ACADEMIC TITLES AND POSITIONS
2022: Junior assistant professor (fixed-term). Department of the Arts, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna
2020: PhD degree in Music, Department of Music, SOAS University of London, supported by SOAS Research Studentship. Outcome: Passed (with no corrections)
2014-2015: Darmasiswa Scholarship, Seni Karawitan Department, Faculty of Seni Pertunjukan, Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta
2014: MA degree in Musicology, Department of Letters and Modern Cultures, Sapienza University of Rome. Final mark: 110/110 cum laude
2011: BA degree in History, Anthropology, Religions (Anthropological Theory and Practice), Department of History Anthropology Religions, Sapienza University of Rome.Final marks: 110/110 cum laude
MAIN RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
2022-current: Researcher for the project: "Sound of silence. Ecoacoustic mapping of the impacts of certain human activities on natural environment and places fruition." Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy).
2020-current: Curator of the online teaching project: “The World Music Listening Guides: Intercultural Music Education Courses”. Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies (IISMC), Giorgio Cini Foundation, Venice (Italy).
2020 Vittore Branca Research Scholarship, Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies (IISMC), Giorgio Cini Foundation, Venice (Italy).
2017-2018: Ethnographic fieldwork and research in Central Burma/Myanmar, as part of the PhD degree (Music, SOAS University of London) on musics, dances and spirit possession cults
2015-2016: Ethnographic fieldwork and research in Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi) as part of the Darmasiswa Scholarship (ISI Yogyakarta) on Central Javanese court music (gamelan, gender) and music, dance and trance of the Bissu (Watampone, Sulawesi).
2013: Ethnographic fieldwork and research in Central Burma/Myanmar, as part of the MA degree (Musicology, Department of Letters and Modern Cultures, Sapienza University of Rome) on the music in the urban spirit possession cult.
2010: Ethnographic fieldwork and research in Latium (Borgo Hermada, Pontine Plain) as part of the BA degree (History, Anthropology, Religion, Department of Anthropology Religions Art and Performing Arts, Sapienza University of Rome) on music, songs and rituals of veneto-pontine communities.
MAIN TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Courses, modules, and talks
12.05.2023 (Term 2) Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Lecture (3 hours) to PhD students in Music: "Ricerche digitali e gestione dei dati" [Digital research and data management].
27.02.2023 (Term 2) Bologna (Italy), Alma mater Studiorium University of Bologna. Course (MA) “Storia della musica nei media” [History of music within the media], prof A. Scalfaro. Talk (2 hours): "Popular music in Birmania" [Popular music in Burma].
2022-2023 (Term 1) Bologna, Alma mater Studiorium University of Bologna. Teaching (MA): "Tradizioni musicali in Asia" [Traditional musics of Asia] (60 hours).
2022-2023 (Term 1) Bologna, Alma mater Studiorium University of Bologna. Teaching (MA): Laboratory "Bologna crocevia di culture" [Bologna crossroads of cultures] (30 hours).
10.11.2022 Rome (Italy), Sapienza University of Rome. Course (MA) “Musiche dei paesi dell’Asia” [Music of Asia], prof G. Giuriati. Talk (2 hours): Trascrizione e analisi delle musiche dell'ensemble hsaing waing (Birmania centrale/Myanmar). [Transcription and analysis of the musics of the hsaing waing ensemble (central Burma/Myanmar)].
2021-2022 (Term 2) Bologna, Alma mater Studiorium University of Bologna. Teaching (MA): Laboratory "Bologna crocevia di culture" [Bologna crossroads of cultures] (30 hours).
12.05.2022 Rome (Italy), Sapienza University of Rome. Course (MA), "Fundamentals of ethnomusicological research", prof. Giovanni Giuriati. Talk (2 hours, in person/online): Le guide all'ascolto delle musiche del mondo: Musica per i culti di possessione in Birmania (Myanmar) [the world music listening guides: music for spirit possession cults in Burma (Myanmar)].
16-17.02.2022 Bologna (Italy), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. Course (MA): Laboratory (1), prof S. Bruni. Talk (4 hours): Nat kana pwe: Musiche e danze di possessione in Birmania centrale (Myanmar) [nat kana pwe: spirit possession musics and dances in central Burma (Myanmar)] and discussion on fieldwork research techniques
2021-2022 (Autumn term) London (UK), The Brilliant Club, Scholars Programme, Grove Primary School. Course (KS2): “How to Make a Museum” (30 ore).
