NECSEM NewsletterFebruary 1997Published by the Northeast Chapter, Society for Ethnomusicology Timothy J. Cooley, editor timothy_cooley@brown.edu
CONTENTS * 1. CHAPTER NEWS 1997 NECSEM CONFERENCE SET FOR APRIL 12 AT WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT Mark your calendars for April 12, the date of the NECSEM Conference. See the below call for papers for information on submitting your abstracts. More information will be sent to NECSEM members by the Local Arrangements Committee.
CALL FOR PAPERS Any student wishing to have their paper considered for the James T. Koetting Prize (awarded for the most outstanding graduate student paper at the chapter meeting) must submit four copies of their paper to Marc Perlman at the meeting.
1996 KOETTING PRIZE WINNER
REPORT FROM THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Concerns raised at the meeting included the need to maintain the published panel time schedule at the national meeting particularly since potential employers often attend prospective candidates' papers. If and when the schedule is changed (for example when all questions are held till the end of the panel) the potential employers may miss the papers and the graduate students seeking jobs loose a rare opportunity. Mark DeWitt addressed a number of critical technological issues, including access to technology, negotiating the purchase of equipment as part of a job contract agreement, and the possibility of surveying different campuses to assess what equipment is available and on what terms.
Students also discussed the importance of assuring the prominence
of feminism, gender studies, and alternative theoretical approaches within
the Society's programming. They also encouraged support of colleagues
pursuing this work. We were pleased that the program committee decided to
include Queer Theory as one of the topics for next year's program. Related
to this, those interested in subscribing to the SEM
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered e-mail list can send an e-mail to:
listproc@u.washington.edu with the message: subscribe gay_sem
Students who are interested in generally networking with other
students should contact Mark DeWitt, who has generously established the SEM
graduate student e-mail forum. To sign up to be on this e-mail forum, you
e-mail: majordomo@garnet.berkeley.edu. The subject of your message should
be: subscribe SEMstudents@garnet.
Former Brown student Greg Barz is stepping down from two years of
dedicated service as National student co-chair. We thank him for his hard
work particularly producing two very successful forums. Nancy Currey, UC
Santa Barbara, was elected new co-chair, a position she will hold for two
years working in conjunction with Joan Bentley Hoffman, Univ. of Chicago.
Sheila Hogg volunteered to act as recordist/secretary. Eva Kiss and Don
Addison will also assist the chairs.
Respectfully submitted: Zoe Sherinian
*2. PEOPLE and PLACES in NECSEM part a
AMHERST COLLEGE
THE BOSTON VILLAGE GAMELAN
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Daniel Cavicchi received his Ph.D. in American Civilization from
Brown in May of 1996. He is now teaching part-time in the Liberal Arts
Department at the Rhode Island School of Design. Recently he signed a
contract with Oxford University Press for the publication of his Ph.D.
dissertation, "Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning Among Springsteen Fans,"
an ethnographic study of popular music fandom, based on three years of
fieldwork with Bruce Springsteen fans.
Timothy Cooley will deliver a paper at the ICTM conference in
Nitra, Slovakia, this June. His paper, entitled "Multiculturalism in the
'Isolation' of the Polish Tatras," challenges notions of authenticity based
on ethnographic tropes of isolation in a popular tourist region of southern
Poland. He is also producing two CDs with Richard Spottswood featuring
early recordings of Górale music made in Chicago in the 1920s. The CDs are
being published by Shanachie Records. Currently he is writing his
dissertation on Polish Górale (mountaineer) music culture and teaching
courses on Middle Eastern music culture in the music and anthropology
departments of Rhode Island College.
Susan Hurley-Glowa successfully defended her dissertation at Brown
University in September 1996. Her dissertation is entitled "Batuko and
Funana: Musical Traditions of Santiago, Republic of Cape Verde." She has
also had two articles accepted for publication this year by the new Cape
Verdean journal of Arts and Letters called Cimboa. They are called "'Dance
Away the Tears': Batuko and Badiu Women of Santiago, Cape Verde, West
Africa" and "'Batuko makes the Whole World Shake': A Narrative Description
of a Batuko Performance." Sue is teaching brass and music appreciation at
Mercyhurst College in Erie, N.Y.
