José S. Buenconsejo, studied musicology at the University of the Philippines, the University of Hawaii Manoa, and at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his doctorate in 1999. Recipient of grants from the East-West Center, Asian Cultural Council, Mellon Foundation (Dissertation Fellowship), Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of Hong Kong) and Prince Claus Foundation Grant, Dr. Buenconsejo has published a book, Songs and Gifts at the Frontier: Person and Exchange in the Agusan Manobo Possession Ritual (Routledge, 2002). He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of the Philippines, and at the University of Hong Kong.