Prof. (Dr.) M. L. Chinthaka Prageeth Meddegoda

Professor Dr. Chinthaka Prageeth Meddegoda has been a Professor of North Indian Music at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, since 2010, specializing in Hindustani vocal theory and practice. He supervises postgraduate research with a focus on Asian popular and traditional music, philosophy, and cultural studies.

He earned his PhD from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2015, specializing in Ghazal practices in the Malay world, and received training in audiovisual archiving and conference organization. He was trained in Hindustani music under distinguished gurus from Lucknow and Banaras, developing a strong foundation in both performance and scholarship.

Professor Meddegoda has published extensively in his field and has presented papers at numerous international conferences. In addition to his academic and artistic contributions, he has held several key administrative positions at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts. He served as Director of Research in 2018 and later as Director of the Centre for Quality Assurance until 2025.

Research Interests:

North Indian Music, Southeast Asian Music, Audiovisual Archiving, Ethnomusicology, Historical Musicology, Organology, Qualitative Research Methods, Systematic Musicology, Music Mnemonics, Musicology, Popular Music Studies, Social Identity, Sociology of Music.

Teaching Areas:

North Indian music, Ethnomusicology, Research Methodology

Research publications in refereed journals:

• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2025). The Challenges Faced by the Harmonium Used in Sri Lanka’s Public Musical Life. SIMP, Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis (New Series), 8. Berlin: Logos.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2024). Disabled People and Their Relationships to Abled People in Current Musicological Studies. Horizons of Art 11/Horizonty umenia 11, Banska Bystrica: Academdia Umeni. International Scientific Conference Proceedings, 97-102. ISBN: 978-80-8206-071-6, EAN: 978808282060716.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth Ahmad Faudzi Musib, Gisa Jähnichen, Xiao Mei (2023). Ethics of Sound Quality in Online Teaching, Learning and Conferencing: Perspectives Gained during the Covid Pandemic, IASA Journal 53: 50-59.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P. (2023). The Mandoharp of Amaradheva and Its Use in the 1980s and 1990s. SIMP, Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis (New Series), 8. Berlin: Logos, 115-122. DOI 10.30819/5685.08.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth & Geethika Abeyesekara (2023). The Musical Representation of Sri Lankan Kaffirs. AEMR, 12: 71-80.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2023). From Swarmandal to Taishogoto: South Asian Reputation of Zithers. From Musical Bows to Zithers Along the Great Silk Road. Ed. by Xiao Mei and Gisa Jähnichen.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2022). Review of ‘Jim Sykes (2018). The Musical Gift: Sonic Generosity in Post-War Sri Lanka’. AEMR, 9: 119-122. DOI: 10.30819/aemr.9-10.
• Meddegoda Chinthaka P., Rewadee Ungpho, and Gisa Jähnichen (2022). Maritime Mobility of Music Features within South and Southeast Asia. Cultural Arts Research and Development 2 (2): 30-38. DOI:10.55121/card.v2i2.38.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2021). Playing Non-Music on the Sri Lankan Horanawa. Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis (New Series) VI. Ed. by Gisa Jähnichen. Berlin: Logos, 189-206.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2021). Selective Tolerance of Hindustani Music Practices in Malay Musical Life. Collection of Essays. Edited by Yoshitaka Terada. Osaka: Museum for Ethnography (Minpaku), 115-131.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth, Ahmad Faudzi Musib, Thongbang Homsombat, Gisa Jähnichen and Xiao Mei (2021 [2020]). Two Years Later. IASA Journal, 51: 18-29.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2021). Hierarchies in Local Drumming Practices of Sri Lanka and the Art of Sustaining Traditions. Drum and Drum Ensembles along the Great Silk Road. Edited by Xiao Mei and Gisa Jähnichen. Berlin: Logos.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2021). “Instrumental Ambient Music and Musical Entertainment in Sri Lankan Tourism”.  Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis, New Series VI. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen. Berlin: Logos, 205-216. DOI: 10.30819/5319.16.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2020) The Parsi Theater as a Cultural Channel between South and Southeast Asian Cities. Journal of Urban Culture Research. https://doi.org/10.14456/JUCR.2020.3.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2020). Hindustani Classical Music in Sri Lanka: A Dominating Minority Music or an Imposed Musical Ideology?. Asian-European Music Research Journal, 6, 41-50. doi:10.30819/aemr.6-3.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2019). The Cultural Function of the Horanawa. Double Reeds along the Great Silk Road. Ed. by Gisa Jähnichen and Terada Yoshitaka. Berlin: Logos, 81-96.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2019). Playing Non-Music on the Sri Lankan Horanawa. Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis (New Series) VI. Ed. by Gisa Jähnichen. Berlin: Logos, 189-206.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2019). “Ghazal”. The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. Edited by Janet Sturman. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications: 1017-1018.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P. and G. Jähnichen (2019). Field Report: The Orang Kling of Sumatra’s West Coast and their Musical Self. Voicing the Unheard: Music as Windows for Minorities. Edited by Yves Defrance. Paris: L’Harmattan:185-208.