Jeff Titon's article entitled "Bi-musicality as Metaphor" was just
published in the Journal of American Folklore, and the third edition of
Worlds of Music was published last August. Jeff is also soliciting
contributions for the American Musical Atlas from ethnomusicologists and
others who have done fieldwork with American musical communities. He looks
forward to his year-long sabbatical in 1997-98 during which he will work on
the Atlas and also complete a book/CD of old-time Kentucky fiddle tunes. A
CD based on his field tapes of lined-out hymnody from Old Regular Baptists
in southeastern Kentucky is due out from Smithsonian Folkways in 1997.
Events at Brown
On Saturday, 1 March 1997, at 10:00am, the Brown Department of
Music will present a symposium, "The Local Uses of Distant Music" (Managing
the Love of Music, Part II). We will examine the reception of world music
by Americans, focussing on how they interpret it and integrate it into
their lives. See MEETINGS AND SUMMER PROGRAMS below for more information.
The Angklung Gamelan from Brown and the Semar Pegulingan Gamelan
from Holy Cross will give a joint concert on April 28 in Grant Recital
Hall.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Dr. Virginia Danielson was awarded the Douglas W. Bryant Fellowship
for Research from the Harvard University Library for her book "The Voice of
Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth
Century, forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press. Her book is also
the basis of Michal Goldman's new film "Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt."
At Harvard, Ginny is Keeper of the Isham Memorial Library and Curator of
the Archive of World Music at the Harvard University Eda Kuhn Loeb Music
Library.
Judah Cohen, a first-year graduate student in the ethnomusicology
program, recently delivered two papers: "Satellite of a Satellite: The
Jewish Congregation on St. Croix and its Relationship to the Jewish
Community of St. Thomas" in St. Croix at the Ninth Annual Conference of
Virgin Islands Historians, Saturday, January 18, 1997, and "Camille
Pissarro and the Jewish Community of St. Thomas, 1830-1850" in St. Thomas
as part of the Camille Pissarro lecture series, accompanying an exhibition
of his early sketches, Sunday, January 19, 1997. He is also working on a
book tentatively entitled "Through the Sands of Time: A History of the St.
Thomas Synagogue," which he hopes to finish this summer.
Events at Harvard
HOLY CROSS COLLEGE
Events at Holy Cross
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
*2. PEOPLE and PLACES in NECSEM, part b
SMITH COLLEGE
TUFTS
Kai Fikentscher (Visiting Assistant Professor) has been teaching
African-American and popular music. He is curating a presentation on "The
Hip-Hop DJ" (April 17) as part of Tufts annual Celebration of
African-American Music; other events in this year's series included a
lecture by Portia Maultsby and a residency by Abubakari Lunna (2/13-3/7).
Fred Stubbs (Adjunct Lecturer) is completing a three-year stint
teaching ethnomusicology and world music courses that have included Music
As Culture, Introduction to World Music, Asian Music, Seminar in
Ethnomusicology, and Makam Study Group.
Jane Bernstein (Fletcher Professor of Music) taught a new course
entitled "Women in Music" in the Fall semester. Formerly titled "Women in
Western Music," it incorporated ethnomusicological perspectives and world
music topics.
Mark DeVoto (Professor) taught in the Fall semester a course
entitled "Music of Spain, Portugal and Latin American" that included folk
and traditional music, in addition to composed music.
The music department is pleased to announce its selection of Tomie
Hahn for the faculty position in Asian music beginning in September 1997.
She recently completed her dissertation, "Sensational Knowledge:
Transmitting Japanese Dance and Music," at Wesleyan University. Tomie
plays shakuhachi and performs Japanese traditional dance.
Students in their second year of the Masters Degree in Music
(Ethnomusicology) who now are feverishly writing their theses include: Jose
Barros (Brazilian samba and Brazilian identity), Tom Brett (performance as
a heuristic method in the field of ethnomusicology), Eric Galm (berimbau in
capoeira), Valerie Price (adenkum music in Asante and Fanti communities of
Ghana), and Heather Ross (FUNDEF in the context of the development of
ethnomusicology in Latin America).
Three students began the ethnomusicology masters program in
1996-97. Their likely thesis projects are: Eve McPherson, opera and Native
American themes; Robin Carruthers, Venezuelan music; and Andy McGraw,
Balinese music and tourism.
Events at Tufts
Throughout the academic year the department has been exploring the
theme Women and Music in its courses, performances and special events. On
February 22 we present Sister Song, an evening of performances by female
musicians featuring Semenya McCord.
For information about the department's performances and events, or
to be included on our mailing list, please contact Rachel Blackman
(617/628-5000 x2253). For information about our academic program contact
Vickie Ray (x 3564).
