Ethnomusicology Overview

Broaden your musical horizons. Join a vibrant, friendly, intellectually engaging community of scholars studying music from global socio-cultural perspectives. U of T Ethnomusicology offers research strengths in the music of the Americas, Iran, Korea, Japan, and other regions. Undergraduates access the field through the History, Culture & Theory program or participation in non-Western ensemble courses. Graduates pursue ethnomusicology-specific degrees as members of Canada’s largest graduate ethnomusicological program.

Cast a Wide Net

Collaborate

While strongly supporting scholar-performers, U of T Ethnomusicology is an academic, research-focused area that casts a wide net. Students encounter stimulating interdisciplinary opportunities to combine world music and subjects such as anthropology, environmental studies, women’s studies, and religious studies. Ethnomusicology’s strong connection to the Ethnography Lab in the Anthropology department can provide students with interesting research paths and possibilities for paid work.

Join In

Ethnomusicology students get involved. They participate in regular colloquia shared with Musicology and Music Theory. They contribute to roundtables dedicated to student professionalization through practice presentations to peers and faculty, paper run-throughs, and grant- or cover letter-writing workshops. Master’s students venture into the community to conduct fieldwork for a substantial Toronto-focused research project. Less formally, a large and talented peer group provides all area participants with regular occasions for lively discussion, mutual support, friendship, and networking.

Programs

Encounter Excellence

The strengths of Ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto reside in the attentive guidance, feedback, and encouragement that distinguished faculty with wide-ranging expertise provide students. Our faculty, and the students they supervise, regularly garner research awards from the Society for Ethnomusicology—in some years, sweeping the field. Faculty also have a strong record of winning research grants and offering students research assistantships.

Polina Dessiatnitchenko, PhD graduate, dissertation title "Musical and Ontological Possibilities of Mugham Creativity in pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet Azerbaijan"
PhD students Dennis Lee and Nil Basdurak conduct research in Toronto's Kensington Market, photo by Esther Wade

Experience Diversity

A major university of international distinction located in the heart of one of the world’s great multicultural cities offers Ethnomusicology students access to extraordinary expertise in multiple fields and an exciting range of possible subjects for research. Toronto has the greatest concentration of musicians in Canada and ranks as Canada’s largest music market. Living in Toronto provides opportunities to experience and study music of myriad genres, cultures, and styles.

Upcoming Events

January
16
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Colloquium
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building
February
6
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Lecture
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building
March
26
Ethnomusicology | Brazilian Music Ensemble, Steel Pan Ensemble
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location Walter Hall
March
27
Ethnomusicology | Japanese Taiko Drumming Ensemble, West African Drumming & Dancing Ensemble
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location Walter Hall

Past Events

November
21
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Colloquium
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building
October
17
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Colloquium
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building
October
10
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Colloquium
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building
September
26
Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology
Free - Public - Colloquium
Time 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location Edward Johnson Building

News

Oct 19, 2023 | News, Ethnomusicology
Sep 7, 2023 | News, Ethnomusicology
Dec 23, 2022 | News, Ethnomusicology

Have a question?

Contact our Musicology, Ethnomusicology, and Music Theory Coordinator for more information about our Ethnomusicology area and programs.