Dr. Lisa Urkevich is an Associate Professor of Musicology/Ethnomusicology and Director of the Arabian Heritage Project at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) where she also serves as the Program Lead of the Visual-Performing Arts. She is both a musicologist and ethnomusicologist, focusing on music of the Arabian Peninsula. Her main cultural focus is on the artistic and folk traditions of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Professor Urkevich has lived in and undertaken research in the Arabian Peninsula for over ten years. From 1994-98 she resided in various provinces of the Saudi Kingdom, including the regions of Taif, Khamis Mushayt, and Riyadh, and she has traveled to many wide-spread areas including Najran, Baha, Wadi da Wasir, Jizan, and Jeddah in order to advance her research. She also has extensive experience in the Gulf States and has interviewed and recorded traditional groups in Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. She is highly involved with the investigation and analysis of the heritage of Kuwait, a country where she has lived for over five years. She spent her first two years in Kuwait as a US Senior Fulbright Research Scholar and has continued her work in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia as a professor/researcher. She is highly involved in the preservation and outreach of Arabian Peninsula heritage as director and founder of the Arabian Heritage Project where she and her students are leaders in the examination of regional sea (bahri), city (HaThar), and desert (baraari) traditions of the greater Peninsula.

Dr. Urkevich has taught courses in both western and non-western music at various universities including Boston University, Bucknell University, the University of Maryland, and Millersville University. She has lectured on her research throughout the US, Europe, and the Arab World and has been interviewed about her work on "Good Morning Kuwait" and other regional programs and radio stations. Her lecture-performances have appeared many times on Bahry television. Articles about her and her research have been issued in various publications including the Arab News, Kuwait Times, Al Rai, Al Watan-Arabic, Layalina Magazine, the National, Al Awan, Al Watan Daily, Al-Seyassah, Al Qabas, Al Jareas, Correspondence, Arabian Woman, and Assiyahi Magazine. She has written several articles on the music of Arabia and is currently working on a book/DVD on the Sea Music of Kuwait.

In western music study, Dr. Urkevich specializes in Renaissance music and manuscripts, specifically with northern European manuscripts and the musical culture of women and girls ca 1500.  She is also interested in performance practice of Renaissance (and Arabian) cultures. She conducted the Boston University Collegium Musicum for three years during which time the ensemble presented notable performances, including those of her editions/transcriptions from the "Anne Boleyn Music Book."