Petra Gelbart, Ph.D., a founding member of the band Via Romen, is a Romani musician, activist and scholar who is at home both in the Czech Republic and the U.S.  Petra combines the Romani vo­cal production she learned from her family with elements drawn from more improvisational and popular genres. She recently completed her doctorate in ethnomusi­cology at Harvard University with a dissertation entitled “Learning Music, Race and Nation in the Czech Republic.” She promotes the rights of minority children, particularly those in state care and foster care. Petra is currently starting a center for Romani people and music at New York University.