Dwandalyn Reece: 'Musical Crossroads: American Music through an African-American Lens'

Join the School of Music for a free masterclass with Dwandalyn Reece.

Dwandalyn R. Reece is Curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian’s newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in Washington, DC on September 24, 2016. Along with building the museum’s collections, Reece curated the music exhibition "Musical Crossroads" and cocurated the grand opening music festival "Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration." Reece collaborates with other Smithsonian units on such projects as the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 2011 Folklife Festival program, "Rhythm and Blues: Tell It Like It Is," and is chair of the SI pan-institutional group, Smithsonian Music. 

Throughout her career, Reece has worked in the public sector conducting community-based research projects, curating exhibitions, writing articles, and developing public programs for general audiences. Before joining the Smithsonian, she was a senior program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities and worked in several museums including the Louis Armstrong House and Archives, the Brooklyn Historical Society, the New Jersey State Museum and the Motown Historical Museum. She received her Bachelor of Arts in American studies and music from Scripps College, her Master of Arts in American culture and a certificate in museum practice from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in performance studies from New York University.