Joanna Smolko

Joanna Smolko, Ph.D., serves as Part Time Faculty in the Music Department at the University of North Georgia, with additional teaching roles at the University of Georgia and the University System of Georgia. She also works as a private music teacher and academic editor/coach.

She earned her Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Pittsburgh (2009), studying under Deane Root and working at the Center for American Music. Her research focuses on American musical traditions, including popular music, musical borrowing, sacred music (particularly shape-note hymnody), folk music, and intersections of music with U.S. history and cultural identity.

Her publications reveal consistent exploration of American music's sociohistorical dimensions, from 19th-century composers like Stephen Foster to Cold War-era popular culture. Key themes include race representation in media, regional sacred practices, and political contexts of musical expression.

Scientific awards include:

• 2016 Hampsong Education Fellowship in American Song for Atomic Tunes

No verifiable information is available regarding student advising, research grants, laboratory affiliations, or team collaborations.