I am an Assistant Professor of Musicology in the Department of Music at Princeton University, where I am also associated faculty in the Department of East Asian Studies, Program in Latin American Studies, and Program in American Studies. I received my Ph.D. at CUNY Graduate Center, with a double concentration in ethnomusicology and music theory, in 2009. My interests include popular music, the interaction of music with language and semantics, the internet and the music business, Japanese popular culture, and Latin American music. My projects, publications, and conference papers have discussed Japanese rap, hip-hop DJs, and reggae; Japanese children's songs; ringtones; online radio; Cuban trova, zarzuela, and art music; and opera.  Previously, I taught at Brooklyn College, John Jay College, and Marymount Manhattan College.

My dissertation discusses the process by which Western musical styles take root and evolve in Japan, considering how notions of authenticity are redefined, how the Japanese language and aesthetic preferences affect musical style, and how Japanese artists engage with artists and audiences overseas. Case studies on children's songs and hip-hop are presented, with commentary on rock, rap, and reggae/dancehall given in the first chapter and conclusion.

I am writing two monographs, with the tentative titles, Molding Citizens in War and Peace: Japanese Children's Songs, 1877–1947, and Musical Subcultures in Japan: The Making of Scenes in Rock, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Electronic Dance Music.

My research has received generous support from fellowships from SSRC/JSPS and the Japan Foundation.

I play keyboards, sing, and write songs for the Wayside Shrines, a collective of Princeton-area musicians performing original songs to lyrics by Paul Muldoon. We are currently working on an album, details of which will be posted on our Facebook page.