Curriculum Vitae
Payam Yousefi, Ph.D.
Education
2016-23 Ph.D., Harvard University, Music (Music, Ethnomusicology)
2015 M.A., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ethnomusicology, summa cum laude
2015 B.A., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ethnomusicology, summa cum laude
Academic Honors and Awards
2025 Global Music Award, for Songs of Hope, original album of compositions for kamancheh
2023 Religion, Music and Sound Section Paper Prize, Awarded by Society for Ethnomusicology’s Annual Meeting for the Religion Music, and Sound Section.
2022 Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, fall 2021, Received instructor rating above 4.5 for “Gen Ed 1006: Music from Earth” course.
2021 Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Spring 2021, Received instructor rating above 4.5 for “Mus 188: Composer- Performers of the African Diaspora” course.
2019 Charles Seeger Prize, Awarded by Society for Ethnomusicology for paper “Singing Subversive Resistance: Feminine Voices Renegotiating Iran’s Public Sphere.”
2019 Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Spring 2019, Received instructor rating above 4.5 for “Mus 1: 1000 Years of Listening” course.
2018 James T. Koetting Prize for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, New England Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (NECSEM). “Singing Resistance and Subversion: Feminine Voices Renegotiating Iran’s Public Sphere.”
2015 Designated Chancellors Marshal for School of Arts and Architecture’s Commencement Ceremony, UCLA
2014 Departmental Scholar in the Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA,
Research Fellowships and Grants
2025 Yale ISM Long-Term Fellowship, Institute for Sacred Music, Yale University. ($65,000)
2025 Scholarship Enhancement Fund, College of the Arts, University of Florida, ($5,625)
2024 Arts Scholarship Enhancement Fund, College of the Arts, University of Florida ($6000)
2022 GSAS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
2022 GSAS Student Council Summer Research Grant
2022 Richard F. French Summer Research Fellowship
2021 Oscar Straus Schafer Teaching Fellowship
2020 Harvard GSAS Merit and Term Time Research Fellowship
2019- 2020 Frederick Sheldon Research Fellowship. (Funded 18 months of fieldwork in Iran)
2019 Harry and Marjorie Ann Slim Memorial Summer Research Fellowship
2019 Harvard Music Department January Funding Award
2017 GSAS Summer Pre-Dissertation Fellowship
Publications
2025 “Ethical Sounding and Power of Presence: A Case Study of Masoumeh Mehrali’s Career during the Prohibition of Women’s Solo Singing in Iran,” Iran Amplified: One Hundred Years of Music and Society, ed. Nahid Siamdoust and Houchang Chehabi. Boston: Ilex Foundation. (forthcoming)
2025 “Book Review—Amir Hosein Pourjavady, Music Making in Iran from the 15th to the Early 20th Century (UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2023) in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. (forthcoming)
2023 “The Politics of Style in Classical Persian Music.” PhD dissertation, Harvard University.
2022 “Film Review—Avanegar, produced by and directed by Behrouz Jamali.” Yearbook for Traditional Music
2020 “Social Distancing, Virtual Performance, and Labor of Compassion in Iran” Society for Ethnomusicology Newsletter, 2020: 53 (Summer)
2015 “Taste and Symbols of Power: A Case Study of Music in Fubao, Yunnan.” Conference Proceedings of China Central Conservatory of Music’s International Advanced Seminars on Chinese Culture and Arts, Beijing, China.
Publications in Preparation
Monographs
2023-2027 Subversive Sounds: Music and Authoritarianism in Modern Iran
- Currently in talks with publishers.
Journal Articles
2024-2025 “Singing Subversive Resistance: Feminine Voices Renegotiating Iran’s Public Sphere” Ethnomusicology,
- 2018 Charles Seeger Prize recipient with priority publication
- Undergoing re-write to account for the developments of the 2022 Woman Life Freedom Movement in Iran.
- “Localizing Iranian Harmony: The Making of Polymodal Dastgāh Counterpoint” Music Theory Online.
- “Music and Meditation: The Effects of Sufi Tamarkoz and Dhikr on Mindfulness, Stress, and Anxiety Scales” Health Psychology Review
- Co-writing with Maryam Balke (MD, Senior Neurologist), and Saloumeh DeGood (PhD, Clinical Psychologist)
- “‘Curses Upon Your Creed:’ Conformity and Protest in Iranian Shi’ite Mourning Rituals” Ethnomusicology Forum.
