Professor Mayco A. Santaella

Professor Mayco A. Santaella

  • Acting Dean and Professor
Department of Film and Performing Arts
Google Scholar Scopus
SDGs Focus
Quality Education
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Partnership for the Goals

Biography

Mayco A. Santaella is Professor and Acting Dean for the School of Arts at Sunway University. He studied at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an East-West Center fellow researching music and dance traditions of the extended Sulu Zone (East Malaysia, southern Philippines, and eastern Indonesia) and its links to the Nusantara region. He conducted research for his doctoral studies in the region of Central Sulawesi as a Fulbright research grant recipient. His research foci include the study of music and dance traditions as well as popular music in Southeast Asia.

 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Music (Ethnomusicology), University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia (2016)
  • MA in Ethnomusicology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, USA (2010)
  • BA in Music (Major) and Asian Studies (Minor), University of Hawai'i at Manoa, USA (2007)

Research Interests

  • Ethnomusicology
  • Popular music
  • Performing arts of Southeast Asia

Notable Publications

Selected Books

  1. Santaella, M. A. (2024) Performing Arts and the Royal Courts of Southeast Asia. Volume 2: Pusaka as Performed Heritage. Leiden: Brill. 
  2. Santaella, M. A. (2023) Performing Arts and the Royal Courts of Southeast Asia. Volume 1: Pusaka as Documented Heritage. Leiden: Brill. 
  3. Santaella, M. A. (2022) Popular Music in East and Southeast Asia: Sonic (under)Currents and Currencies. Kuala Lumpur: Sunway University Press.
  4. Santaella, M. A. and Adil J. (2021) Made in Nusantara: Studies in Popular Music. New York: Routledge. 
     

Achievements & Accolades

Selected Projects

  1. 2023 – Sunway University Internal Grant 
    Enriching Museum Narratives: The integration of Visual Design, Interactive Art, and an Immersive Audio-Visual Content for the Tun Sakaran Museum in Semporna, Sabah. 
  2. 2022 – Global Advancement Fund – Lancaster University
    A collaborative grant to organize an International Arts Festival at Sunway University (2023) and Lancaster University (2024) 
  3. 2022 – European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme 
    DeCoSEAS, a three-year research and community engagement project (2021-2024) funded by the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) on Cultural Heritage and Global Change
     

Professional Associations

Selected Committee Roles

  1. (2023 - Ongoing) ICTM Executive Board Member                        
    https://ictmusic.org/governance/executive-board
     
  2. (2019 - Ongoing) SEADOM Executive Board Member                     
    https://www.seadom.org/page/executive-council
     
  3. (2022 - Ongoing) Academic Advisor, Artistica Journal, TNNUA                 
     
  4. (2019 - Ongoing) Advisory Board Member, Music and Minorities Research Centre 
    University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna                 
    https://www.musicandminorities.org/people/advisory-board-of-the-mmrc/
     
  5. (2023) Networking and External Affairs Officer, IASPM-SEA
     
  6. (2023-2026) Vice-chair, ICTM National Committee for Malaysia 
     
  7. (2023) Program Committee Member, 12th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Music and Minorities. Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. 
     
  8. (2022 – 2023) Program Committee Chair, IASPM-SEA & ICTM Malaysia 2023 Joint Conference
     
  9. (2022 – 2023) Program Committee Chair for Scholarship, Research, & Pedagogy. College Music Society, Miami 2023 Conference. 
     
  10. (2022 – 2023) ICTM 2023 World Conference, Program Committee Member
     
  11. (2021-Ongoing) Vice-chair, ICTM Study Group on Music and Minorities 
     
  12. (2019-2022) Secretary, ICTM National Committee for Malaysia 
     
  13. (2020) Co-Chair, Local arrangements committee of the 6th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia. Bagan, Myanmar.
     
  14. (2018) Chair, Program committee, 5th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia. Sabah, Malaysia.
     

Publications