Overview
Tommy Dainko is a PhD student in Cornell’s Music and Sound Studies program. He received a BM in Performance from the University of Denver, focused on classical percussion. As an undergraduate student, he received the Presser Award for his involvement with music research, many of the university’s ensembles, solo performances, and for giving outstanding recitals. He was also a highly commended entrant for the Global Undergraduate Awards for his research on Scottish waulking songs and their relationship to gender in Scotland and Canada.
Tommy remained at the University of Denver to pursue an MA in Musicology, focusing his research on the intersection of power, race, and representation in video game music. His MA thesis examined the role of ensembles who specialize in a music tradition and their function in the games Pentiment and The Pathless. Besides ludomusicological research, Tommy also researches music and medievalism and its relationship to nostalgia, music and identity, popular music, and early British music. Tommy has presented his research both nationally and internationally, including the Ludomusicology Conference in Europe and the yearly International Congress of Medieval Studies hosted at Western Michigan University. During his time in Denver, he also became involved with American sacred harp and, under the tutelage of Dr. Zoe Weiss, the viola da gamba.