Kwasi Ampene

Kwasi Ampene is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at Tufts University, specializing in the musical traditions of the Akan people of West Africa.

Education: PhD in Ethnomusicology from University of Pittsburgh (1999), MM Theory from West Virginia University (1994), Diploma in Music from University of Ghana (1990).

Research interests focus on Akan music and verbal arts, compositional conventions in traditional music, music and social change, and the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. His work documents and analyzes the intersection of historical experience, music, and social values in West African cultures.

His award-winning publications include 'Asante Court Music and Verbal Arts in Ghana' (winner of the J.H. Kwabena Nketia Book Prize) and 'Engaging Modernity: Asante in the Twenty-first Century.' He has also produced the documentary film 'Gone To The Village' on royal funerary rites in Ghana.

Professional service includes President of Ghana Studies Association, Chair of the Society for Ethnomusicology Council, and Editorial Board member for SOAS Studies in Music Series.