Daniel Sharp

Daniel Sharp is an Associate Professor in the Music Department at Tulane University's School of Liberal Arts. He specializes in ethnomusicology with a focus on the Americas, particularly Brazil and New Orleans. His research explores intersections between traditional and experimental music, cultural tourism economies, and post-plantation societies. Sharp has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Northeast Brazil and New Orleans, examining how music shapes cultural identity and political narratives.

Sharp holds a B.A. in Music from Grinnell College (1995), an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2001), and a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Texas at Austin (2006). He has taught courses including Latin American Music, Brazilian Popular Music and Citizenship, and Caribbean Musical Ethnography.

His research interests include:

• Cultural preservation through festivals and museums
• Music's role in post-dictatorship democratization
• Global music genres like world music and jazz fusion
• Neurodivergence and artistic expression
• Urban renewal through musical installations

Sharp's major publications include *Between Nostalgia and Apocalypse: Popular Music and the Staging of Brazil* (2014) and a forthcoming analysis of Naná Vasconcelos's *Saudades* album. He has been recognized with awards including the LAGO Outstanding Faculty Member Award (2011) and the UT Outstanding Paper Prize (2002).

His current projects include studying New Orleans' Music Box Village—a collaborative sound art installation—and analyzing Afro-Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos's transnational artistic journeys. Sharp's work bridges academic research with community engagement, emphasizing music's role in social transformation.