Associate Professor John Napier

John Napier received his undergraduate training at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, (Brisbane Australia) graduating in 1983 with the Medal for Excellence. A period as principal cellist of a professional orchestra led to increasing dissatisfaction with the narrow range of music he encountered. This in turn led to life transforming study of a range of musics, partially integrated with a very colorful performing career. In 2001 he completed his doctorate on North Indian classical vocal music. In 1998 he commenced study and documentation of the Jogi caste of story-teller musicians in Rajasthan, culminating in the monograph They Sing the Wedding of God in 2013. Since 2008 he has documented the music of the Kodava, an ethno-linguistic minority in southern India. He also publishes on the Indian diaspora in Australia. He is Associate Professor of Music at the University of New South Wales, teaching courses in musicology and improvisation. In 2021 he won one of the university’s inaugural Students’ Choice teaching awards for his commitment to musical diversity and to the creation of a safe and nurturing learning environment. He maintains a lively and eclectic career as a cellist, playing a range of musical styles, including a genre called “Mine”.