Rose Boomsma is a native of Madison, Wisconsin and a graduate of Howard University’s Department of Music. During her time at Howard, she was able to study and perform different types of African American music, travel to Africa on a music tour, and start playing the Native American flute. She will continue her study of Native American music and how it has become an important part of Western New Age music. As a flutist, she is interested in the important and diverse roles that the flute plays in different cultures worldwide.

New Hampshire native and former English major Ben Doleac recently received his Master's degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Alberta. His master's thesis, "Ready to Spread?: P-Funk and the Politics of Signifyin(g)," addresses rhetorical play and mystical utopianism in the music and mythology of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Ben has performed in groups ranging from gospel and madrigal choirs, to the University of Alberta's MENAME (Middle Eastern and North Africa Music Ensemble), and his own band, the Wufs. His current research interests include popular music and culture, Afrofuturism, transnational musical flows between New Orleans and the Caribbean, the music industry, and hip-hop culture. In the second year of his PhD program, Ben plans to expand upon the subject of his master's thesis by organizing a symposium on the music, meaning and legacy of George Clinton and P-Funk.

Deonte Harris received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011. During his undergraduate years, Deonte was the president and step master of the Kappa Rho chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated and participated in a number of step show performances. He also served as the bandleader and director of the University Gospel Choir at UW. After graduation, Deonte continued working in the gospel music tradition where he was director and praise leader of the Zion Hill choir and Praise Team in Chicago. Deonte is particularly interested in the interconnections of language and music, spirituality within music, globalization, cultural exchange, and commercialism of cultural forms. While studying at UCLA, Deonte intends to explore the musical culture and traditions that surround the “Divine 9” Black Greek-Letter Organizations, gospel music, and hip-hop beat production.

Badema Pitic is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she received both her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Ethnomusicology from University of Sarajevo. As a Curator for Traditional Music at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, she gained wide experience in a number of fieldwork projects related to Bosnian music.  Her research interests include music in conflict, music and religion, music as a weapon, and music as a remedy.