James Makubuya

rdf:langString James Makubuya

rdf:langString James K. Makubuya (born in Gayaza, Wakiso District, Uganda) is a Ugandan-born ethnomusicologist, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, and choreographer. He plays several traditional instruments from various parts of Uganda, including the endongo (8-string bowl lyre) and adungu (9-string bow harp), endingidi (1-string tube fiddle), amadinda (12-slab log xylophone), (lamellaphone), and engoma (drums).Makubuya was born in the town of Gayaza (located 30 km from Kampala, near Lake Victoria, in the Buganda region of Uganda), and is a member of the Baganda ethnic group. He holds a B.A. in music and English literature from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda (1980); a Master of Music degree in Western music and music education from Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. (1988), and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles (1995). His main research focuses on organological studies in which has written many scholarly papers, including a comparative study of East African bowl lyres, bow harps, and tube fiddles. He has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1996-2000), where he founded the ensemble MITCAN, and is currently an Associate Professor of Music at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he directs the WAMIDAN ensemble. Makubuya performs in a cross-cultural duo with Chinese pipa performer Wu Man. His Abadongo, for endongo, , and string quartet was performed at the University of California by the composer and the Kronos Quartet. He has recorded three solo CDs and appears as a guest artist on a fourth (Wu Man and Friends, 2005). His music has also been featured in several films, including Mississippi Masala (1991).