2021-2022 (Autumn term) London (UK), The Brilliant Club, Scholars Programme, Saint Mary’s Catholic Primary School. Course (KS2): “How to Make a Museum” (30 ore).
2021-2022 (Autumn term) London (UK), The Brilliant Club, Scholars Programme, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School. Course (KS2): “How to Make a Museum” (30 ore).
19.05.2021 Rome (Italy), Sapienza University of Rome. Course (BA): “Global Humanities”, prof G. Giuriati. Talk (2 hours, online): Music and Ritual. Spirit Possession Dance and Music in Central Burma/Myanmar.
2020-2021 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Course (PhD): “Research Skills”, prof R. Harris. Graduate Teaching Assistant (30 hours).
2020-2021 (Summer Term) London (UK), The Brilliant Club, Scholars Programme, Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy. Course (KS3): “Music with a Message: Understanding America through Song” (30 hours).
07.12.2020 Rome (Italy), Sapienza University of Rome. Course (MA) “Musiche dei paesi dell’Asia” [Music of Asia], prof G. Giuriati. Talk (2 hours, online): Musiche, danze e rito. Nat pwe: il culto degli spiriti in Birmania (Myanmar) [Musics, dances and ritual. Nat pwe: spirit cults in Burma (Myanmar].
2019-2020 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Course (PhD): “Research Skills”, prof A. Thompson. Graduate Teaching Assistant (20 hours).
19.03.2019 London (UK), SOAS University of London, Music Department. Course (BA) “Popular and Fusion Music in Southeast Asia”, Dr N. Gray. Talk (2 ore): Burmese popular music.
2018-2019 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Course (BA): “Introduction to Music Analysis”, Dr Nick Gray. Graduate Teaching Assistant (10 hours).
2019 London (UK), Essex Primary School, Newham. KS2 Music tutor (10 hours).
2018 Mandalay (Myanmar), Mandalay University, Anthropology Department. Course (MA): “Anthropology”, prof Thidar Htwe Win. 2 talks (4 hours) on fieldwork research techniques and methodologies in anthropology and ethnomusicology.
2017 Yangon (Myanmar), Gitameit Music Institute, Ne Myo Aung. Talk (2 hours) on fieldwork research techniques and methodologies, and music analysis.
24.03.2017 Milan (Italy), University of Milan “La Statale”. Course (BA): “Etnomusicologia” [ethnomusicology], prof N. Scaldaferri. Talk (2 hours): Spazi sonori per gli spiriti: Musiche dei culti di possessione in Birmania [sonic spaces for the spirits: music in Burmese spirit possession cults].
2016 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Course (MA): “Music, Religion and Society in the Middle East and North Africa”, Dr Ilana Webster-Koen. Exam moderator.
2014 Rome, Sapienza University of Rome. Course (MA): “Metodi di Trascrizione e Analisi in Etnomusicologia” [transcription and analytical methods in ethnomusicology], prof G. Giuriati. Talk (3 hours) on transcription methods and analysis of the Burmese ensemble hsaing waing.
Seminars and workshops
14-19.06.2021 Venice (IT), Giorgio Cini Foundation, Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies (IISMC), participation in the online workshop: “Sguardi musicali/Eyes on Music” coordinated by S. Tarsitani and M. Lutzu.
28.01.2020 London (UK), Music Department, SOAS University of London. SOAS Music Research Public Seminar. Participation in the roundtable: "Are we all acousmanic now?".
17.03.2021 Venice (Italy), Giorgio Cini Foundation, Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies (IISMC). Online seminar: “Divulgare la conoscenza delle musiche del mondo” [disseminate knowledge of world musics]. Paper: presentation of the project “The World Music Listening Guides: Intercultural Music Education Courses”.
27.05.2020 London (UK), SOAS Music Research Public Seminar. Online seminar organisation: “Filming (Music) in the Field: From Filming Strategies to Ethnographic Experience”. Paper: Ethnographic Filming for Analytical Purposes e tavola rotonda.
4-6.11.2019 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Participation in the workshop: “Professional Development in Higher Education Programme”.
21.05.2019 Durham (UK), University of Durham, Department of Music, Post-graduate Music Seminars, prof M. Clayton e prof L. Leante. Talk (2 hours): transcription methods and analysis of the Burmese ensemble hsaing waing
16.11.2017 Venice (Italy), Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies (IISMC) and Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Workshop organisation: "Musica e rito: Myanmar. Nat pwe. Le cerimonie per gli spiriti a Yangon" [music and rite: Myanmar. Nat pwe: spirit ceremonies in Yangon].
