Bradford Garvey

Bradford Garvey is an Assistant Professor of Music at Brandeis University's Department of Music. His research focuses on the sociocultural dimensions of music, language, and performance in Middle Eastern contexts. He holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and previously served as the Joseph E. and Grace W. Valentine Visiting Assistant Professor at Amherst College.

His work examines the role of praise singing in Oman’s moral economy and the historical practices of Iraqi Maqām. Funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, his fieldwork in Oman explored cross-class social dynamics through musical performance. His scholarship has been published in Asian Music, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, HAU, and the Yale Journal of Music & Religion.

Garvey is currently completing a monograph titled Praise to Open Palms: A Moral Economy of Praise in the Sultanate of Oman, derived from his doctoral research. His teaching spans graduate seminars and introductory courses in ethnomusicology and Middle Eastern studies.

Professional affiliations include the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Brandeis University's Slosberg Music Center, where he is based in office 218.