ethnomusicology

It's been almost three years since the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble was able to perform in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But on April 21, the group, directed by University Professor of Music Harjito, played to a full house in World Music Hall as part of a Javanese shadow puppet play. The puppet play, called "Wayang Kulit" was directed by puppet master (dhalang) and Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam. The play was attended by a distinguished guest, Arifi Saiman, Consul General of Indonesia in New York, and his guests. Saiman presented a brief speech and provided the performers with Indonesian…

Four faculty, two alumni, and one graduate student participated in the virtual Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting held Oct. 22–31. As part of a panel addressing contemporary musical issues in Iran, Bridgid Bergin MA '17 spoke about the Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA), which was established in 2017 by three female-identifying Iranian composers: Anahita Abbasi, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, and Aida Shirazi. IFCA supports Iranian female-identifying composers by encouraging organizers and ensembles in Iran and beyond to commission and engage these composers in collaborations, while also discovering and mentoring young female composers who are fighting against all odds to become contemporary classical…

On Sept. 23, two students from the Music Department kicked off the 2020–21 Wesleyan Music Graduate Series, which is being hosted on YouTube this semester. Hosted by Wesleyan’s Music graduate students, this series showcases the performance, compositional, and research capabilities of Wesleyan graduate music students, alumni, and other Wesleyan affiliates. Panels will be streamed in six weekly installments on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. during September and October 2020.

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In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News 1. The Nation: "Edward Snowden Deserves to Be Tried by a Jury of His Peers, Just Like Everyone Else" In this op-ed, Associate Professor of Government Sonali Chakravarti argues against the Justice Department's decision to deny Edward Snowden's request for a jury trial. She contends that in Snowden's case, in which he is accused of leaking classified information from the National Security Administration in 2013, a jury trial "is not only a viable alternative to a hearing…

Mark Slobin, the Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music, Emeritus, is the author of Motor City Music: A Detroiter Looks Back, published by Oxford University Press (November 2018). Slobin's book is the first-ever historical study of music across all genres in any American metropolis. According to the publisher: Detroit in the 1940s–60s was not just "the capital of the 20th century" for industry and the war effort, but also for the quantity and extremely high quality of its musicians, from jazz to classical to ethnic. Slobin, a Detroiter from 1943, begins with a reflection of his early life with his family and others,…

For his contribution to the field of ethnomusicology and music scholarship, Sumarsam, the Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music, was recently named an honorary member of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM). The encomium was presented by Wesleyan alumna Maria Mendonca MA '90, PhD '02, during the 63rd SEM General Membership Meeting, Nov. 17, in Albuquerque, N.M. Sumarsam was commended for his scholarship on gamelan and wayang performance traditions, which inspired the SEM membership, explained Gregory Barz, president of the Society for Ethnomusicology. "Your mentorship of countless students and colleagues, both directly and by example, is held in high esteem, and the ways that…

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Three Wesleyan music graduate students and two faculty were accepted to present at the Society for Ethnomusicology's 2018 Annual Meeting Nov. 15–18 in Albuquerque, N.M. Bianca Iannitti will present a case study on the queer Indian-American DJ, Bianca Maieli, in order to explore the queer female identity within Desi music and virtual spaces. Gene Lai, MA '16, will present a study titled "Disdained at Home Embraced by Motherland: The Revitalized Tamil Folk Drumming Ensemble in Singapore." And Douglas Kiman will present a study titled "Mapping Klezmer Music in Contemporary Europe: A Case Study of the Jazz’n Klezmer Festival." He will also be presenting at the Society…

Members of Wesleyan's Gamelan Ensemble participated in the 2018 International Gamelan Festival in Solo, Java, Indonesia, Aug. 9–16. The annual festival is sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture and the Provincial Government of Solo and features various programs honoring gamelan—not only for music but also as historical and cultural artifacts. During the conference, Sumarsam, the Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music, delivered a keynote address titled “From Texts to Mantra: Imparting Meaning to Javanese Wayang Puppet Play.” He also led a discussion about his new book, written in Indonesian, titled Imparting Meaning to Wayang Puppet Play and Gamelan: Java-Islam-Global Intersection. Artist-in-Residence I.M.…

Graduate student Suhail Yusuf Khan recently performed at two international music festivals with his group Yorkston / Thorne / Khan. The band comprises James Yorkston, a folk singer and guitarist; Jon Thorne, a jazz bassist; and eighth-generation musician Khan, a sarangi violinist and a vocalist of Indian classical music. The sarangi is a short-necked bowed string instrument from northern India, regarded as sounding similar to the human voice. On March 19, Yorkston / Thorne / Khan performed at the International Sacred Art Festival in Madrid, Spain. The festival included 39 concerts held over five weeks. And on March 23, Yorkston / Thorne / Khan dazzled…

Several students and recent alumni attended and presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting for the Society for Ethnomusicology, Oct. 26-29, 2017, in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1955, the Society for Ethnomusicology is a global, interdisciplinary network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of music across all cultural contexts and historical periods. Ellen Lueck, MA '12, PhD '17, presented her paper, "Proposing a Theory for a New Space, the Affinity Interzone." PhD candidate Gene Lai presented his paper, "Uniquely Singapore: Revitalizing a Tamil Folk Music Tradition in the Lion City." PhD candidate Sean Sonderegger MA '14 presented "None of…

Gamelan Ensemble Performs Live during Javanese Shadow Puppet Play

7 Wesleyan Faculty, Alumni, Graduate Student Make Presentations at SEM Annual Meeting

Music Graduate Students Share Recent Projects

Graduate Student McNeill Speaks on the Social, Cultural Aspects of the Black New Orleans Brass Band

Wesleyan in the News

Detroit Native Slobin Pens New Book on the Motor City’s Musical History

Sumarsam Named Honorary Member of the Society for Ethnomusicology

Kiman Speaks on Klezmer Music during Graduate Speaker Series

Graduate Students, Faculty to Present Studies at Society for Ethnomusicology’s Annual Meeting

Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble Participates in Indonesian Festival

Graduate Student Khan Performs at 2 International Music Festivals

Students, Alumni Present Papers, Attend Roundtables at Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting