Sam Falotico is a Ph.D. candidate and Sproull Fellow in music theory. His research sits at the intersection of music, media, and cultural studies within contemporary J-pop and K-pop (c. 2010–present), focusing on mediation, infrastructures and platforms, and cultural economics—with sustained attention to artists including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and KATSEYE. His dissertation, tentatively entitled “J-pop, K-pop, and the Logics of Mediation,” explores how these genres are mediated through interlocking aesthetic, industrial, platform, and discursive practices. Additionally, Sam has interests in jazz theory/analysis, particularly the music of Hiromi, and issues of transcription—especially questions of representation, ethics, and academic politics. Sam was awarded the Jerald C. Graue Memorial Fellowship (ESM Department of Musicology) for his work on Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (2024–2025); an Honorable Mention for SMT’s Student Presentation Award for his paper on anime OPs; and the Hofstra University Undergraduate Library Research Award for his thesis on form in jazz standards (2020).

Sam currently serves as Associate Web Editor for SMT, as well as co-chair of SMT’s Analysis of World Musics Interest Group (two-year term, 2025–2026). He is also a web manager of Intégral, Eastman’s peer-reviewed music theory journal, for Volumes 38 and 39. He is a graduate teaching assistant at Eastman, currently teaching an upper-division elective on J-pop, and has previously taught as an adjunct at Hofstra University; as an adjunct and graduate TA at Hunter College, CUNY; and as a graduate TA (Instructor of Record) at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Outside of music and academia, Sam works full-time as a manager at LensCrafters. He enjoys eating ramen, building mechanical keyboards, transcribing, and spending time with his dog. He has previously studied at Hunter College (CUNY), the University of Colorado Boulder, and Hofstra University. For more, see his creatively titled website: https://samfaloti.co.