Mariko Anno is associate professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Toyota Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan, Center for Japanese Studies (2018–19). Anno holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from Tokyo University of the Arts and a DMA in flute performance and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a specialist in the nohkan (Noh flute) and is well versed in all aspects of Noh having trained with professional Noh masters in Japan. Her research examines the traditional form of Japanese Noh drama in a contemporary transnational context through the emerging form, English-language Noh, which she performs with the English-language Noh troupe, Theatre Nohgaku. She has won the Emerging Scholar Award from the Association for Asian Performance and is a certified Alexander Technique teacher.

The 2018-19 Virginia Martin Howard Lecture Series, sponsored by the Stearns Collection of Music Instruments, features presentations by distinguished international scholars and performers focus work in the areas of ethnomusicology, historical musicology, and organology. Lecture topics range from instrument restoration and conservation to African one-string fiddles to vintage music synthesizers.