Academic Employment
2025-2026 Visiting Assistant Professor, Yale Department of Music
- Fellow at Institute for Sacred Music
2023-2024 Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology, School of Music, University of Florida
- Affiliate Faculty, Center for Global Islamic Studies
- Affiliate Faculty, Center for Arts in Medicine
- Affiliate Faculty, Center for Arts, Migration and Entrepreneurship
2021-2022 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Guilan, Iran
2021-2022 Pedagogy Fellow, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University
2018-2022 Teaching Fellow, Department of Music, Harvard University
2015-2016 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Music, Tehran University of Art, Iran
2012-2014 Archive Assistant, Ethnomusicology Archive, UCLA
Teaching Experience
2025-2026 Visiting Assistant Professor, Yale University, Department of Music
- “Music and Society in the Islamic World”
2023-2025 Assistant Professor, University of Florida, School of Music
- “Music and Transcendence: Altered States, Groove, and Flow” (PhD Seminar)
- “Analytic Encounters in Improvisation and Rhythm Globally,” (PhD Seminar)
- “New American Musics: Performer-Composers and the Global South” (BA/PhD)
- “Graduate Research Methods”
- “Introduction to World Music” (Undergraduate course)
- “Introduction to Ethnomusicology”
- “Music and Society in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia”
- “Music and Politics,” (PhD Seminar)
2021-2022 Visiting Lecturer, University if Guilan Iran, Department of Music
- “History of Ethnomusicology,” Graduate Level Course
- “Musical Ethnography,” Graduate Level Course
2018-20– Teaching Fellow, Harvard University, Department of Music
- Gen Ed 1006: “Music from Earth”
- Music 188: “Composer-Performers of the African Diaspora”
- Music 250: “Colloquium on Teaching Pedagogy”
- Music 23: “A Social History of Rock and Roll”
- Music 1: “A Thousand Years of Listening,” (Music History Survey)
2015-2016 Visiting Lecturer, Department of Music, Tehran University of Art:
- “Current Issues in Music Studies,” M.A. level core seminar
- “Introduction to World Music: Music of the Near East & Africa” M.A. level seminar
- “Modal Analysis of Persian Music’s Radif-s and Dastgah-s,” M.A. level core seminar
- “Notation and Arrangement of Persian Music,” M.A. level core seminar
- “Transcription and Analysis,” M.A. level core seminar
- “Introduction to Ethnomusicology,” M.A. level core seminar
- “Field and Lab Methods,” M.A. level core seminar
Conference Papers
2025 “Awakened Hearts: Remembrance and Listening as Creative Process in the Contemporary Sufi Music of the Zendeh Delan Ensemble,” Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, Atlanta Georgia
2024 “A Tradition of Political Consciousness: Classical Persian Music in Moments of Societal Unrest (2009-2023).” Association for Iranian Studies, 14th Biennial. Mexico City, Mexico
2023 “Sineh-zani Chants for Women, Life, Freedom: Case Studies on the Role of Iranian Mourning Rituals within Contemporary Protest.” Middle Eastern Studies Association, Motreal, Canada.
2023 “Accompaniment as Empathetic Listening in Avaz Improvisation of Classical Persian Music.” Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, Ottawa, Canada
2023 “Case Study of Meditative Listening in Public Health: Sufi Music of the MTO Zendeh Delan Ensemble in Community Outreach.” International Association for the Psychology of Religion, Groningen, Netherlands.
2023 “Navigating Surveillance and Performing Incompetence: Tales of Ethnography in Iran.” British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
2022 “Conformity and Protest in Iranian Shi’ite Sineh-zani Mourning Rituals.” Society for Ethnomusicology 67th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA
2022 “Reframing the Radif: The Limits of Repertoire and a New ‘Intermusical’ Paradigm for Iranian Dastgāh Music Pedagogy.” Music and the University Forum, City, University of London
2022 “Public Health During Pandemic Times: Music Audition, State Change and the Therapeutics of Sufi Approaches to Listening.” 12th Annual European Music Therapy Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland
2022 “Awakened Hearts in Europe: Principles of Remembrance and Listening in the Contemporary Sufi Music of the MTO Shahmaghsoudi Zendeh Delan Ensemble.” Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum, City, University of London
2022 “Poetics of Oppression: Conformity and Protest in Iranian Shi’ite Sineh-zani Mourning Rituals.” Society for Ethnomusicology’s Mid Atlantic Chapter, Philadelphia, PA
2019 “The roles of Applied Ethnomusicology Amidst Changing Cultural Norms within Iran’s Regional Musics.” 12th Annual Iranian Folk Music Festival, Kerman, Iran.
2018 “Singing Subversive Resistance: Feminine Voices Renegotiating Iran’s Public Sphere.” Society for Ethnomusicology’s 63rd annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
2017 “Rhythmic Treatment of the Tasnif: Changing Sensibilities and Conventions in 20th Century Classical Persian Music.” Society for Ethnomusicology’s Northeast Chapter, Middlebury, VT
2015 “Sineh-be-Sineh (Heart-to-Heart): The Oral Transmission of Classical Persian Music.” Society for Ethnomusicology Southern California Chapter, San Diego, CA.
