Francisco D. Lara is an ethnomusicologist and musician with pedagogical, research, and performance interest in the music and culture of Latin America, Afro-Latin America, and music, health, and wellness. He frequently performs for educational and community-building purposes in the Memphis area as well as gives research talks on and off-campus. Dr. Lara also works in the community developing and supervising student service-learning projects in partnership with such local organizations as Hope House, Ronald McDonald House, Cazateatro, and Latino Memphis. In addition, he organizes and leads workforce development and other community outreach projects for Latino Memphis as well as teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in ethnomusicology at the University of Memphis. He studied music theory at Northwestern University (BM 2001) and musicology/ethnomusicology at The Florida State University (PhD 2011). He currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and son.
