Virginia Jansen

Virginia Jansen is a scholar and musician currently pursuing a PhD in Musicology at the University of California, Davis. She is broadly interested in women’s musical histories of the 19th and 20th century United States, with a focus on the connection between music making and material culture. In 2024, Virginia earned a B.A. in Music with a concentration in Historical Musicology and a minor in African American Studies at Boston University. At BU, her research explored the role of Black vernacular music in Florence Beatrice Price’s chamber music, and she was awarded the Alice M. Brennan Humanities and Provost Scholar Awards. Since beginning her graduate studies at UC Davis, Virginia has pursued research in topics ranging from alternate archives of women’s musical networks to the musical card game Hitster. Virginia has presented her work at annual meetings of the American Musicological Society and the Society for American Music, where she also serves as Student Forum Co-Chair. Her upcoming essay in Open Access Musicology, “Reviving the ‘Golden Age’ in Schmigadoon! (2021),” posits the musical comedy series as a framework for understanding contemporary revivals of mid-century American musicals. Virginia is also a passionate teacher and student affairs professional, dedicated to fostering supportive and inclusive communities for students of all levels. In her spare time, Virginia can be found watching all manner of reality television shows, playing board games with her family, or reading a mystery novel.