Invited Talks and Roundtables
2025 Invited Lecture and Performance, “Music and Protest: Power and Limits of Artistic Engagement in Authoritarian Repression,” University of California, Riverside
2025 Key-note Speaker, “Singing Subversive Mourning: Exploring Sineh-Zani Chants for Woman Life Freedom,” Ethnomusicology Forum, University of California, Santa Barba
2025 Invited Lecture, “A Social History of Music in Iran,” University of California, Irvine
2024 Respondent, to Dr. Braxton Shelley AMS Keynote Address, “Digital Antiphony: Black Gospel, Social Media, and the Craft of Collectivity,” Special Session on “Inscribing and Visualizing Music in the Age of Social Media.” American Musicological Society, Chicago.
2024 Invited Lecture, “How Free is Free Meter?” University of California Irvine, Department of Music
2024 Invited Talk, “Getting In:’ Strategizing for the Job Market in Music Studies”, Harvard University Department of Music.2022 Roundtable Participant. “Demystifying the Sufi Zekr.” 12th Annual European Music Therapy Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
2018 Roundtable Participant. Presidents Roundtable: “The Role of Ethnomusicologists in the Age of Expanding Grassroots Political Advocacy.” Northeast Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Wellesley, MA
2015 Invited lecture. “Historical Connections Between Islamic Medieval Courts: The Concept of Maqām from Baghdad to Xinjiang.” UCLA “Music on the Periphery of China” seminar.
2014 Invited Lecture. “A Brief Introduction to Classical Persian Music.” Chapman University “Music of the Middle East and Africa” seminar
2014 Invited lecture. “Music in Iran” UCLA “Music of the Near East and Africa” seminar
2013 Invited lecture. “Zikr: Musical Practices in Islamic Sufism.” UCLA “Music and Religion” Seminar
Organized Colloquia and Speaker Series
2025 Panel Chair and Organizer, Sounding Sufism: Diasporic Approaches to Contemporary Music Forms, Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
2024 Founded and Chaired “New American Musics Talks” with Guests:
- Amir El Saffar: Microtonal Trumpet and Global Jazz, (4/24)
- Martha Gonzalez: Chican@ Artivista in Times of National Crisis, (9/24)
- Aida Shirazi: Music, Violence, & Displacement in the American Experience (10/24)
- Micah Huang: Exploring Migration Histories through Creative Non-Fiction (10/24)
- Ganavya: Resisting Genre and Voicing Self (11/24)
2023 Co-Organized Panel, “Accompaniment: Performance, Pedagogy, and Activism,” Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference, Ottawa, Canada
2021-2022 Programing Director and Colloquia Moderator, “AFSACK Salon Series,” for The American Friends of Sufi Arts, Culture, and Knowledge (AFSACK). www.afsack.org/salonseries
- “Melodies of Unity: A Discussion on Sufi Music with the Zendeh Delan Ensemble.”
- “Playing Human Connectedness: A Salon Conversation with Amir ElSaffar”
- “Sufi Poetry in Contemporary Music: A Salon Conversation with Walid Ben Selim.”
- “Sound Ritual and Sensorium in Historical Architecture: A Conversation with Peter McMurray and Bissera Pentcheva”
Music Performance: World Music Ensembles—Choral—Iranian Music
2023-25 Director and founder of Persian Music Ensemble at the University of Florida School of Music.
2025 Keynote Concert of New Works, Invited by University of California, Riverside
2025 Co-Director and Soloist, World Music Concert, Historic Thomas Center. Gainesville, FL
2024 Keynote Performer (kamancheh, setar, voice), Music of the Spheres Concert Series, Florida State University, Tallahassee
2024 Keynote Performer (kamancheh), Hear the World Series, Historic Thomas Center, Gainesville Fl.
2024 Keynote Performance of Original Compositions for Sufi Chamber Music, Commissioned by Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO (MACS- MTO) for Grand Opening, Chatou Paris, France.
.2022 Premier of Original Work, “Narration Spaces: On Woman Life Freedom,” Boston University Tsai Performance Hall.
2018 Vina performance in Harvard University Music of South India Music Theory and Practice
2014-2015 Erhu performance in UCLA Music of China Ensemble, Los Angeles, CA
2014 Sitar performance in UCLA Music of India Ensemble, Los Angeles, CA
2013-2015 Director. Music of Persia Ensemble UCLA. Los Angeles, CA (Link to Press)
2012-2015 Multi-Instrumentalist in UCLA Near East Ensemble, Los Angeles, CA
2010-2012 Bass section singer with Orange Coast College Chamber Choral, Costa Mesa, CA
2005-2022 Kamancheh solo and ensemble performances in Iran at Farabi Hall, City Theatre, Arasbaran Hall, Harekat Hall, Rudaki Hall, and Niavaran Hall.