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Zoe Sherinian, a Ph.D. candidate at Wesleyan, is teaching "Music As
A Means of Social Expression" this winter quarter at Northeastern
University as a sabbatical replacement for Susan
Asai.
Philip Yampolsky writes from Hamden, CT:
The series is a cooperative project of Smithsonian Folkways and the
Indonesian Society for the Performing Arts (Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan
Indonesia, or MSPI). It is funded by grants from the Ford Foundation. As
editor, recordist, principal annotator, and main researcher of the series,
I spend five or six months each year working in the field with Indonesian
researchers and colleagues; the rest of the year I am at home in
Connecticut working on the production and commentary. 1990 was the first
year of field research; 1997 will probably be the last.
The recordings are made on DAT, using a battery-powered Sonosax
mixer and a maximum of ten microphones. The recording equipment will be
turned over to MSPI at the end of the project. In addition to sponsoring
and participating in the research and recording, MSPI is also undertaking
the publication of an Indonesian-language edition of the albums.
Eventually, archive copies of all the field recordings, published and
unpublished, will be deposited at Smithsonian Folkways, MSPI, and an
as-yet-undetermined institution in Indonesia (perhaps the National
Library).
Indonesia is an immense country, and even with the seemingly
luxurious expanse of twenty albums we can only give a highly selective
picture of its music. The series is designed as a survey touching on most
of the principal islands and musical forms, but concentrating on types of
music that are little known outside (or even, in many cases, inside)
Indonesia. Many fine recordings exist of Central Javanese gamelan,
Sundanese kecapi-suling, and virtually every form of Balinese music, but
who before now has had the chance to hear hoho from Nias, or the dissonant
two-part singing of Flores that Jaap Kunst believed must have come directly
from the Balkans, or the delicate mix of Chinese and Sundanese elements in
old-style gambang kromong from Jakarta?
Our recordings are aimed not at the specialist ethnomusicologist or
anthropologist, but at the open-minded, well-disposed, non-specialist
listener. Usually several genres or ethnic groups are included in a single
album. (Specialists in the various genres and areas represented are usually
delighted to have something out in public at last, but they probably wish
there were more--why not a whole album for my specialty? Unfortunately, a
series of those dimensions would be unpublishable.)
The albums are designed for use by teachers and students. The
commentary tries to provide basic contextual information and often includes
elementary analytical remarks in case the listener might want them. One
reviewer commented that the casual listener won't need the analytical
information, and the specialist will want more than we provide; but in fact
we are aiming at precisely the person in between, someone who can use the
basic information (how many tones in the melody, say) but doesn't need a
formant analysis or cents-measurements.
The amount of space available for commentary precludes the
inclusion of song texts, but these are or will be available from the
Smithsonian Folkways website (see below). Song texts of the six most recent
volumes are not yet available, but they will be (eventually!). Translations
of the texts, however, are usually impossible to achieve in the limited
time we can spend in any one field area. We have decided to provide only
brief summaries of the content and leave the task of translating the texts
to specialist researchers.
Twelve volumes have appeared so far. The three most recent albums,
which were issued in November 1996, present: music of Biak, an island off
the northwest coast of Irian Jaya; Melayu music from the east coast of
Sumatra and the Riau islands; and gong ensembles from West Sumatra and
Lampung along with vocal music from Aceh and West Sumatra. The next three
albums-String Music of Kalimantan; String Music of South Sulawesi; and
Extensions of Gamelan and Wayang: Banjarmasin, Lombok, Banyumas-are in
preparation now and should appear in the fall of 1997.
A catalogue of recordings published by Smithsonian Folkways,
including the Music of Indonesia series, can be obtained from Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 2600, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, DC 20560. Information on the individual albums is
also available at the Smithsonian Folkways website,
*3. EVENTS AND PERFORMANCES
Huun-Huur-Tu: Throat Singers of Tuva at Harvard, March 3
Wesleyan Gamelan at Carnegie Hall, April 16
Wayang Kulit at Smith College, April 26
Tufts University Ongoing Events
For information about the department's performances and events or
to be included on our mailing list, please contact Rachel Blackman
(617/628-5000 x2253). For information about our academic program contact
Vickie Ray (x 3564).
