.

Highlife Recordings

1991 Arranged and Produced Oheneba Kisi’s debut album, Suzzy, in Ghana.

1987 Assa: Highlife Dance Time, Co-Wrote, Produced, and released album with

Kwame Seth Asiedu, renowned Highlife artist in Ghana.

1980-1985 Played the keyboard on over 12 LPs as a guest recording artist with Nana

Kwame Ampadu I and the African Brothers International Band of Ghana.

1985-1988 Played the keyboard on 3 LPs as guest recording artist with Prince Osei

Kofi and His African Heroes Band, Accra-Ghana.

POPULAR PRESS AND MEDIA APPEARANCE

April 30, 2021. Live broadcast of University of Massachusetts panel on WPFW 89.3 FM

Jazz and Justice in Washington, DC.

26

Dec 7 & 9, 2017 Interview on GHOne TV, a TV station in Ghana, Interview covered

aspects of the Final Funerary Rites of Asante Queen in Kumase-Ghana.

Jan 16, 2017 Interview on GHOne TV, a TV station in Ghana. Interview covered various

aspects of Asante traditions and culture pertaining to the four-day funerary

rites and burial of the Asante Queen in Kumase-Ghana.

Summer 2007 Live Afrique, Edition 4, Vol. 1. An international magazine by Africans for

Africans abroad located in the Washington DC area. Published an

interview and pictures of the 7th Annual Highlife Concert at the University

of Colorado-Boulder, Title of article: Boulder Highlife: Bold for the

African Flavor.

Sept 4th-10th, 2006 Graphic Showbiz, Ghanaian weekly newspaper on the arts and music

business. Title of article, “Highlife Wins Colorado.”

Aug 9th, 2005 Interview on Metro TV weekly program, Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF)

host, Kwaku Sintim Misah (KSM), about my research and organization of

West African Highlife Ensemble at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

March 26, 2004 The Wall Street Journal, featured my picture and information about my

work and the 4th Annual Highlife Concert at the University of Colorado-

Boulder.

March 27, 2002 The Daily Camera, in the “Portraits” section, article about my teaching at

the University of Colorado-Boulder, my outreach in the public schools,

and the 2nd Annual Highlife Concert.

July 25, 2001 Graphic Showbiz (Entertainment news, Ghana), Interview about the

current highlife scene in Ghana-West Africa.

AWARDS

Sept 29, 2018 Asanteman Association of Michigan, in recognition and appreciation as

the guest speaker, Gala Dinner. Greater Grace Temple, Detroit Michigan.

April 20, 2013 Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Sekyere Presbytery-Asante Mampong. In

recognition of my contributions toward the growth and development of the

church at Atebubu and the surrounding communities. Donation of electric

generator for water treatment and to pump water to the community;

building a Canteen for the District Hospital; 80% financing of the New

Chapel; and facilitating a partnership with the First Presbyterian Church of

Deerfield, Illinois for development projects.

Nov 19, 2012 UM Council on Global Engagement, For exemplary efforts in making the

University of Michigan a globally engaged community.

27

Oct 11-14, 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr., César Chåvez, Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Feb 2003 CACMA Certificate of Appreciation for the Ethnomusicology Program in

the College of Music for Achievement in Diversity. Award shared with

Brenda Romero and Jay Keister.

April 7, 2002 Community Builder Brick Award for making CU-Boulder a better place to

live, work, and learn, by Building Community Campaign Committee, CU-

Boulder.

Nov 21, 2001 Certificate of Appreciation by Richard Kraft (Director), the Chancellor’s

Leadership Program, for my dedication and commitment to the success of

students of color at CU-Boulder.

May 14, 1994 The Marion Anderson/Alvin Ailey Award for Outstanding Achievement

in Creative and Performing Arts, by The Center for Black Culture and

Research, West Virginia University.

NOMINATIONS

2003 Equity and Excellence Award, by the CU-Boulder Office of Diversity and

Equity, nomination by Aileen Hartzell and Kevin Richey.

2002 Outstanding Teacher of the Year nomination by Sean Miller class of 2002.

kwasi ampene - lsa.umich.edu

Documents