This roundtable considers twin notions of care and service and their relevance to fieldwork, practice, and the overlapping roles of professional academics. Engaging with queer and feminist theories, we discuss service both to the communities whose music we study and to others who are served by our expertise. Drawing upon an ethics of care (Gilligan, Tronto) we raise the question: how would viewing our scholarly activities - including research, teaching, and outreach - through the lenses of service and care inform our views of, relationships with, and obligations toward communities we serve.

Presenter1 considers how long-term research led her to become Greek Orthodox liturgical chanter and how this experience changed her perspectives toward women’s role in performance. Presenter2 shares a collaboration between local accordionists and an educational institution toward a concert that supported the institution’s future in return for members’ help in researching its past. Presenter3 theorizes queer politics of Sacred Harp singing as an active participant and volunteer within singing communities. Presenter4 explores how scholars, students and performers participate in communities of care through an experimental sound conference. Presenter5 examines how community needs dramatically shape the direction of scholarly work within a collegiate West African drumming ensemble. Presenter6 documents global music ensembles on college campuses and how individual directors nurture intercultural communities within institutional structures that offer scant recognition of their labor. Taken as a whole, our roundtable opens space for discussion of scholarly and musical activities that advance accessibility, inclusion, and social justice in disparate settings.