Alaba Ilesanmi

Alaba Ilesanmi is a music scholar whose work connects scholarship, creativity, and public engagement. His research broadly examines the intersection of music, sound, history, culture, and extra-musical contexts (exploring themes such as identity, [post]coloniality, globalization, politics, etc.). He specializes in global Black music, sonic histories, expressive cultures, popular cultures, and transnational exchanges, as well as the intellectual and cultural history of art, popular, and traditional music in Africa and the Black diaspora.  Moving beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries, his work establishes interdisciplinary connections across diverse fields, including Africana studies, diaspora studies, ethnic studies, popular music studies, and sound studies. Additionally, he has interests in musical biography, music and memory, music and spirituality, colonial copyright law and Indigenous ownership, global music pedagogy, public and creative musicology, and sound studies.

Outside of the classroom, he leads community-centered initiatives. He founded and directed Afro-Nyota (Swahili for “African stars”), one of the first collegiate African pop music ensembles in the U.S., at Florida State University. He also directs the Pan-African Art Music Project (PAMP), which supports composers in creating new works inspired by and drawn from African musical traditions.

His writings have been published in Oxford Bibliographies in Music, Popular Music History Journal, and The Conversation, where he shares his insights with a broader audience. His work has received support through various fellowships and awards, including those from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Florida Education Fund (McKnight Doctoral Fellowship), the Presser Foundation, and the West African Research Association (WARA). 

He holds a PhD and a Master's degree in musicology from Florida State University and a BM in Music Education from the University of Texas (Tyler). He also holds advanced certifications in music theory, piano, and percussion from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Trinity College of Music, London.