Students who enroll in a music course next semester may be taught by Jeffers Engelhardt, the latest addition to the department. An assistant professor of Global Sound, Engelhardt has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, one of the top programs for musical anthropology in the country, and a B.M. in piano performance from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

Professor Engelhardt was chosen from the three candidates interviewed for the position. According to Associate Professor of Music David Schneider, "We chose Jeffers Engelhardt, currently holder of a Mellon Post-Doc at Amherst College, for the job because of his excellent scholarship on the music of the Estonian Orthodox Church and because of the sophistication he brings to questions of musical anthropology as they related to global understanding."

Though Professor Engelhardt will fill the vacancy left by Professor of Asian Languages and Civilizations David Reck, he is not expected to serve as his replacement. Professor Reck retired from the music department last academic year. Instead, according to Professor Schneider, he will "add new dimensions to the studies of music and culture, music and globalization, and the anthropology of music."

"We are particularly impressed with Professor Engelhardt's teaching, research, and his passions for musical performance and ethnography," said Professor Schneider.