Jonathan McCollum

McCollum is especially known for theoretical contributions to the historiography of global music (historical ethnomusicology), and research studies into both the music of Armenia and the music of Japan, particularly Zen Buddhist ritual and shakuhachi flute tradition.

As a musicologist, McCollum has contributed extensively to academic journals, encyclopedias, and music reference works, including most recently the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the Sage International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture, and the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. He has also worked as a consultant for the Armenian Library and Museum of America, the Smithsonian Institution, and Folkways Alive! of the Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta.

McCollum is the author of Armenian Music: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Discography (Scarecrow Press, 2004)[3][4][5] and has contributed to many other volumes. He is currently developing a book on music of the Vikings with David Hebert, with whom he co-edited an earlier book, Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology (Lexington Books, 2014), and edits a book series for Rowman and Littlefield press,[6] The Lexington Series in Historical Ethnomusicology: Deep Soundings.[7]

McCollum holds the specialized Shihan 師範 (Master’s) license in shakuhachi performance and teaching,[8] with the professional name (natori) “Kenzen (研禅)” earned primarily through studies under Dai Shihan (Grand Master) Michael Chikuzen Gould.[9]

As a professional performer, McCollum has also contributed to virtual instrument sample libraries; he is the shakuhachi player for Stealth Wind software (on Unearthed Sampling’s Kontakt platform), which is widely used by professional soundtrack composers for videos and films.[10]

He also works as a professional trombonist. McCollum is a Hoshi (Dharma Holder) at Clare Sangha in Baltimore and is the founding teacher of the Chester River Sangha, Zen Buddhist communities in the White Plum Asanga.[11]