Music and Film Credits
2025 Solo Album. Songs of Hope, published by Javan Records, Tehran, Iran (Forthcoming 2024)
2025 Spring Playlist
2022 Creative contributor, Alice’s Wonderland Bakery (TV Show), Disney Junior
2022 Creative consultant and soloist. HARMONIOUS: Music and Light Show, Disney Imagineering
2020 Featured Soloist. Infatuation Telecharger, by Raul Ferrando
2019 Creator. Bards from the Land of Sun, (ethnographic film), screened at Harvard VES
2014 Soundtrack Collaboration. The Dove Flyer: Farewell Baghdad, music by Sharon Farber
2013 Soundtrack Collaboration. Farah Goes Bang, by Meera Menon. Winner of Tribeca Film
Festival’s Nora Ephron prize
2012 Bass section singer. Masterworks Choral Ensemble. Carnegie Hall. New York, New York
Academic Service
2025 Conference Co-Chair, UCI Jordan Center, “Sounding Iran: Musical Pasts, Presents, and Futures.”
2024 Peer Reviewer, Music Theory Online, Review Article Submissions
2024 Founder, Chair and Organizer, “New American Musics Colloquium Series,” University of Florida School of Music
2024 Chair and Organizer, “Music Studies Colloquium,” University of Florida, School of Music.
2024 Book Reviewer, Journal for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
2024 Peer Reviewer and Content Contributor, Iranica, University of California, Los Angeles
2024 Peer Reviewer, Orient Institute Istanbul, University of California, Los Angeles
2024 Selection Committee, SEMSEC, Society for Ethnomusicology
2024 Review Committee, RMSS Prize Committee, Society for Ethnomusicology
2022 Review Committee, Bruno Nettl Prize Committee, Society for Ethnomusicology
2019-2021 Score Manuscript Editor, Payvar Foundation, edited the following volumes: Raz-o Niaz, Hengam-e Mey, Neishabur Nights, and Eftekhar-e Afagh, (Link to publications)
2019 Review Committee, Charles Seeger Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM).
2019- 2021 Chair, The Special Interest Group for the Music of Iran and Central Asia (SIGMICA), Society for Ethnomusicology.
2018-2019 Seminar Coordinator, Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center Musics Abroad Seminar Series, Harvard University.
2018-2019 Co-chair, Southern Pian Society, affinity group for students of color, Harvard Music Department.
- Organized bi-weekly meetings
- Coordinated outings with faculty of color in greater Boston area
- Co-Coordinated Keynote Lecture by: William Cheng, “‘His Music Was Not a Weapon’: Black Noise, Breakable Skin, and the Plundered Voice of Jordan Davis.”
2018 Conference Co-chair, Harvard Graduate Music Forum Annual Conference, “Ex-centric Music Studies.” Harvard University.
2017 Editorial Board, Ethnomusicology Review, University of California, Los Angeles
2017-2019 Student Concerns Officer, Northeast Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM)
2016 Manuscript Editor, Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), Translation Section of Ethnomusicology Online Journal
2013-2015 Director, Traditional Persian Music Ensemble Student Organization, UCLA
Arts Non-Profit Service
2025 Selection Committee, CFSACK Research Award Program, Canadian Friends of Sufi Arts, Culture, and Knowledge
2025 Scientific & Cultural Committee, Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO, Chatou Paris, France
- Deciding direction and strategy of institutional programming; long-term and short-term projections.
2025 Scientific Expert, Advisor and Reviewer on Sound, Music and Sufism; Sound Curator; Exhibition Review and Advisory Support for exhibition Resonant: Bodies, Songs, and Strings in Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO, Chatou Paris,
2024 Co-Organizer and UF liaison, Gainesville World Music Festival, Greater Gainesville International Center.
2021-2024 Programming Advisor, American Friends of Sufi Art, Culture, and Knowledge.
2019-2024 Arts and Culture Consultant, Rhythmitica World Music Academy, Toronto, Canada
Languages
Persian: Native level reading, writing, and speaking
English: Native level reading, writing, and speaking
Turkish: Intermediate level reading, writing, and speaking
Professional Academic Memberships
Society for Ethnomusicology
Society for Music Theory
American Musicological Society
British Forum for Ethnomusicology
Society for Asian Music
Middle East Studies Association
Association for Iranian Studies
British Association for Music Therapy
European Music Therapy Confederation
Sufi Psychology Association
International Society for the Psychology of Religion