Members of the ROAM Project
Project Directors
Dr Ahmad Naser Sarmast is a native of Afghanistan and a son of the late well known and highly respected Afghan composer, conductor and musician Ūstād Sarmast. He received his PhD in music from Monash University, Australia in 2005 and his MA in musicology/ethnomusicology from the Moscow State Conservatorium in 1993. He has been conducting research on music of Afghanistan since 1993. Dr Sarmast is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Music - Conservatorium and in the Monash Asia Institute of Monash University. His research areas include music in Afghanistan, North India, Central Asia and Iran.
Professor Patricia Rich is a geologist and Director of the Monash Science Centre at Monash University in Melbourne. She leads remote field teams in many parts of the world. Recently she led a UNESCO project in Namibia dealing with climate change 500-600 million years ago. She has developed educational materials for use in some remote areas, especially Afghanistan and Timor-Leste.
Professor Marika Vicziany is Professor of Asian Political Economy and the Director of the Monash Asia Institute, Monash University. She has published some 15 books and about 100 refereed international papers on mainly India, Pakistan and western China. Her work focuses on mass poverty, long term economic development trends, religion and society and most recently regional security. Professor Vicziany has also completed research projects for the Asian Development Bank, Australian governments and various international companies.
Associate Professor Craig de Wilde is the Head of the School of Music - Conservatorium at Monash University. His research includes books and articles on nineteenth-century German romanticism, especially the early music of Richard Strauss, and on the popular music history of America and Australia. He also provides regular music commentary on both radio and television for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Ms Elly Rich graduated with a BA / LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. She supplements her day job as a solicitor by being involved in the ROAM project, which allows her to pursue her strong interest in music and humanitarian assistance work.
Musicians and Volunteers
The biographies and profiles of musicians and individuals who are involved in various ROAM projects can be read on the Friends of Roam website.