Ashley Thorton

Ashley Thornton is a Ph.D. student in ethnomusicology. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance (2018) and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (2018) from Southeast Missouri State University. Her research focuses on Kurdish and Turkish music, specifically the roles of gender and identity among women who play daf and erbane, both are types of frame drums. Other research interests she has include nationalism, transnationalism, migration, violence, representation in films and literature, applied ethnomusicology, and medical ethnomusicology.

Outside of her academic work, Ashley directs UT Austin’s Middle East Ensemble, Bereket’s, percussion section. In addition to that, she is a volunteer for UT Austin’s Refugee Student Mentorship Program with the Austin Independent School District (AISD) where she works with “English as a Second Language” students.