He founded the NationalSaint YaredSchool of Music in Ethiopia, serving as its first director. He was designated a National Composer by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, in 1967. Shortly after that he began his graduate studies in the United States, and earned the first Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. Ashenafi was a prolific writer. His works include a novel, Confession, articles in ethnomusicology journals, the book Roots of Black Music, and numerous articles in The Chronicler, the magazine of the Center for African-American Culture. In his own compositions he combined Ethiopian and Japanese musical ideas. "Koturasia" is one such piece, written for flute, clarinet, violin, and Japanese koto. Among his other musical compositions were "Peace unto Ethiopia" and "The Life of Our Nation". His best-known composition, though rarely heard outside Ethiopia, was "The Shepherds Flute", performed in 1968 with the Bulgarian Symphonic orchestra. In the United States, he was director of the internationally known Ethiopian Research Council, consisting of a group of Ethiopian and American scholars and professionals. At the time of his death he was director of the Center of African-American Culture at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
Death
Kebede died in Tallahassee, Florida, May 8, 1998.
Family
Kebede had three daughters and a son; Nina and Senait, Samrawit Ashenafi, and Yared.
, article in Addis Ababa University Alumni Association Newsletter. Contains "Saint Yared: Ethiopia's Great Ecclesiastic Composer, Poet and Priest", "Sacred Musical Instruments at the Horn of Africa", and more.
, The Black Perspective in Music, Vol 4, No 3., pp 291–301, 1976.
"Musical innovation and acculturation in Ethiopian culture", African Urban Studies, vol. 6., pp 77–87, 1979.
"Zur Geschichte der Amhara-Musik in Äthiopien" , Musikgeschichte in Bildern monograph series, Number 1, Ostafrika , edited by Gerhard Kubik, Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig, pp 11–14, 1982.
, The Black Perspective in Music, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 21–34
Dissertation
The Music of Ethiopia: Its Development and Cultural Setting. Ph.D. Dissertation, Wesleyan University, 1971.
Books
Confession: the most exciting, heart-breaking story of an Ethiopian in the United States, 1960.
Roots of Black music: the vocal, instrumental, and dance heritage of Africa and Black America. Prentice-Hall, 1982..
Selected musical works
The Shepherd Flutist / Ethiopian Symphony, Musika Ethiopia, 1968.
The Music of Ethiopia: Azmari music of the Amharas, 1969.
Selected scores
Koturasia for Koto, Violin and B-Flat Clarinet with Idiophonic Interjection in the Japanese Low Hira-joshi Tonality, composed by Ashenafi Kebede. G. Schirmer, 1974.
Minuet for Flutes and Pipes also known as "Fantasy for Aerophones: Ethiopian Washint and Japanese Shakuhachi" .
Mot -Soliloquy II for 2 sopranos, 1 flute, and 2 Kotos, composed by Ashenafi Kebede in Western notation with Amharic text 1974. Unpublished.
