David Racanelli

Between 2004 and 2016, I taught undergraduate/graduate courses in ethnomusicology, music history, music theory, musicianship, music education, and private/group guitar instruction (onsite and online) at Dowling College (where I was tenured and worked for 12 years before the school closed abruptly in June 2016), Queens College, and The New School, gaining extensive experience in curriculum and program development as well as administration.

Since 2016, I have taught as an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Adelphi University, CUNY Lehman College, and Manhattan Community College (BMCC), returning to The New School as a Part-Time Lecturer in Spring 2019.

In 2010, I earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the CUNY Graduate Center, writing my dissertation on Mande griot repertoire and performance practice in New York. I have presented conference papers and published works in the journals African Music (2011), Analytical Approaches to World Music (2012), Ethnomusicology (2014), Black Music Research Journal (2017), and in the SAGE Encyclopedia of Music and Culture (2019). Currently, I am working on an Anthology for the African Guitar: A Compendium of Musical Transcriptions, Analyses, and Historical Contextualization.

Lastly, I have worked as a teaching artist and ensemble director, performing at many venues including Lincoln Center, The East Islip Jazz Festival, The African-American Museum of Nassau County, Dowling College, Williams College, UMASS-Amherst, Adelphi University, Lehman College, The Rainbow Room, the Zinc Bar, Club Bonafide, Arlene’s Grocery, Farafina, Shrine, and Silvana (2006-Present). Most recently, I have begun collaborating with Leni Stern (Please see the link to her website http://www.lenistern.com). Lastly, (in 11/18) I recorded guitar and bass tracks for a film aimed at raising awareness of elephant poaching in the Congo.