Finalist 2018 Research
Margaret Kartomi is Professor of Music at Monash University, an ethnomusicologist specialising in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and the world authority on the music of Sumatra. She is the world authority on the music of Sumatra and has pioneered the teaching and research of Asian Music in Australia. Over the past 48 years, Professor Kartomi been very active in the Indonesian community.
Margaret has been key in educating non-Indonesianists about Indonesia. She has received numerous honours and accolades from Australian, Indonesian and international bodies. Especially noteworthy is the 2011 award by Lampung Province in Sumatra of a title equivalent to ˜Queen” in recognition of her research on Lampung music.
She has received numerous Australian Research Council grants to research each of the provinces in Sumatra and produced numerous publications and a massive volume on the music and culture of Sumatra, the first of its kind. She received an Order of Australia for her contributions to music research in Australia.