Dr. Cupec holds a BM degree (music education) from West Virginia University, MM degree (percussion performance) from Northern Illinois University and PhD (ethnomusicology) from the University of Colorado - Boulder. His research interests include new African musical diasporas, race and ethnicity, music and migration, music in religious experience, Caribbean and Latin American musics, transnationalism and transculturation and digital storytelling. He has presented and published widely including the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the College Music Society, the International Council for Traditional Music (Portugal), and the Society for Ethnomusicology National Conference. As a performing musician, he has directed Latin American music ensembles, Latin jazz ensembles, African music ensembles and has facilitated interactive and interdisciplinary guest residencies. In summer of 2023, Dr. Cupec participated as a presenter in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and published an interactive article on the Smithsonian Folkways website titled, “A Guided Listening Journey: Yorùbá Heritage Abroad.”