Dimitris Gkoulimaris

he/him

a headshot of Dimitris Gkoulimaris

Student in Musicology & Ethnomusicology

ABOUT

Dimitris Gkoulimaris is a Ph.D. student in ethnomusicology at The University of Texas in Austin. He received his bachelor’s degree in music composition and popular music studies from Northwestern University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is currently researching the musical practices of Greece, Turkey, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with a secondary focus on the music of Latin America. He has presented his research at conferences in the US, Mexico, and Romania. At UT Austin, he has served as a teaching assistant for three consecutive years, and as assistant instructor during the 2024-2025 academic year, leading his own courses in popular music. For the 2025-2025 academic year, he was awarded the COFA/Graduate School Academic Excellence Fellowship, to work towards the completion of his dissertation—an ethnography of traditional music seminars in Greece and Turkey.  

Dimitris is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and sound engineer. He has performed professionally since the age of 15, in various genres from rock and pop to Greek, Turkish, and Arabic music. He is a member of the Middle Eastern Ensemble “Bereket,” and has been leading Bereket’s sub-section on early Ottoman music since the Spring of 2025. He is also a member of the Hispanic Caribbean Ensemble. Off-campus, he performs regularly with Shams Band and other groups in Austin’s vibrant international music scene. In 2016, Dimitris received a degree in classical percussion with highest honors from the municipal conservatory of Thermi, Greece, and he has since shifted his focus onto the lute-family instruments of the eastern Mediterranean, such as oud, buzuq, folk guitar, and Greek lute.

Recent Publications

Report - 9th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Music and Dance in Southeastern Europe 

Support Austin Musicians

Dimitris Gkoulimaris is a Ph.D. student in ethnomusicology at The University of Texas in Austin. He received his bachelor’s degree in music composition and popular music studies from Northwestern University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is currently researching the musical practices of Greece, Turkey, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with a secondary focus on the music of Latin America. He has presented his research at conferences in the US, Mexico, and Romania. At UT Austin, he has served as a teaching assistant for three consecutive years, and as assistant instructor during the 2024-2025 academic year, leading his own courses in popular music. For the 2025-2025 academic year, he was awarded the COFA/Graduate School Academic Excellence Fellowship, to work towards the completion of his dissertation—an ethnography of traditional music seminars in Greece and Turkey.  

Dimitris is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and sound engineer. He has performed professionally since the age of 15, in various genres from rock and pop to Greek, Turkish, and Arabic music. He is a member of the Middle Eastern Ensemble “Bereket,” and has been leading Bereket’s sub-section on early Ottoman music since the Spring of 2025. He is also a member of the Hispanic Caribbean Ensemble. Off-campus, he performs regularly with Shams Band and other groups in Austin’s vibrant international music scene. In 2016, Dimitris received a degree in classical percussion with highest honors from the municipal conservatory of Thermi, Greece, and he has since shifted his focus onto the lute-family instruments of the eastern Mediterranean, such as oud, buzuq, folk guitar, and Greek lute.

Contact Information

Campus location
MRH 3.404

Teaching Areas

Musicology & Ethnomusicology 

Research Areas

Musics of Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, & the Middle East 

Musics of Latin America 

Theories of nationalism & cosmopolitanism 

Musical economies 

Tourism studies

Education

Master of Music
The University of Texas at Austin 

Bachelor of Music 
Northwestern University