Janine Tiffe

Dr. Janine Tiffe is Associate Professor of ethnomusicology at the Kent State University School of Music where she directs the African Ensemble and Steelband and teaches courses in world and popular musics. Prior to her appointment at KSU, she taught at Oklahoma City University. Her research interests include the African diaspora, particularly the Trinidadian steelband, as well as race and ethnicity, gender, dance, hip-hop, performance, musical migration, transmission, pedagogy, education, and community music making. Dr. Tiffe has authored articles in Percussive Notes, “Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century,” “Double Voicing and Multiplex Identities: Unpacking Hegemonic and Subaltern Discourses in the Caribbean,” “Positive Interferences: Unsettling Resonances in the Study of the Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the Greater Caribbean and Beyond,” and “Sweeter Voices Still: An LGBTQ Anthology from Middle America.”

Under her directorship, the African Ensemble has performed at the International Society for Music Education conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and the College Music Society conference in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Tiffe has performed with Women in Steel, Invaders Steel Orchestra, and Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra; as a member of Azaguno, she performed for the 2002 FIFA World Cup ceremonies in Seoul, Korea. She is an active member of The Society for Ethnomusicology and Percussive Arts Society and serves as Director of International Chapters for Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity.

Dr. Tiffe holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Florida State University, an M.A. in ethnomusicology from Kent State University, and a B.S. and B.A. in Zoology from Miami University. In the spring of 2024, she completed the Advanced Pan Fellowship Certificate Programme at the University of Trinidad and Tobago where she interned with Pan Trinbago, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Trade and Industry Steering Committee, and Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra Academy.

Currently, she co-chairs the Glauser School's People, Culture and Belonging Task Force.

Learn more about Kent State's ethnomusicology program

Learn more about Kent State's World Music ensembles