On April 22nd, KUNM Music Director invited this semester’s members of the UNM Honky Tonk Ensemble, an ensemble that teaches students how to play in a band and that emphasizes the style of classic country music from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, to come into KUNM’s Studio A to do a studio session of songs they’ve performed over the course of the semester. Students and community members in the Ensemble performed their songs, and then did an interview, afterward, together with ensemble founder and co-facilitator, UNM Music faculty member Dr. Kristina Jacobsen. Here, they discussed their experiences learning to more deeply appreciate this genre of working-class verbal art through the performance of it, describing their experiences learning to sing, and play, in a “country” style throughout the course of the semester.” This show will be featured in hour-long broadcast on KUNM’s “Ear to the Ground” on Saturday 5/11 from 7-8 pm, and will be streamable through on their two-week archive after it airs, as well as on the KUNM Studio Sessions page. This semester’s ensemble includes: Seirra McDowell-Nardine, Nathan Lesiak, Aubrie Powell, Eric Schaller, and co-facilitator Alex McMahon. The Ensemble is open to UNM students, staff, and Albuquerque musicians, and begins again in August 2019. Please contact Kristina Jacobsen (kmj23@unm.edu) or Paula Corbin-Swalin (pcswalin@unm.edu) for more information.
An Americanish Songbook: Linda Ronstadt’s “other” Country
This talk will consider performances and recordings by singer Linda Ronstadt to propose what I refer to as her Americanish musical songbook. The suffix “ish” here intends to accentuate the “somewhat” or “to some extent” of “American” that Ronstadt—Tucson born and raised—lived and sonically imagined through her extraordinary musical career.
Arab Musicking on the U.S.–Mexico Border
This talk explores the relationship between trauma and identity by examining Arab music performance on the U.S.–Mexico border. Drawing on the musicking of Syrian and Mexican migrant communities, I interrogate theories of cultural and psychological trauma and borderland epistemologies to explore how border tensions influence the often-fraught views of identity.
Music from the Americas presents The Low Frequency Trio
Formed by Antonio Rosales (bass clarinet), Juan José García (doublebass), and José Luis Hurtado (piano), LOW FREQUENCY TRIO is one of the few ensembles in the world that plays music that was exclusively composed for them.