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Originally from Thailand, Benjamin Pongtep Cefkin is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Colorado Boulder. His dissertation titled "Kinship, Conflict, and Collaboration in the Performing Arts Between Colorado's Thai, Lao, and Cambodian Communities" investigates the cross-cultural and intercultural relationship between the youth arts ensembles of various Theravada Buddhist ethnic diaspora communities based around Denver, Colorado.

As a research assistant at the American Music Research Center, Ben works on the NEH-funded "Soundscapes of the People" project collecting oral histories about music and culture in Pueblo, Colorado. Ben also teaches courses on Rock & Roll history and ethnomusicology at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Denver's Lamont School of Music and at the Metropolitan State ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Denver.ÌýHe holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Colorado Boulder.

Outside of university instruction and research, Ben is a director of music at Denver's Thai Buddhist temple, Wat Buddhawararam and is a musician and dancer with Denver's Balinese Gamelan Tunas Mekar.