Professor of Music, School of Performing Arts
DPhil (Oxford), MMus (London), BA (Hons)(Dartington), LTCL (tchg), LTCL (perf)
Joined the University of Otago in 1995
Associate Director of the Centre for Global Migrations
Former Associate Dean International (Humanities), Head of Department (Music), Programme Coordinator (Performing Arts)
Tel +64 3 479 8884
Email henry.johnson@otago.ac.nz
Henry is an internationally respected music researcher. He has published numerous books, chapters and scholarly articles with major publishers and top-tier journals in his fields of expertise. His primary field of teaching and research is the study of people making music. His research outputs mainly have a social focus, with much work crossing other disciplinary fields (Asian Studies, Japanese Studies, Island Studies, Diaspora Studies, Performance Studies, and Cultural Studies). The ethnographic component of his research methodology includes original field study in diverse contexts, where he engages with music at the intersection of theory and practice.
Teaching
- MUSI 103 Music in Popular Culture
- MUSI 104 World Music
- MUSI 105 Music Matters
- MUSI 265 Music and Theatre
- MUSI 266 Film Music
- MUSI 268 Performance in Asia and the Pacific
- MUSI 269 Popular Music 2
- MUSI 365 Music and Theatre
- MUSI 366 Film Music
- MUSI 368 Performance in Asia and the Pacific
- MUSI 369 Popular Music 3
- MUSI 386 Community Project
- MUSI 486 Community Project (Advanced)
Background including creative and research interests
A prolific and internationally acclaimed researcher in music, Henry has undertaken extensive field study on three continents: Europe, Asia and Australasia. His prestigious appointments have included Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow, Visiting Academic at the University of Oxford, Visiting Professor at Kagoshima University, and Visiting Researcher at Seikei University. He is the recipient of numerous research awards, including grants from the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. He was a collaborator in the European Cooperation in Science and Technology research initiative, “Investigating Cultural Sustainability”.
Henry is Associate Director of the Centre for Global Migrations, past President of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society, and past Chair of the International Council for Traditional Music Australia and New Zealand Regional Committee. As a performing musician, he has performed koto and sitar on BBC television and radio, and continues to perform extensively on taiko in Aotearoa.
Henry is currently researching the history of Chinese music in Aotearoa New Zealand with the support of the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange:
Supervision
Areas of research supervision
- Ethnomusicology
- Asia
- Aotearoa New Zealand
- Diaspora studies
- Music education
Selection of PhD supervision topics
- Music education
- Music diaspora
- Pacific music in New Zealand
- Music and language in Hawaiian music
- “Indie” guitar-pop
- Musical poetics in Ireland, Scotland and Nova Scotia
- Musical instruments
- Music therapy
- Scottish piping
- Acoustemology, environmental influences and sustainability
- World music education
- British contemporary folk music
- Jazz
- Rotenese gong music
Other musical and community activities
- Performer with O-Taiko, Dunedin's Japanese-inspired drum group
Publications
Johnson, H. (2011). Drumming up Japan: Localizing taiko in New Zealand. In P. Voci & J. Leckie (Eds.), Localizing Asia in Aotearoa. (pp. 134-149). Wellington, New Zealand: Dunmore. Chapter in Book - Research
Johnson, H. (2012). A modernist traditionalist: Miyagi Michio, transculturalism, and the making of a music tradition. In R. Starrs (Ed.), Rethinking Japanese modernism. (pp. 246-269). Leiden, The Netherlands: Global Oriental. Chapter in Book - Research
Johnson, H. (2011). Jersey: Jèrriais, song, and language revitalization. In G. Baldacchino (Ed.), Island songs: A global repertoire. (pp. 103-118). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Chapter in Book - Research
Johnson, H. (2011). Musical moves and transnational grooves: Education, transplantation and Japanese Taiko drumming at the International Pacific College, New Zealand. In J. Edmond, H. Johnson & J. Leckie (Eds.), Recentring Asia: Histories, encounters, identities. (pp. 310-333). Leiden, The Netherlands: Global Oriental. Chapter in Book - Research
Prentice, C., Devadas, V., & Johnson, H. (Eds.). (2010). Cultural transformations: Perspectives on translocation in a global age. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 347p. Edited Book - Research