About
Ezgi Benli-Garcia is an ethnomusicologist whose research bridges the study of musical traditions with broader questions of community, spirituality, and cultural expression. Her work examines how marginalized communities use music, storytelling, and collective listening to sustain identity, create spaces of belonging, and navigate histories of displacement and discrimination.
Her doctoral research, Listening to Alevis: Community, Religiosity, and Spirituality in Muhabbet Gatherings, explored how Alevis in Turkey create intimate, participatory spaces where music, conversation, and shared stories foster alternative forms of religiosity, mutual care, and healing.
As a bağlama (Turkish lute) artist and fifth-generation musician, Ezgi integrates over twenty years of performance experience with ethnographic and archival methods to document and interpret the intersections of sound, voice, and identity.
She earned her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and M.A. in Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University, and her double B.A. in Music Performance and Music Technologies from Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory. At George Mason University’s Institute for Immigration Research, she serves as the Shrivastava Family Postdoctoral Research Fellow, focusing on immigration and the intersections of arts, culture, and storytelling.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Ezgi is a music teacher, and her skills extend to coordinating artistic programs for non-profit organizations and community-based creative projects.