fall 2020

Noah Baerman, Director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble, previews some of the music on his forthcoming tribute album Love Right and discusses the different layers and types of vulnerability he has had to navigate to create and present the work.

With streaming sites such as Youtube becoming a major point of access for information on music and global cultures, developing our ability to share clear, accessible information about ethnomusicology online is one way of increasing awareness of our field and the work that we do.

An autoethnographic case study of the 2018 song “Italiana” by Fedez and J-Ax.

“Italiana” by J-AX & Fedez [Official Music Video]

Jocelyn Pleasant presents recent music from her ensemble, The Lost Tribe, and discusses the inspiration behind the songs and the musical direction of the group. Say Their Names features Wesleyan alum Sam Dickey (MA ’14) on guitar, while Diaspora Sings features Uasuf Gueye on balafon, Menes Yahudah on djembe, and Dylan McDonnell on flute.

Songs for Escapism is a series of pieces old and new about the ways in which music helps one cope with trauma. Cellist and singer Aliya Ultan, navigates a series of found objects in relation to her instrument often engaging with trash and recycling. In this material focused solo set, Ultan depicts a playful death and rebirth of values.

I present a historical overview of the roughly 145 history of amakwaya/ikwayala vocal genre as practiced in South Africa from the colonial times, through apartheid till the present moment.

A song for 1-13 voices on a chord using the 3rd and 7th primes.

While identifying the value of tales in ethnomusicological research, Suhail Yusuf will discuss a chapter from his ongoing dissertation. In addition, he will perform melodies on the Sarangi (North-Indian bowed instrument) composed in Rāg Shahāna, with Tabla player Bhupinder Singh Chaggar.