26-28.05.2017 Oxford (UK), St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, Programme on Modern Burmese Studies. Participation in the workshop: “Oxford/SOAS Graduate Workshop: New Directions in Research on Myanmar”. Paper: Identity connections: Representing Bamar-ness and other Myanmar ethnicities through nat hsaing musics in Burmese natkana pwe.
CONFERENCES
13-19.07.2023 Accra (GH), University of Ghana, Legon. Conference: 47th ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music) World Conference. Panel organisation: "Shifting aesthetics and reimagining meanings of spirit encounters: Sound, movement, and religious hybridity in Southeast Asia". Paper presentation: "'The dance movements are Burmese rather than Siamese': A preliminary enquiry into the "Dance of the 9 gems" (with H. Yadana) as part of the panel "Performing arts in the royal courts of Southeast Asia".
7-9.06.2023 Palermo (IT), Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum. Conference: "2nd Symposium of our ICTM Study Group on Global History of Music". Paper: "Spirits, diasporic sounds, and digital spaces during the Burmese Spring Revolution".
24.05.2023 Bologna (IT), Department of the Arts University of Bologna. Conference: "Arti e sostenibilità: immaginari, industrie e buone pratiche [Arts and sustainability: imaginary scenarios, industries, and good practices]". Relazione: "Sound of silence. Mappatura ecoacustica degli impatti di alcune attività antropiche sulle componenti naturali dell’ambiente e sulla fruizione del territorio" [Sound of silence. Ecoacoustic mapping of the impacts of certain human activities on natural environment and places fruition].
13-14.04.2023 Rome (IT), ISMEO-The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies. Conference: Musica, trance e stati non ordinari di coscienza [Music, trance and non-ordinary states of consciousness]. Paper: Fenomenologia dell’incontro con gli spiriti in Birmania centrale: medium, devoti, musicisti [Phenomenology of spirit encounters in central Burma: spirit mediums, devotees, musicians].
21-27.07.2022 Lisbon (PT), New University of Lisbon (NOVA–FCSH). Conference: 46th ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music) World Conference. Panel organisation: “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Spirit Encounters in the Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”, with E. Rapoport. Paper: Sounds, Spirits, Magic and Human Rights in the Time of Military Dictatorship in Myanmar.
14-17.06.2022 Sheffield (UK), University of Sheffield. Conference: “The 7th Biennial International Conference on Analytical Approaches to World Musics/10th International Workshop on Folk Music Analysis.” Paper: Music analysis in the time of online learning: The World Music Listening Guides.
08-11.04.2021 Bath (UK), Bath Spa University. Conference: BFE (British Forum for Ethnomusicology) annual conference. Paper (9 Apr): Sounding and Moving Possessed Bodies: Performative Techniques for the Embodiment of the Spirits in Burmese Urban Ceremonies.
28-31.10.2021 Atlanta (Georgia, USA). Conference: SEM (Society for Ethnomusicology) 66th Annual Meeting (online). Paper (29 Oct): Performing beyond meaning: Sound, Movement and Ritual Efficacy in Spirit Possession Ceremonies in Central Burma (Myanmar).
29.07-05.08.2021 Tainan (Taiwan), Tainan National University of the Arts (online). Conference: 6th Symposium of the ICTM PASEA Study Group Symposium. Panel organisation: “Modes of Spirit Encounters: Sounds, Masks, and Social Media” con E. Rapoport. Paper (29 Jul): Fusing Sound Worlds: Space-time and Community in Burmese Natkana Pwes.
31.10-02.11.2019 London (UK), Department of Music, City, University of London. Conference: “Music, Sound, Space and Place: Ethnomusicology and Sound Studies. BFE (British Forum for Ethnomusicology) / SFE (Société française d’ethnomusicologie) Joint Autumn Conference 2019”. Paper (1 Nov): Sounding and Fusing Sonic Worlds: Examining the Construction of a Social Space-time in Burmese Natkana Pwes.
3-7.09.2019 Durham (UK), Music Department, University of Durham. Conference: XXXV ESEM (European Seminar in Ethnomusicology) Durham. Paper (7 Sep): Sounding and “Moving” Possessed Bodies. Performative Techniques for the Embodiment of the Spirits in Burmese Urban Ceremonies.
