Eugenia Costa-Giomi, professor, music education, School of Music in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Brazil to research “Growing up musical: The cultural context of infants’ soundscapes.”
Costa-Giomi’s Fulbright Flex Grant will consist of two visits of one month each. She’ll be based at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais studying the home music environments of infants.
“Research on home soundscapes offers an original perspective of the daily musical lives of young children by gathering data directly from the vantage point of the infants rather than indirectly from the narratives of their parents,” explained Costa-Giomi.
The research method lends itself to the study of cultural factors that are embedded in the families and that manifest themselves in the interactions among family members, and between the members and the social, professional political, and economic contexts in which they operate. By gathering an extensive sample of such interactions as they occur naturally around and with infants, the analysis of the home soundscape can facilitate the identification of the unique and shared cultural characteristics among infants from similar and distinct cultures.
“My goals for this Fulbright project include fostering further research and teaching collaborations between Ohio State and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, disseminating methodologies suitable for the study of idiosyncratic aspects of music culture in various countries, and facilitating the exchange of students between the two countries,” noted Costa-Giomi. “At a more personal level, this Fulbright project will also allow me to reflect on my legacy as a researcher, teacher and leader.”
Costa-Giomi is also associate director of the School of Music and director of graduate studies. She’s a distinguished professor of the Academy of Teaching, and an associate researcher at the Crane Center for Early Childhood. Her research focuses on music learning and development, as well as the cognitive, social and health benefits of music participation.
Fulbright
The Fulbright Scholar Program is administered by the Institute of International Education and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
For more information about the Fulbright Scholar Program contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser. View a complete list of Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program recipients.