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Ethnomusicology

Rock meets Islam in Indonesia

rhoma_irama.jpg Legendary Dangdut musician Rhoma Irama and his band Soneta perform at Bellefield Hall. Pittsburgh's own Dangdut Cowboys will open for Rhoma Irama and Soneta. Bellefield Hall Auditorium, free Co-sponsored by UCIS, CERIS, School of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Music. PRESS RELEASE In conjunction with the international conference on Islam and Popular Culture in Indonesia and Malaysia, Rhoma Irama and his 10-piece band Soneta will perform a concert in Bellefield Auditorium on October 11 at 8pm. Musician, composer, record producer, film star, and Islamic proselytiser Rhoma Irama (b. 1947) has been a dominant force in Indonesian music and popular culture since the early 1970s.

Gamelan to Dangdut

ritatila.JPG This year's Gamelan Ensemble concert covered a wide range of Indonesian music, from traditional gamelan to Indonesian pop. The above photo shows singer and instrumentalist Rita Tila performing on the kacapi (zither). In the background Samantha Swami plays the peking. duet_gamelan.JPG Composer Nano S. (playing the suling) and Rita Tila perform a duet with the Gamelan Ensemble accompanying. Members of the ensemble pictured above are Andrew Weintraub, kendang (Professor of ethnomusicology and director of the Gamelan Ensemble); Ben Pachter, jengglong; Richard Winkler, gong; Kim Frost, peking; Ben Rainey, bonang; and Yuko Eguchi, panerus.

Collter Harper Wins Outstanding Paper Award for 2008 Grad Student Expo

Congratulations to Colter Harper who received an award for Outstanding Paper at the University's 2008 Graduate Student Expo. Harper, who is a PhD candidate (ethnomusicology) and Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship winner, gave a paper titled "The Chitlin Circuit: The Embodiment of Jazz in Physical Space and Social Action." Also participating from the Department of Music were Yuko Eguchi (ethnomusicology), Ben Harrison (composition), and Kerrith Livengood (composition and theory).

University Gamelan Ensemble

gam07.JPG General admission $10, student/senior admission $5, Pitt students free with I.D. Tickets available at the door. Bellefield Hall Auditorium Pitt’s Gamelan Ensemble will celebrate several significant milestones during their upcoming performance. The concert will mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the ensemble by Professor of ethnomusicology Andrew Weintraub. Voice of America will broadcast segments of the program on Indonesian T.V., highlighting Pitt’s creative engagement with Indonesian music and culture. The program will explore a variety of musical styles, from the powerful sound of the gamelan to the contemplative strains of zither and flute. Featured guest artists include contemproary composer Nano Suratno, dancer Ening Rumbini, singer Rita Tila, and Pitt’s very own Indonesian rock band the Dangdut Cowboys.

A Mellon Fellow Abroad-Part II

drum_and_trump.jpg During recent fieldwork, Andrew Mellon Pre-doctoral Fellow J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo took this photo of drum makers in the town of Peki Yensu, Ghana as they tested out their recent creations. These are the same makers who crafted the instruments currently in use by Pitt's African Music and Dance Ensemble. According to Kofi, the trumpet is used only for rhythmic reinforcement, and not melodically. The use of the trumpet in this context is a good example of how African communities appropriated elements of colonial influence into indigenous culture. Kofi drew on his fieldwork for recent presentations at the American Orff-Schulwerk Association 2007 National Conference which took place in San José, California November 14-17. He gave three sessions focusing on African percussion, rhythmic theories, and analysis; world music education and pedagogical approaches; and Orff-Afrique techniques.

A Mellon Fellow Abroad

J. S. Kofi Gbolonyo is an Andrew Mellon Pre-doctoral Fellow and a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology. As part of his Mellon Fellowship, Kofi has been traveling internationally to research his dissertation topic, and along the way, giving lectures and workshops. His travels have taken him to West Africa, North America, and several Asian countries (including China, Taiwan, and Thailand).