Diego Pani
Scholar in Residence  |  2024-25

Italy

Diego Pani is an ethnomusicologist and musician. Currently a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, he is a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of New Mexico, where he teaches audiovisual ethnomusicology, popular music, and multi-voice singing of Sardinia. In Sardinia, he serves as ethnomusicologist liaison for the Istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico (ISRE), primarily working on projects focused on Sardinian multipart singing "canto a tenore" and its safeguarding as part of the UNESCO world intangible cultural heritage. 

Her research currently focuses on traditional multi-voice singing and processes of mediatization, combining these interests with audiovisual storytelling. Pani has collaborated with prominent institutions such as Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the University of Cagliari, and Kyoto City University of Arts. He has also contributed as a columnist for the Sem Student News Society for Ethnomusicology and presented his research work in international academic settings such as IASPM, CSTM, SEM, ICTM, and ESEM.

Parallel to his academic activity, he is the singer and harmonica player in the heavy blues group King Howl, with whom he has released five records and participated in several international tours. Since 2008, he has been the artistic director of Talk About Records, an independent label producing records, concerts, tours, and festivals, including Vulcani - Blues del Montiferru, now in its eleventh edition.