Faculty Profile: Steven Cornelius

Position: Visiting Professor of Music (Musicology and Ethnomusicology; African Studies)

Email: scornel@bu.edu

B.M.Ed., University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.M., Manhattan School of Music; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Cornelius’ research focuses on the African diaspora, the music industry, and American music. He is the co-author (with Mary Natvig) of the textbook Music: A Social Experience (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011). Other books include Music of the Civil War Era (Greenwood Press, 2004) and The Music of Santería: Traditional Rhythms of the Batá Drums (co-authored with John Amira, White Cliffs Media, 1991). Articles have appeared in Latin American Music Review, College Music Symposium, and other journals, as well as The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. He served from 1996 to 2006 as music and dance critic for The Blade, Toledo, Ohio’s daily newspaper.

Previous teaching positions include Bruckner-Konservatorium Linz, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Bowling Green State University. Performance credits as a percussionist include the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Radio City Music Hall, Oklahoma Symphony, and Taipei Symphony.