Program Overview
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology exposes students with a background in music to diverse musical traditions from a non-Western perspective. Coursework, on-site research, and exposure to different instruments and musical genres will help students think critically about why music matters to individuals and communities around the world, thereby encouraging them to engage with music in their own world in new ways.

Oberlin’s gong music ensemble demonstrate how to play tuned percussion instruments from the Sumatran Talempong and Javanese Gamelan tradition.
Photo credit: Yingran Zhang ’16
Program Facts
- Program Type: Minor
- Division: Musicology
Program Director
Steven Plank,Andrew B. Meldrum Professor of Musicology
Contact
- Jeanne Rosecrans, Administrative Assistant
- 440-775-8297
- jrosecra@oberlin.edu
Quick Links
Ethnomusicology Faculty
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Courtney-Savali Andrews
Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology
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Jennifer Fraser
Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology
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Kathryn Metz
Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology News
Jennifer Fraser Receives Grant from the National Endowment of Humanities
May 21, 2020
The summer stipend award will support Fraser’s ethnomusicology research and interactive digital humanities project.
Zola Barnes ’19 Awarded Newman Civic Fellowship
May 16, 2018
The yearlong fellowship supports community service-minded students.
Bringing Black Spirituals to the Masses
February 7, 2018
Second-year DaQuan Williams honors Moses Hogan ’79 with sing-along program during Black History Month.