معرفی
Professor Laura Leante holds the position of Professor of Ethnomusicology in the Department of Music at Durham University. She specializes in Indian classical music, South Asian diaspora musics, and performance analysis. Her research explores cross-cultural meaning construction, globalisation's impact on music, and the interplay between gesture, imagery, and audience interaction in performances.
Leante earned her first degree (1999) and PhD (2003) in ethnomusicology from the University of Rome 'La Sapienza'. Before joining Durham, she held roles including AHRC Fellow at the Open University and Visiting Fellowship at Queen's University Canada. She currently serves as CORD member of ESEM (European Seminar in Ethnomusicology).
Her scholarship has focused on AHRC-funded projects like 'Khyal: Music and Imagination' (2016), examining Hindustani classical music's imaginative dimensions. Notable publications include explorations of monsoon ragas' imagery, bhangra's diasporic identity, and audience-performer dynamics in North Indian classical traditions.
Leante has supervised six doctoral students to date and maintains active involvement in academic curation through edited volumes like the European Journal of Musicology's 'Performing Bodies' special issue (2025). Her work bridges empirical research with cultural critique, particularly in postcolonial and global music contexts.
