Amanda Paruta is a PhD student in historical musicology and music theory. She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in music and anthropology from Buffalo State University and a Master of Music in musicology from Northwestern University. Broadly, her work grapples with questions of race, gender, and class and was awarded a Western New York Prosperity Fellowship through the University at Buffalo and Prentice Family Foundation to explore the relationship between communities and institutionalized musicking. Her public facing work includes contributions to the Center for 21^st Century Music blog, Edge of the Center, and an essay, “Working Class Musicology,” published by Project Spectrum and translated to Spanish and German by Arts of the Working Class in 2022.

Paruta held teaching appointments in the humanities at Medaille College and now instructs courses on gender and capital at the University at Buffalo. She serves as a graduate student ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences and president of the Music Graduate Student Association at the University at Buffalo, as well as junior Co-Chair of the Society for American Music Student Forum.