Christian Morgan James

Banjo, Piano, Guitar, Vocals

Born in Brittany to parents from Wales and Ireland and raised in Michigan, Christian is a lifelong student of culture, language, and music. Their father, son of the Welsh oboist and music educator Beryl Bowen James, began Christian’s training in classical piano at the age of seven. They went on to study organ performance and earn a Bachelor of Music degree in composition and ethnomusicology from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where they also studied Hindustani vocal music under the renowned composer and sitar maestra Hasu Patel. Christian premiered compositions in Charlotte, Banff, Dharamshala, Detroit, and Cleveland before beginning their graduate career in ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington in 2017. Their PhD dissertation combines their interests in music and social justice, analyzing the use of singing and musical performance as strategies for mobilizing feminist activism in Himachal Pradesh, India, in relation to local song practices, regional and national social movements, and international aid networks. With support from an Oberlin Shansi Fellowship (2014-2016), two Critical Language Scholarships (2018, 2021), and a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Fellowship (2022-2023), Christian has spent nearly four years in northern India and maintains proficiency in six South Asian languages