• Meddegoda, C. P.; K. C. Nadler and G. Jähnichen (2019). Moving and Moved Singers: Non-Vocal Embodiments of Vocal Expressions in the Era of Mass Media. El Oído Pensante, 7 (1): 1-26.
• Jähnichen, Gisa, Chinthaka Prageeth Meddegoda. 2019. “Indian Ālāp and Vietnamese Dao: A Study on Teaching Individual Creativity”. ạ Música em Contexto, 13, no. 2: 71-84. Disponível em https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/Musica/article/view/35471.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2018). Musical instruments in local taxonomies: The Case of Sri Lankan String Instruments as Perceived through Internet Sources. Música em Contexto, 12 (1): 21-33.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P. (2018). Oral Teaching systems versus Ongoing Canonization in Hindustani Vocal Practice. AEMR-EJ, 2: 53-64.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth, Ahmad Faudzi Musib, Thongbang Homsombat, Gisa Jähnichen & Xiao Mei (2018). Innovation and Human Failure in Small-Scale Archives – What Do We Need to Learn from Each Other? IASA Journal 48, 57-71.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2017). The Story of a Failed Business Concept: Intensifying a Drum Production in Sri Lanka. Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis V, edited by Gisa Jähnichen. Münster; MV-Wissenschaft, 231 -250.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P. (2016). Appropriation of Hindustani Musical Elements in Vocal Parts of Malay Ghazal. Malaysian Journal of Performing and Visual Arts, 2 (2): 43-70.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2016). ගසල්: ගායන විශේෂයක්ද නැතහොත් කාව්‍ය විශේෂයක්ද? (Ghazal: Poetry or Singing Style?). සංගීත් (Sangeeth), ed. by N. Handunpathirana, vol. 1: 124–133. Battaramulla: Aesthetic Education Unit (සෞන්දර්ය අධ්‍යාපන අංශය).
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2016). Instrumental Ghazal Melayu: A Functional Analysis. Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis V. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen. Münster; MV-Wissenschaft, 187-202.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth, Gisa Jähnichen & Ruwin Rangeeth Dias (2015). Experiencing the Viola in Hindustani Classical Music. Journal of the American Viola Society, 31, 29-37.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2015). Appropriation of Tabla in Malay Ghazal. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on the Performing Arts of Southeast Asia (PASEA), 14-20 June, 2014, Denpasar. Edited by Mohd Anis Mohd Nor. Kuala Lumpur: University Malaya Press.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2015). Ethnic Labelling: Malaysian Perception on Indian Performing Arts and its Impact on Malay Music. Music: Ethics and the Community. UPM Book Series on Music Research, edited by Gisa Jähnichen, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka P. Meddegoda, vol. 7: 103-116.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth, Ahmad Faudzi Musib and Gisa Jähnichen (2014). The Audiovisual Research Collection for Performing Arts (ARCPA) at Universiti Putra Malaysia: Negotiating Ethical Issues in Social Sciences. IASA Journal, 43, 53-59.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2014). Voice Cultures in Hindustani Classical Music. Music and Mind. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 6. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka P. Meddegoda. Serdang: UPM Press, 71–88.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth & Gisa Jähnichen (2014). A Metaphorical Study on Teaching Individual Creativity in Asia: Indian Ālāp and Vietnamese Dạo. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4 (4). Special Issue on Contemporary Issues in Social Science, 306-315.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2013). Adaptation of the Harmonium in Malaysia: Indian or British Heritage? Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis III (New Series). Edited by Gisa Jähnichen. Münster: MV-Wissenschaft, 219–238.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P., Ruwin R. Dias (2013). Interaction of Musicians and Audience during Performances of Hindustani Classical Music. (Music + Dance) Environment. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 5. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen and Chinthaka Meddegoda. Serdang: UPM Press, 83–94.

Published as Proceedings:

• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2019). Idealization and Individuation in Globally Expanding Performance Practices: The Parsi Theatre. Proceedings of the 1st International Research Symposium of the UVPA. Colombo: UVPA. pp191-196.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2015). Appropriation of Tabla in Malay Ghazal. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on the Performing Arts of Southeast Asia (PASEA), 14-20 June, 2014, Denpasar. Edited by Mohd Anis Mohd Nor. Kuala Lumpur: University Malaya Press.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P. and G. Jähnichen (2019). Field Report: The Orang Kling of Sumatra’s West Coast and their Musical Self. Voicing the Unheard: Music as Windows for Minorities. Edited by Yves Defrance. Paris: L’Harmattan:185-208.