*4. MEETINGS AND SUMMER PROGRAMS
Student Ethnomusicology Conference, Brown, February 22, 1997
For more information, contact Jenny Fraser, Music Department, Box
1924, Brown University, Providence RI 02912, e-mail
Jennifer_Fraser@brown.edu
The Local Uses of Distant Music, symposium, Brown, March 1, 1997
The following papers will be presented: Ted Levin (Dartmouth
University), "The Western Reception of Tuvan 'Throat-Singing'"; Mirjana
Lausevic (Wesleyan University), "Going Balkan in America"; Timothy Rice
(UCLA), "'Going Balkan': An Insider's Response"; Evan Ziporyn (MIT),
"Ghosts in the Machine: Spirituality on the Gamelan LISTSERV."
The symposium is free and open to the public. It will take place in
Grant Recital Hall, 1 Young Orchard St., Brown University, Providence, RI.
1997 NECSEM CONFERENCE, April 12, Wesleyan University
The First International Congress on Women in World Music, April 16-20,
1997, Wellesley College
The Keynote Address for the conference will be delivered by Bernice
Johnson Reagon. Topics range from North Indian Classical Music to the
Impact of Ritual and Spirituality on the Warao Mare-Mare, from Syrian Women
in New York City to considerations of the articulation of Arab female
identities, and will be presented by such scholars as: Kay Kaufman
Shelemay, Ellen Koskoff, Virginia Danielson, Allyn Miner, Ann Feldman,
Judith Tick, and Kay Hardy Campbell. Performers include Calvert Johnson
(organ program of works by Florence Price), Abby Rabinovitz (jazz flute),
Pamela Raff (tap dancing), Valerie Capers (jazz piano), Abla Shocair
(oud), Jothi Ragavan (Indian dance, Bhatara Natyam), Mili Bermejo (Latin
vocals), and Jin Hi Kim (Korean Kayagum). A balance between papers and
performances is featured on each day of the congress.
For information about registering for the congress, contact Kera
Washington, c/o Women in World Music, Wellesley College Music Department,
Wellesley MA 02181, tel. 617-283-3358, fax 617-283-3687, e-mail:
t1kwashingto@wellesley.edu
Korean Traditional Music Summer Program, July 1-26, 1997, Seoul, Korea
Participants in the Summer Program will receive the following
instructions conducted in English or Korean with English translation:
private lessons in Kayagum, Kumungo, Haegum, Taegum, or Piri; group lessons
in Changgu (an hour-glass drum), Tanso (a vertical flute), vocal music,
Samul ensemble, and mask dance; classes in Korean traditional music history
and theory; discussions with senior masters; concert attendance; general
introductory classes on Korea, such as history, economy, literature, and
folklore; and Korean language survival classes. The total estimated cost
after $390 fellowship and with minimal personal expense is $1997 which
includes 6 credit tuition at Eastern Connecticut State University, a
round-trip airfare, and meals and local transportation. Dorm lodging at
Seoul National University will be fully funded by the Center.
Application materials (1. two copies of an application letter
including name, date of birth, nationality, gender, mailing address,
telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, educational and work
experience, previous visits to Korea if any, the purpose in applying for
the program, and the name and phone number of one reference; 2. most recent
academic transcript for students or resume for non-students; 3. three face
photos, approx. 1.5 inch x 2 inch, with your name on the back) must be
submitted by March 1, 1997 to Dr. Okon Hwang, Director of 1997 Korean
Traditional Music Summer Program, Associate Professor of Music, Fine Arts
Department, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT 06226,
tel (860) 465-5109; fax (860) 465-4652; internet address:
hwango@ecsuc.ctstateu.edu. A bi-national selection committee will determine
acceptance to the program by April 15, 1997.
The Intercultural Institute, July 8-13, 1997, Boston
Music and Dance of the African Diaspora:
Music and Dance of Cuba. Faculty: John Amira, Steven Cornelius.
Dance: Regina Iyaleio. The offering in Afro-Cuban music is made possible,
in part, by a grant from Latin Percussion, Inc.
Music of Indonesia
Other lectures and special events
For information on scholarships and internship opportunities,
contact Robert Labaree, institute director: (617) 262-1120 ext. 459 or
e-mail at rlabaree@mindspring.com.
*5. JOB OPENINGS
Brown University Department of Music
Deadline for receipt of applications and all supporting materials
is March 1, 1997. Applicants should send a letter describing their
experience and interests together with a curriculum vitae, samples of
scholarly writing, graduate school transcripts, and three letters of
recommendation to:
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Music Department, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
SPECIAL CONTEST
NECSEM OFFICERS
The NECSEM Newsletter is an occasional publication of the Northeastern
Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology.
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