Associate Professor Akosua Obuo Addo teaches music education at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN, and has over 20 years of teaching experience in Ghana, England, Canada, and the USA. In the undergraduate program, Dr. Addo teaches elementary music methods and supervises teacher candidates. Community engagement and active learning strategies are vital components of Dr. Addo's undergraduate methods and graduate research courses. Participants in Addo's global seminars to Ghana and Jamaica observe and interact with local musicians and understand global arts through immersion in these cultures.
Addo's research interest includes international issues in arts education, teacher education, and ethnographic research on children's play. She has published papers in the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, UNESCO International Music Council, On Sociology of Music Education, International Journal of Music Education, the International Yearbook on Traditional Music, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Journal of Research in International Education, General Music Today, Teaching Education, the British Journal of Music Education, and the CMEA News. In addition to book chapters, Addo's research has been presented at several conferences and published professional and research journals. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and a 2019-2020 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Ghana. Previously, she was an assistant professor of music education at the University of Connecticut, Visiting Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Roehampton Institute, London, and administrator for the Centre for Intercultural Music Arts, City University in London.
Dr. Addo has served on several boards: U of M representative for the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, a consultant for Witness Program of VocalEssence founded as the Plymouth Music Series and American Composers Forum – Composer's Suitcase project, Board member for East Metro Music Academy (EMMA), and CitySongs. Previously she was U of M representative for Arts Infused Teaching and Learning Institute for the Perpich Center for the Arts, and U of M coordinator for the Pennock Music Listening Project with Minnesota Orchestra. Akosua was a World Music Resource Team member for the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE).
Associate Prof. Addo currently serves as the research chair for the Minnesota Society for Music Teacher Education (MNSTME). Dr. Addo also serves on the Organisation for Strategic Development in Jamaica (OSDJ) board, collaborating with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Jamaica to promote music education in Jamaica and foster collaborative relationships between schools and higher education institutions in Jamaica and Minnesota.