Steven Spinner
Originally a saxophone player from Sebastopol, California, Spinner
earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Colorado University-Boulder in 2005. There he participated in jazz bands,
concert bands, and the CU African Ensemble. During the summer of 2003, he studied abroad in Ghana under
the direction of Kwasi Ampene, where he researched the female song tradition
Nnwonkoro as well as music education in an Accra secondary school. After graduating, he taught band and
recorder to students grades three through eight at a public school in
Baltimore, Maryland. He is now in the doctoral program at UC Davis, studying ethnomusicology. He is interested in perceptions of
amateur versus professional musical activities, West African music, jazz, music
education, and music communities. He
travels whenever possible and, in addition to Ghana, has spent time in Belgium,
China, and Mexico.