THE GAY WEST: FROM DRUG STORE COWBOYS TO RODEO QUEENS
Talk Description: The masculine ideal represented by the American cowboy is variously interpreted by spectators, dancers, musicians, and contestants at gay rodeos and country western dances across the U.S. Examining embodied gender practices within these communities, this talk articulates the sonic, social, and geographical spaces of the gay American West.
Biography: Kate Alexander received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside in 2014. Her research focuses on intersections of whiteness, gender, and sexuality in North American music and dance communities, including Cape Breton’s traditional Scottish culture, and her current research on American LGBTQ country western dance and rodeo networks. Her work has been published in journals such as MUSICulturesand the Yearbook for Traditional Music. She is an Assistant Professor in the Honors College at the University of Arizona, where she teaches interdisciplinary courses on sound, music, visual art, and culture.
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).