Andrew Pettit is an accomplished scholar and versatile multi-instrumentalist with a specific interest in Hindustani (North Indian) music performance. His primary research areas include the study of child-directed songs in urban India and the relationship between music and spirituality.
Andy earned a Bachelor of Music in 2000, specializing in viola performance. He later pursued an MA in Ethnomusicology in 2007, and a Ph.D. in 2014, both from the University of California, Los Angeles. His study of Hindustani music spans over two decades and has seen him under the tutelage of globally recognized musicians such as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Roshan Jamal Bhartiya, and Ustad Shujaat Khan.
Andy has conducted extensive research both in India and the United States. His study into the changing nature of child-directed songs in urban India was funded by a Fulbright-Nehru grant, which he was awarded in 2011-2012.
Andy has designed and delivered courses on a diverse range of topics, including Indian music in Western culture, surveys of Indian classical music, and the intersection of food, music, and culture in the South Asian diaspora and other courses broadly related to ethnomusicology.
Currently, Andy gives private music lessons in Fort Collins and teaches academic courses at CU Denver. His unique blend of practical experience, academic insight, and cultural understanding make him an invaluable asset to both his students and the broader academic community.
University of California Los Angeles
PhD; Ethnomusicology
MA; Ethnomusicology
University of Colorado Boulder
BM; Music, Viola performance
2012-2013 UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship
2011-2012 Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowship
2011-2012 Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award (Urdu)
2010-2011 UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship Program
2010 UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Student Opportunity Fund, travel grant
2009 UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Program
2009 Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) summer language grant, South Asian Summer Language Institute, University of Madison, Wisconsin (Urdu)
2000 Denes Koromzay String Chamber Music Award, University of Colorado Boulder
1996 Crick Streamer Memorial Scholarship, University of Colorado Boulder
Society for Ethnomusicology
The College Music Society