About

About Me

Frank Gunderson is a noted musicology professor at Florida State University (FSU) with previous appointments at schools in Ohio and Michigan. His research and educational focus examine the intersection of music and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Additional interests include African history, Islam, musical labor, veterans’ issues, biographical approaches to music, refugee communities, and documentary films.

With his time in academia, Gunderson has amassed a notable selection of publishing credits

and audio recordings focused on his passion areas. Many of his larger works chronicle the

musical history of East Africa with a particular focus on Tanzania and musicians in that region.

He is also well-known for his work with the Society for Ethnomusicology and its academic Journal.

Frank Gunderson outside academia

While teaching and research have occupied the larger part of Frank Gunderson’s career, he has

held other positions that provided unique opportunities to connect with the public and examine sound and music in new ways.

In Olympia, Washington, Gunderson previously served as music director for KAOS radio and

worked with the famous northwest outsider musician, Travis Roberts. Roberts and Gunderson

are cousins and collaborated on a project that evolved into numerous high-profile indie

recordings and became an award-winning film co-directed by Bret Woods. Human Skab was

released by SnagFilms in 2012.

This was only his first foray into chronicling the story of music with film. In 2020, his recent film,

Ng’oma: The Work of Our Clan, and was distributed by Alexander Street. The work follows a

master drum maker in the Sukuma region of western Tanzania and was featured in dozens of

film festivals across the world.

Gunderson’s latest release, Beloved Youth of Many Days: Stories about Milmani Park Orchestra, returns to Tanzania and chronicles a popular, well-established rhumba band in Dar Es Salaam.

Educational background and early career

Gunderson pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree from Evergreen State College in Washington

and obtained a Master of Arts in World Music from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He

continued at the university to complete his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology.

Among his first educational appointments were stints at Ohio University and the University of

Michigan. He also spent two years teaching in Kenya at a village Harambee secondary school.

Educational honors for Dr. Frank Gunderson Dr. Frank Gunderson’s career, including his time at FSU, has led to recognition from many areas. From 2021 to 2022, his research was supported with the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award.

Additional accomplishments include awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities,

Fulbright-Hays and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

Gunderson’s professional affiliations

As a noted professor, Gunderson participates in a variety of professional organizations and

maintains an active interest in non-profits and associations with focuses that align with his

personal and professional pursuits.

Professional affiliations for Dr. Frank Gunderson include the African Studies Association, the

American Anthropological Association and the Society for Ethnomusicology.

Publishing credits

Through his professional affiliations, Gunderson serves as the general editor of the Society for

Ethnomusicology’s academic journal, Ethnomusicology, and is the co-founder and co-editor-in-

chief of the new academic journal for the society, Audiovisual Ethnomusicology. He shares the

role with Benjamin Harbert. Before progressing to general editor, Gunderson worked as the

journal's film, video, and multimedia review editor and twice served as guest editor of the World of Music journal.

Publishing credits include over 50 articles and reviews in Ethnomusicology, Africa Today, History

and Anthropology, Soundings, and African Music.

Additional credits for audio work include extensive fieldwork completed in east Africa. Notable

recordings produced in this area are Tanzania: Farmer Composers of North West Tanzania

released in 1997 by Multicultural Media. A book co-edited with Gregory Barz was also produced

based on their east Africa research, the 2000 release Mashindano!: Competitive Music

Performance in East Africa. This was published by Nyota Press/African Books Collective LTD and Michigan State University Press.

An additional book published in 2010 by Brill Academic Press, We Never Sleep We Dream of

Farming: Sukuma Labor Songs from Western Tanzania, received acclaim as 2009 to 2011

winner of the SEM Kwabena Nketia Book Award for the best African music monograph.

In keeping with his interest in sonic reparation, Gunderson also co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Music Repatriation with Robert Lancefield and Bret Woods. The Oxford University Press publication was released in 2018.

Most recently, Gunderson completed a double biography, The Legacy of Tanzanian Musicians

Muhidin Gurumo and Hassan Bitchuka – Rhumba Kiserebuka, published in 2018 by Lexington Books and Rowman and Littlefield. The biography received honorable mentions from the Alan Meriam Best Book prize committee at SEM and the Best Book Prize committee from the International Council for Traditional Music.