Title:
Associate ProfessorEducation:
B.A./B.Mus. Oberlin College/Oberlin Conservatory; M.A., Ph.D., Music (Ethnomusicology), Graduate Center of the City University of New York
Teaching and Research Interests:
African music, politics of cultural production in Africa, history and culture of Uganda, ethnomusicology, music of African diasporas, jazz and Afro-American art music
Current Research:
Dave Pier specializes in music, art, literature, and cultural politics in Africa and the African diaspora. His book, Ugandan Music in the Marketing Era, is an ethnographic study of folklore performance, corporate arts sponsorship, branding, and grassroots entrepreneurialism in contemporary Uganda. Currently, he is researching kadongo kamu, a Ugandan guitar-based pop music genre. He is also writing about the development of modern/contemporary dance in this country. Pier serves on the editorial board for the journal African Arts, as well as on the advisory board for UNC’s Process Series. He teaches Introduction to Africa, Music of Africa, Music of African Diasporas, Politics of Cultural Production in Africa, and a freshman seminar on Afrofuturism. As a jazz pianist, he has performed and recorded with Clark Terry, Jane Monheit, Roswell Rudd, Marcus Belgrave, and other jazz luminaries.