Books:

• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth and Gisa Jähnichen (2016). Hindustani Traces in Malay Ghazal – ‘A song, so old and yet still famous’. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.

Book Chapters:

• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2015). Ethnic Labelling: Malaysian Perception on Indian Performing Arts and its Impact on Malay Music. Music: Ethics and the Community. UPM Book Series on Music Research, edited by Gisa Jähnichen, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka P. Meddegoda, vol. 7: 103-116.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2014). Voice Cultures in Hindustani Classical Music. Music and Mind. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 6. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka P. Meddegoda. Serdang: UPM Press, 71–88.
• Meddegoda, Chinthaka P., Ruwin R. Dias (2013). Interaction of Musicians and Audience during Performances of Hindustani Classical Music. (Music + Dance) Environment. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 5. Edited by Gisa Jähnichen and Chinthaka Meddegoda. Serdang: UPM Press, 83–94.

Book Reviews:

• Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2022). Review of ‘Jim Sykes (2018). The Musical Gift: Sonic Generosity in Post-War Sri Lanka’. AEMR, 9: 119-122. DOI: 10.30819/aemr.9-10.

Reviewer/ Editorial Board Member of journals published at least twice a year:

• 2018-2022 – Reviewer and Editorial Board Member: Asian-European Music Research Journal, No. 2. Berlin/Cottbus & Shanghai. ISSN 2625-378X (E-Journal, indexed with Scopus, ERHI Plus and RILM). (100-130 pages per volume). 9 numbers in total.
• 2013-2021 – Reviewer and Editorial Board Member: Studia Instrumentorum Musicae Popularis III (New Series). Münster: MV-Wissenschaft/Berlin: Logos. (Indexed with RILM). 6 Numbers in total until 2022.
• 2021-2025 – Co-Editor: Meddegoda, Chinthaka, Chanaka Peiris, Saman Panapitiya, Iranga Weerakkody & Nishshanka Abeyrathna (eds) (2021). Abstracts of Final Year Undergraduate Projects 2019, Faculty of Music, UVPA. Colombo: University of the Visual and Performing Arts.
• 2015 – Co-Editor and Reviewer: Jähnichen, Gisa, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka P. Meddegoda, eds. (2015). Music: Ethics and the Community. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 7. Serdang: UPM Press.
• 2014 – Co-Editor and Reviewer: Jähnichen, Gisa, Made Mantle Hood and Chinthaka Prageeth Meddegoda, eds. (2014). Music & Mind. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 6. Serdang: UPM Press.
• 2013 – Co-Editor and Reviewer: Jähnichen, Gisa & Chinthaka Meddegoda, eds. (2013). (Music + Dance) Environment. UPM Book Series on Music Research, 5. Serdang: UPM Press.
• 2022 – Co-Editor and Reviewer: Meddegoda, Chinthaka and Saman Panapitiya (2022). Journal of Research in Music. Colombo: UVPA.
• 2018 to date – Editorial Board Member since 2018 to date. AMER, Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music (Indexed Journal).
• 2016 to date – Editorial Board Member since 2016 to date, “Sangeeth”, Journal published by the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka.

Scientific and literary communication:

• 2022 – Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2022). The Sri Lankan Horanawa: Performing Traditions. Colombo: The University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Online Publication.
• 2022 – Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2022). How to educate in music? VAPA Excellence Magazine. Colombo: The University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Online Publication.
• 2019 – Meddegoda, Chinthaka Prageeth (2019). The Use of Hindustani Classical Music in Rohana Weerasinghe’s Compositions

Awards:

• 2012-2015 – HETC awards for PHD (2.6M).
• 2012-2015 – NCAS awards for PHD (1.5 M).
• 2019 – UVPA Research Grant Award for attending overseas conferences.
• 2017 – UVPA Research Grant Award for attending overseas conferences.
• 2019 – IASA Research Grant Award for attending overseas conferences.
• 2014 – UPM Research Grant Award for attending overseas conferences.
• 2007 – Medal for standing first in Vocal at the Master of Music Examination in 2007.
• 2007 – Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur Memorial Award for securing First rank with first class marks in Master of Music (Vocal) Examination in 2007.
• 2005 – Medal for standing first in Vocal at the Bachelor of Music Examination in 2005.
• 2005 – Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur Memorial Award for securing First rank with first class marks in Bachelor of Music (Vocal) Examination in 2005.
• 2005 – Syt. Vinod Dixit Award for obtaining highest marks in Practical in Bachelor of Music (Final) Examination in 2005.

Other Links :

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