Jasmine Wilkerson ’23 Performs Heart, Lung and Blood (HLB) Research at CWRU Medical School</h1> <article> <h1>Jasmine Wilkerson ’23 Performs Heart, Lung and Blood (HLB) Research at CWRU Medical School</h1> <p>ygay — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:18:02 +0000</p> <span>Jasmine Wilkerson ’23 Performs Heart, Lung and Blood (HLB) Research at CWRU Medical School</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-09-07T12:18:02-04:00" title="Tuesday, September 7, 2021 - 12:18">Tue, 09/07/2021 - 12:18</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>After several life-changing experiences at an early age, Jasmine Wilkerson ’23 decided to pursue a medical degree so she can perform crucial surgeries through medical missions abroad.</p> <p>A resident of Helena, Montana, Wikerson travelled to a village in Sakila, Tanzania, when she was 11 and 18 years old. While there, she observed and assisted her father and a medical team with assessing and providing treatment to patients in need of eye care. Those experiences, she says, helped to transform her world perspectives. </p> <p>“My father is an ophthalmologist and my mother is a licensed clinical social worker. Throughout my childhood, my parents’ careers modeled the importance of helping others by promoting medical care and mental health awareness,” says Wilkerson. </p> <p>When she was 11, Wilkerson also had an opportunity to observe a cataract surgery and a tear duct reconstruction surgery performed by her father. “From the moment I scrubbed in to enter the operating room to the conclusion of the surgery, I knew that I would one day become a surgeon and serve others through a medical career,” she says. </p> <p>Wilkerson’s commitment to the sciences led her to explore research outside of 91ֱ�� this summer. With a strong recommendation from <a href="/courtney-savali-andrews" target="_blank">Professor of Ethnomusicology Courtney-Savalia Andrews</a>, she was accepted into the Heart, Lung and Blood (HLB) Summer Research Program at Case Western Reserve University Medical School in Cleveland.</p> <p>The eight-week HLB program is designed to engage undergraduates from a variety of disciplines and eight medical students in state-of-the art biomedical research in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematological, and sleep disorders research. Participants engaged in weekly seminars that highlighted research in these disciplines and engaged in activities that allowed them to have interaction among all students. The program culminated with students presenting their research programs on a digital symposium platform.</p> <p>Wilkerson, a <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" target="_blank">biology</a> major and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" target="_blank">anthropology</a> minor, worked with cancer epidemiologist and CWRU professor Sarah Markt and Jonathan Hue, a general surgery resident at University Hospitals in Cleveland. </p> <p>Wilkerson and professor Markt conducted a cross-sectional study on the prevalence of low sleep duration and sleep disturbances among breast cancer patients compared to the general noncancer United States population from 2005 to 2016. </p> <p>While a statistically significant difference in mean sleep duration was not found in the team’s primary analysis, a higher percentage of troubled sleep among breast cancer patients compared to the noncancer population was discovered.</p> <p>In her second research project with Hue, Wilkerson manipulated pancreatic cancer cells in mice. </p> <p>“We manipulated the microenvironment by testing the KPC cells in high and low glucose conditions and with M1 and M2 macrophages. M1 macrophages are tumor fighting macrophages, while M2 macrophages are tumor promoting macrophages,” says Wilkerson. “Our initial hypothesis was that the M1 macrophages would be most effective at killing KPC cells in high glucose conditions since they are primarily glycolytic. Unfortunately, pancreatic tumors are known to have low glucose concentration, which favors the tumor-helping M2s. From our initial results, we found that M1 macrophages were able to kill KPC cells in both high and low glucose conditions. </p> <p>“However, M2 macrophages seem to have a significant protective effect in low glucose conditions. This provides some evidence that if we can raise the glucose levels in the tumor microenvironment, it may help tumor-fighting macrophages and prevent a protective effect for the tumor-supporting ones,” she explains. </p> <p>After earning a medical degree, Wilkerson will decide on pursuing a residency program that specializes in surgery neonatology, cardiology, or human reproductive health. </p> <p>“While 91ֱ�� College is an academically rigorous college, it is also a place where all academic departments want to see their students succeed, network, and flourish,” says Wlkerson. “If you are interested in the premed program at 91ֱ��. I would highly encourage you to join because of the students, professors, and research opportunities.” </p> <p>Wilkerson transferred into 91ֱ��’s <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/pre-medicine-and-health-careers" target="_blank">Pre-Medicine and Health Careers Program</a> from Pepperdine University after her first year of college. Largely, she says, because 91ֱ�� offers a wide range of research opportunities where premed students can gain one-on-one time with professors. The college’s premed program’s committee of professors who help students with the interview process before applying to medical school was another perk. She was also encouraged by the chance to grow her violin playing skills and explore the field of anthropology.</p> <p>See Wilkerson’s summer research presentation by visiting the <a href="https://symposium.foragerone.com/intersections-summer-research-presentations/presentations/31167" target="_blank">CWRU Symposium website</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-09-07T12:00:00Z">Tue, 09/07/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2358">Undergraduate Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3830">Pre-Medicine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25251">Biology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/courtney-savali-andrews" hreflang="und">Courtney-Savali Andrews</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" hreflang="und">Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" hreflang="und">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/pre-medicine-and-health-careers" hreflang="und">Pre-Medicine and Health Careers</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Jasmine Wilkerson ’23 at work in a Case Western Reserve School of Medicine laboratory.