Joshua Adewole Kerobo , PHD

Joshua Adewole Kerobo, PhD, begins his new role as Assistant Professor of Musicology/ Ethnomusicology at CCM on Aug. 15, 2026.

Kerobo is an ethnomusicologist, saxophonist and African percussionist hailing from the Northern region of Edo State in Nigeria, as well as Cincinnati, Ohio. His research in ethnomusicology focuses on African popular music and youth political engagement in Nigeria's Fourth Republic (1999-present). His research also explores Black music development in Cincinnati, music and Black/African religious subjectivities, and sonic affect and discursive citizenship in national sporting events.

Kerobo's publications appear in Rising Voices in Ethnomusicology, Musicological Brainfood and Musicology Australia (forthcoming in 2027). In addition, Kerobo has presented his research in paper panels at various conferences, such as the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), the African Studies Association (ASA) and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). In 2025, he received the Musicological Society of Australia's (MSA) Best Student Paper Prize at the Music and Mediation Conference, University of Adelaide.

As a musician, Kerobo is heavily inspired by the hybrid cultural forms of the Black Atlantic. He has served as a board member and workshop facilitator of the Nations Rhythm Festival in Ibadan, Nigeria, under the creative direction of master drummer Peter Olalekan Adedokun. There, he hosts workshops on intercultural creativity and mixed ensembles, taking part in the closing ceremony as a saxophonist and ilu gangan (Yoruba talking drum) player. He also played ilu gangan in Akojopo Music Foundation's African art music presentation at the Sphinx Organization's SphinxConnect Conference supporting Black classical music. Prior to moving to Cincinnati, Kerobo was a saxophonist at Brown Chapel AME Church, Ypsilanti's oldest Black church.

Before joining CCM's faculty, Kerobo was a graduate student instructor at the University of Michigan. There, he helped teach core classes for School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (SMTD) students, and electives for the general student body. Additionally, he was a Rackham Merit Fellow (2019-26) and received the Fulbright Yoruba Group Project Abroad (YGPA) Fellowship (2022) to study Yoruba at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Kerobo holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology (2026) from the University of Michigan. He also holds BAs in International Studies and Music (2019) from American University in Washington DC.