Theodore Levin
Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music
Theodore Levin is a longtime student of music, expressive culture, and traditional spirituality in Central Asia and Siberia. As an advocate for music and musicians from other cultures, he has written books, produced recordings, curated concerts and festivals, and contributed to international arts initiatives. During an extended leave from Dartmouth, Levin served as the first executive director of the Silk Road Project, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He has also served as chair of the Arts and Culture sub-board of the Open Society (Soros) Foundations, and is currently Senior Advisor to the Aga Khan Music Programme, a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. His research and advocacy activities focus on the role of arts and culture in international development, and on the preservation and revitalization of musical heritage. At Dartmouth he regularly teaches courses on world music and American "roots" music.
Contact
Department(s)
Music
Center(s)
The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding
Education
- B.A. Amherst College
- M.F.A. Princeton University
- Ph.D. Princeton University
Selected Publications
Musical Argonauts of Central Asia: The Aga Khan Music Programme's Quest to Revitalize Cultural Heritage (Indiana University Press, 2025)
The Music of Central Asia, ed. Theodore Levin, Saida Daukeyeva, and Elmira Köchümkulova (Indiana University Press, 2016). [Chinese translation, Shanghai Conservatory Press, 2026]
Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond (Indiana University Press, 2006, paperback 2010). [Russian translation, Klassika-XXI, 2012; Chinese translation, 2021]
Music of Central Asia, Vols. 1-10 (CD-DVD series with notes and text translations), (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2004-11).