Dr. Ma is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Colby College.
Her research interest is in the intersections between music and East Asian languages, performance, and gender studies. She conducts musical, timbral, ethnographical, and computational analyses to inform her research questions. These inquiries include critical approaches to timbre and voice in Japanese music, as well as the global history of music theory exchanges between East Asia and the West.
May
@Vancouver, BC, Canada
Presentation , "Collaborating on Curriculum Revision Across Individual and Institutional Transition," at 2026 Pedagogy into Practice Conference.
June
@Dayton, OH
"Porous Voices, Vocalodized Voices: Idolized Girlhood and Feminist Resistance," at Feminist Theory & Music 2026 Conference: Movement, Musicking, and Migrations.
July
@Evanston, IL
"Theorizing Vocal Timbre Affects in Popular Music," at Biennial Meeting of Society for Music Perception and Cognition.
2.27.26 @Washington DC
Presentation, "Porous Voices: Transnational Girlhood in the Digital Age," at Biennial Meeting of International Association for the Study of Popular Music. "
11.8.25 @Minneapolis, MN
Presentation , "Sonic Misogyny and Resistance: Gender-based Violence and Girlhood in J-pop," at Joint Annual Meeting of American Musicological Society and Society for Music Theory
11.7.25 @Minneapolis, MN
Presentation , "Watashi wa star:’ Fusion, Rebirth, and Hip-Hop Identity in Megan (2024)," at Joint Annual Meeting of American Musicological Society and Society for Music Theory
1.15.26 @Durham, NC
Guest Lecture, "Timbre and Music Theory.” Duke University
10.27.25 @Ann Arbor, MI
Guest Lecture, "Analyzing Vocal Timbre," University of Michigan
4.5.25 @Williamstown, MA
Presentation, "Resilient Voices: Black Vocality and Female Authorship in J-pop," at 37th Meeting of the Northeast Conference of Music Theorists
3.12.25 @Columbus, OH
Presentation, "Affects of Timbre: Voice in Japanese Performance Theory," at Association of Asian Studies 2025 Annual Conference
11.15.24 @Chicago, IL
Presentation, "Qin as Performable Work: Two Semiotic Analysis of Meihua Sannong," at 2024 American Musicology Society Annual Meeting
11.8.24 @Jacksonville, FL
Presentation,"Fiery Voices, Cool Sound: Four Vocal Types in J-pop," at Society for Music Theory 2024 Annual Meeting
10.2.24 @Davidson, NC
Guest Lecture, "Gender, Agency, Singer Songwriters, and Citypop," Davidson College