He is a member of the Library Faculty and is responsible for reference, collection development and cataloging for the Orendorff Music Library at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  He serves as bibliographer for the Music and Art Departments.   He teaches courses in Music Bibliography, Information Literacy in World Music, and Ethnic Music and Culture. Additional professional interests include Copyright issues in the digital age.  He is active in the Music Library Association, and its Atlantic Chapter, as well as the Niagara and Mid-Atlantic Chapters chapters of the Society for Ethnomusicology, and the Allegheny Chapter of the American Musicological Association.

His research interests include Finnish, Scandinavian, Baltic, Russian and Celtic folk music; folk instruments, especially the Finnish kantele;  polka bands and fiddling, especially in Western Pennsylvania; and the history of ethnomusicology, especially its women pioneers.  For a more detailed description of his academic activities, see his professional vitae.

He enjoys playing fiddle, mandolin or string bass with local musicians, with Finnish-American musicians, with the Irish band Aran and other musician friends.  He was an ArtsPath artist from 2001-05 in fiddling for Western Pennsylvania.  He played his first viola recital in 32 years on January 18, 2008.  For more information see:

Carl Rahkonen's kantele site
Fiddling Around America
Music Sites on the Web.
Music Bibliography at IUP.
The best collection of Viola Jokes on the World Wide Web.
Carl's paper on viola jokes presented at the Society for Ethnomusicology Meeting in 1994.

Web-site created and maintained by Carl Rahkonen.  © 1987-  Last modified 6/25/08
Comments and/or suggestions may be e-mailed to: rahkonen@.iup.edu.
Space is provided for this site by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which assumes no responsibility for its contents.  Please read the official disclaimer.
URL=http://www.people.iup.edu/rahkonen/index.htm