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Dr Ernest Patrick Monte

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Staff Information
PERSONAL DETAILS
Designation
Senior Lecturer
Department
Music and Performing Arts
SUMMARY

Dr. Ernest Patrick Monte is a distinguished musicologist and educator with extensive expertise in the intersection of music, politics, and cultural studies. Holding a PhD in Music from the University of Stellenbosch, his research explores the political dimensions of Kenyan choral music, analyzing how music reflects and challenges national identity. Dr. Monte has over two decades of teaching experience in Kenya and South Africa and is an accomplished choral trainer, conductor, and researcher. He has contributed to curriculum development and is deeply involved in postgraduate supervision, grant writing, and project management.

As a Senior Lecturer at Kabarak University, Dr. Monte has spearheaded initiatives to enhance music education, with his work funded by prestigious grants, including the Andrew Mellon Foundation’s Pan-African Music Initiative. His publications address topics such as land representation in Kenyan music, gender issues in music education, and the role of music in national narratives. Fluent in English, Kiswahili, and Ekegusii, Dr. Monte is committed to advancing African music scholarship and promoting music as a tool for social and cultural reflection.

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-NencK4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

PhD in Music, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2015)

MMed in Music, Kenyatta University, Kenya (2009)

Bachelor of Education in Arts (Music), Kenyatta University, Kenya (2002)

FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION
  • African Musicology
  • Cultural Studies
  • Music Education
  • Music education and curriculum development
  • Choral training and conducting
  • Grant writing and project management
  • Supervision of postgraduate students
  • Conference and workshop organization
WORK EXPERIENCE
  • Present: Senior Lecturer at Kabarak University
  • Aug 2023 - Apr 2024: Senior Lecturer, Technical University of Kenya
  • Jun 2016 - Aug 2023: Music Lecturer and Head of Department, School of Music and Performing Arts, Kabarak University
  • Feb 2016 - May 2016: Part-time Lecturer, Maseno University
  • Jul 2008 - Dec 2011: Music Educator and Choral Trainer, Sibusiso Secondary School & Dlomodlomo High School, South Africa
  • Sep 2002 - Jun 2008: Music Educator and Choral Trainer, Loreto High School Limuru, Kenya
KEY PROJECTS

Research Grants

  • Kenyan Principal Investigator for the project:  Andrew Mellon-funded research grant on "Mapping Africa’s Musical Identities: a MOOC Project", 2020
RESEARCH INTERESTS
  • Music Education
  • Choral music studies
  • Music and politics,
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
  1. Kwamboka, O. T., Monte, E. P., & Were, M. N. (2020). Determinants of Marginalization of Women in the Kenyan Music Education Space. African Musicology Online, 10(2), 74-96
  2. Monte, E.P., &Mochere J., 2019. ‘“In Class out of Place”: The Substance of Secondary School Music Curriculum’, in E. A. Akuno (ed.), Music Education in Africa: Concept, Process, and Practice, Routledge, London and New York, pp 135-148
  3. Monte, E.P., 2018. Representations of land in Kenyan song. Critical African Studies, 10(1), pp.14-30.
  4. Monte, E.P. and Kiguru, D., 2018. Music, memory and forgetting: patriotic choral music in Kenya. SAMUS: South African Music Studies, 36(1), pp.110-128.
  5. Monte, E.P., 2017. Romancing the nation, effacing history: reading Kenya through patriotic choral music. Social Dynamics, 43(3), pp.451-469.
  6. Monte, E.P., Wanyama, M.N., & Kiguru, D.W., 2017. Challenges and Innovations in Africanising Music in the Classroom: A Kenyan Experience. Kabarak Journal of Research & Innovation, 4(2), pp.93-101
  7. Monte, E.P., 2015. The Girls in the Baobab: Venda Stories from the Limpopo Valley, Jaco Kruger (Ed.) in collaboration with Mathuvhelo Mavhetha, Pfananani Masase and Tshifhiwa Mashau. SAMUS: South African Music Studies, 34(1), pp.135-138.
TEACHING AREAS
  • Music Theory
  • Music History
  • Critical Theory
  • Sexuality and Gender in Music
  • African Musicology
  • Music Education
  • Qualitative Research Methods
POSTGRADUATE SUPERVISION
Masters Level:

2023 - Jackline Maina - Redefining folk music through indigenous traditions in Kenyan popular music

2023 - James Nderitu Kiragu - Sustainable Music Traditions: A Case Study of the Kayamba Musical Instrument in Kilifi County

2021 - Alice Adhiambo Otieno - Inclusion of Kenyan Popular Music In Secondary School Music Curriculum: A Study of Selected Schools In Vihiga County,

2020 - Osoro Tabitha Kwamboka - Secondary School Women Music Educators’ Experiences And Gender Inequity In Bungoma County

Our Moral Code

As members of Kabarak University family, we purpose at all times and in all places, to set apart in one’s heart, Jesus as Lord. (1 Peter 3:15)