Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology

Above:Ethnomusicology graduate students Catherine Gilbert, Myranda Harris, and Arathi Govind discuss the upcoming SEM meeting an at a GAMuT meeting held in October 2011.

About the Ethnomusicology Area The ethnomusicology area is dedicated to the proposition that all music cultures are worthy of academic study and research, which includes active participation in music making. Students are exposed to different musical systems and how they function in their cultural setting. Ethnomusicology faculty team with members of the Global Music Faculty Consortium to offer performance ensembles and classes on the undergraduate and graduate levels. Performance ensembles include the South Indian Cross-Cultural Ensemble, the Afro-Cuban/Brazilian Ensemble, and the gamelan. Although an undergraduate major is not offered, the division offers the MM in musicology with an emphasis in ethnomusicology. This rigorous plan of study prepares students for admission to outstanding doctoral programs in ethnomusicology at other institutions. The area offers the Master of Arts in Music with a Concentration in Ethnomusicology. Graduate Admissions Note: Incoming graduate students are advised to take Anthropology 5000 online the summer prior to their matriculation at UNT.

UNT graduate students in Musicology and Ethnomusicology presented papers at the annual Society for Ethnomusicology-Southern Plains regional chapter meeting at SMU in Dallas on Saturday, April 6. Presenters included: Kate Jewett-Williams, “Deep Ellum: Music’s Role in Changing Urban Spaces”; Adam La Spata, “A Canon Shot Heard ‘Round the World: Representation of World Music in Music Appreciation Textbooks”; and Andrea Recek, “Music as Ritual: Balinese Gamelan Gong Kebyar.”

Right: Members of the UNT Global Music Faculty Consortium not only study together; we also enjoy a good party as this photo of Master Drummer Professor Gideon Alorwoyie and Dr. John Chernoff, author of African Rhythm and African Sensibility, demonstrates. The long-time colleagues were reunited on April 18, 2009 at the division's Goat Barbeque, hosted by Steven Friedson, on the occasion of the meeting of the Southern Plains Chapter for Ethnomusicology that weekend. John Chernoff 's keynote address was followed by a performance of the African Percussion and Dance Ensemble.