Musicology Colloquium
Thursday March 12, 2020
2:00-3:30pm
CFA 2100
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.
Dr. Andrea Shaheen Espinosa is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Oboe at the University of Texas, El Paso, and currently serves as the Musicology Area Coordinator for the Department of Music. She is the founder and director of the UTEP’s internationally recognized Middle Eastern music ensemble, Layali Al-Sham. She is a Fulbright Fellow, a FLAS recipient, and a Medici Scholar, and is currently serving as the UTEP College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Faculty Fellow. Her research focuses on music, migration, and trauma, and her recent publications include articles in The Double Reed, Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie, and Yearbook for Traditional Music.
Music from the Americas presents “Scaling the Wall”
“Scaling the Wall” is a project that promotes works for flute by Canadian, American and Mexican ex-patriate composers. It seeks to showcase how contemporary composers connected to those countries have successfully bridged the political, cultural and geographic borders crossing the western 100th meridian. Featured composers’ works vary in style, instrumentation and compositional approach, but also illustrate the universality of music, regardless of nationality.
Music from the Americas presents Iracema de Andrade, cello
Brazilian cellist Iracema de Andrade is strongly committed to the music of our time. Her repertory includes pieces for solo cello, cello and electronics, as well as multimedia and improvisation.
Dr. Kristina Jacobsen, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology, releases book
The Sound of Navajo Country: Music, Language and Diné Belonging (University of North Carolina Press), examines cultural intimacy and generational nostalgia on the Navajo (Diné) Nation (click here for brief interviews in English and Italian about her research).