Alfredo Colman, PhD

Alfredo Colman is Associate Professor of Musicology/Ethnomusicology and Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies at Baylor University. Prior to joining Baylor, he taught at Southwestern University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay. He earned degrees from Belmont University (BM), Baylor University (MM), and the University of Texas (PhD). In recognition of his contributions to teaching and scholarship, he received the Belmont Encore Award in 2012 and was named a Baylor Centennial Professor in 2014.

Colman's research focuses on Latin American music, cultural identities, Paraguayan concert and popular music, and the works of Paraguayan composer Florentín Giménez (1925-2021). He is the author of Paraguayan Musical Nationalism in the Symphonies of Florentín Giménez (2025) and The Paraguayan Harp: From Colonial Transplant to National Emblem (2015), and co-editor of Thomas Robinson's New Citharen Lessons, 1609 (1997). His scholarship has appeared in numerous leading reference works, monographs, and journals, including The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Einbürgerung der Klänge, Latin American Music Review, the Folk Harp Journal, College Music Symposium, and the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. An active collaborative harpsichordist and pianist, Colman has performed in Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and throughout the United States. He has also presented lectures and research at musicology and ethnomusicology conferences across Europe, Latin America, and North America.