11-17.07.2019 Bangkok (Thailand), Chulalongkorn University. Conference: 45th ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music) World Conference. Panel organisation: “Continuity and Change in Myanmar's Performing Arts” with F. Riedel. Paper (13 Jul): Symbolic Creatures: Performing Mythical and Natural Animal Spirits in Urban Burmese Possession Cults.
11-19.04.2019 Aberdeen (Scotland, UK), The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Conference: BFE (British Forum for Ethnomusicology) Annual Conference. Paper: To Ko Gyi Kyaw: Music Structures, Interaction Processes, and Performance Context of a Burmese Nat-chin.
26-29.06.2018 Thessaloniki (Greece). Conference: “The 5th Conference on Analytical Approaches to World Music / 8th Folk Music Analysis International Workshop”. Paper (26 Jun): Do Ko Gyi Kyaw: Music Structures, Interaction Processes, and Performance Context of a Burmese nat-chin.
15-22.07.2018 Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia). Conference: 5th ICTM PASEA Study Group Symposium. Paper (15 Jul): Burmese Marionettes Performances for Tourists: Preserving, Reviving or Continuing the Tradition?
15.05.2017 London (UK), SOAS University of London. Conference organisation: “Changes in Action: New Technologies, Media and Transformations in Contemporary Southeast Asia Performing Arts” with F. Billeri. Paper: “Because we like that song!” Continuity and Change in the Musics of a Burmese Possession Cult Ceremony.
09.02.2017 Oxford (UK), International Gender Studies Centre at Lady Margaret Hall. Talk: Music for the Amay Gyan nat (Spirit): Song, Dance and Gender in Burmese Nat Pwe Ceremonies.
25.01.2017 Venice (Italy), Giorgio Cini Foundation. Conference: “I seminari dell’IISMC: Musiche (e musicologie) del XXI secolo. Processi di trasformazione nelle musiche di tradizione orale” [the IISMC seminars: musics (and musicologies) of the 21st century. Transformation processes in the musics of oral tradition]. Paper: “Because we like that song!”: Continuità e cambiamento nelle musiche dei culti di possessione in Birmania [continuity and change in the musics of a Burmese possession cult ceremony], as part of the group “Trasformazioni di feste, rituali, rappresentazioni teatrali in Campania e nel Sud-est asiatico: due contesti a confronto.” [changes in celebrations, rituals and theatrical representations in Campania and Southeast Asia: two contexts in comparison] coordinated by G. Giuriati.
05-07.01.2017 Canterbury (UK), The School of Music and Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University. Conference: RMA/BFE Research Students Conference. Paper (5 Jan): “Because we like that song!”: Continuity and Change in the Musics of a Burmese Possession Cult Ceremony.
11-14.08.2015 Vienna (AUT), University of Vienna. Conference: 8th EuroSEAS (European Association for Southeast Asian Studies) Conference. Paper (12 Aug): “Because We Like That Song!” Traditional Rhythmic Patterns and Modern Songs in a Burmese Possession Cult Ceremony.
02.05.2016 Rome (IT), Sapienza University of Rome. Conference organisation: “Musica, arte, politica. Studi recenti sullo sciamanesimo e l’eredità di Romano Mastromattei” [music, art, politics. Recent studies on shamanism and the legacy of Romano Mastromattei], with G. Giuriati and I. Meloni.
20-21.11.2014 Rome (IT), National Museum of Oriental Art ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ / University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Conference: “New Research on Indonesian Traditional and Contemporary Arts (Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts): An Exchange between Indonesian and Italian Perspectives”. Paper (21 Nov): Music for the spirits: The drums of the Burmese nat hsaing.
EVENT ORGANISATION
17.11.2017 Concert: "Musica e rito. Birmania. Nat pwe: Le cerimonie per gli spiriti a Yangon" [music and rite. Burma. Nat pwe: ceremonies for the spirits in Yangon]. Giorgio Cini Foundation, Venice (Italy).
MEMBERSHIP OF SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES AND ASSOCIATIONS, AND RESEARCH GROUPS
Since 2016: member of ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music)
Since 2016: member of ESEM (European Seminar in Ethnomusicology)
Since 2016: member of BFE (British Forum for Ethnomusicology)
Since 2016: member of the study group "London Burma Reading Group"
Since 2017: member of SEM (Society for Ethnomusicology)
Since 2019: member of the Society for Asian Music
Since 2019: member and organiser of the international sub-study group "Encountering Spirits in Performing Arts of Southeast Asian Communities” (PASEA-ICTM)
Since 2022: Research Editor of the Analytical Approaches to World Music journal
