African American Music Museum adds Dr. Dina M. Bennett

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in Nashville has added renowned curator Dr. Dina M. Bennett to its staff. Bennett has 30 years of experience at being what is called an ethnomusicologist. The museum is expected to open in 2019. According to Musicrow.com, Bennett previously served as the associate director of the Mulvane Art Museum at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, director of education at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi, and the manager of collections and exhibitions at the American Jazz Museum (AJM) in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is an honor that Dr. Bennett has joined our team,” said NMAAM President and CEO Henry Beecher Hicks III. “Her expertise is unmatched, and I’m positive that her work with NMAAM will result in an exceptional experience for our museum guests.” Originally from Topeka, Kansas, Bennett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies from Washburn University, a master’s degree in college student personnel from Kansas State University, and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology with a minor in African American and African diaspora studies from Indiana University. Bennett is an accomplished pianist and serves on the advisory team of scholars for “A History of African American Music,” an interactive timeline produced as a resource for Carnegie Hall’s 2009 festival, “Honor: A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy.” According to the museum’s website (www.nmaam.org), The National Museum of African American Music is set to open its doors in 2019. It will be the only museum dedicated to preserving the legacy and celebrating the accomplishments of the many music genres created, influenced, or inspired by African Americans. Being built in Nashville, the Museum will share the story of the American Soundtrack, integrating history and interactive technology to bring the musical heroes of the past into the present.