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Wilkerson</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Jennifer Fraser Receives Grant from the National Endowment of Humanities</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 20 May 2020 20:05:28 +0000</p> <span>Jennifer Fraser Receives Grant from the National Endowment of Humanities</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-05-20T16:05:28-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - 16:05">Wed, 05/20/2020 - 16:05</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Jennifer Fraser, associate professor of ethnomusicology and anthropology, has received a summer stipend award from the National Endowment of Humanities (NEH) to produce a multimedia website that shares ethnomusicological knowledge of the musical and sociocultural features of saluang, a West Sumatran vocal genre.</p> <p>The project, Song in the Sumatran Highlands, is Fraser’s first digital humanities work, though it is a continuation of scholarship that she has pursued since her first exposure to the genre as an exchange student in West Sumatra in 1998. Fraser says the project reimagines the ways ethnomusicologists share research and moves us closer to the sensorial worlds of performance. With the $6,000 grant, she is building an interactive website rich in multimedia, explanatory and interpretive text, annotated song texts, visualizations, and maps in order to model the sonic, visual, and spatial epistemologies of saluang. </p> <p>“It will map, for example, the sonic manifestations of place through tagging song titles, landmarks referenced in song texts, performers, and performances with geospatial metadata,” Fraser says. “Key to the design of the project is representing ethnomusicological knowledge in formats more accessible to the public, including the later creation of a parallel site in Indonesian. This grant will allow me to construct the structural and technical scaffolding of the site, including creating pages for each song, performer, and place.”</p> <p>Saluang is the pre-eminent vocal tradition of the Minangkabau people. The tradition is centered in the highlands of the contemporary Indonesian province of West Sumatra. It is named saluang for the flute that accompanies the two to three vocalists, who sing late at night and into the early hours of the morning, Fraser explains.</p> <p>“There are hundreds of songs in the repertoire. Programs are not set in advance as attendees may request their favorite songs at a performance, meaning performers need to know them all,” she says. “The other cool thing about saluang is that the texts are not fixed with a song. Vocalists choose their texts on the spot, from a series of memorized verses, or create them anew in response to the performance context, in rhyming verse nonetheless. Each performance of a song is unique.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Jennifer Fraser (upper right) during field work in Harau, West Sumatra, in 2016. The photo was taken by her collaborator, Saiful Hadi.</figcaption> </figure> <p>This grant supports the first phase of what Fraser describes as “a longer book-length digital project,” for which she will be on research leave for the 2020-2021 academic year. She has already begun work with Megan Mitchell, academic engagement and digital initiatives coordinator, on conceptualizing the design of the website and choosing the right platform. </p> <p>“This summer I am focused on the infrastructure and building the scaffolding in Scalar, which has building blocks called pages. I anticipate having thousands of pages by the time I am done. I will hire a student assistant at different points in the project, including this summer.”</p> <p>Fraser notes that the project is responsive to the community and her collaborators in West Sumatra. </p> <p>“It is my hope that they will help contribute raw content, including photographs and interpretations of song texts. Eventually, once the whole thing is built, I will copy the site and work on translating it into Indonesian so that it is accessible to people in the saluang community.”</p> <p>This is Fraser’s first NEH award, and she is thrilled to be recognized and supported for her vision. </p> <p>“Ethnomusicologists are just starting to experiment with digital platforms for sharing research, even though our work is so multimedia heavy. Nobody has done anything quite like what I am proposing, which moves beyond conventional narrative structures simply shifted online.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-05-21T12:00:00Z">Thu, 05/21/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jennifer-fraser" hreflang="und">Jennifer Fraser</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology Jennifer Fraser has received a summer stipend from the National Endowment of Humanities.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jennifer Manna</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-bio-card-el-biography field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="biography-card"> <figure> </figure> <div class="biography-card__content"> <h2><span>Jennifer Fraser</span> </h2> <ul class="item-list list--clean" style="margin-top: 0px;"> <li class="professional-title">Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology</li> </ul> <a class="view-more" href="/jennifer-fraser">View Jennifer Fraser’s biography</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Zola Barnes ’19 Awarded Newman Civic Fellowship</h1> <p>anagy — Fri, 11 May 2018 16:22:30 +0000</p> <span>Zola Barnes ’19 Awarded Newman Civic Fellowship</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-05-11T12:22:30-04:00" title="Friday, May 11, 2018 - 12:22">Fri, 05/11/2018 - 12:22</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Zola Barnes, a fourth-year double-degree student, will receive a year of training, mentorship, and learning opportunities focused on the skills needed to achieve social change with the <a href="https://compact.org/initiatives/awards-programs/the-frank-newman-leadership-award/#1485877350933-9992611d-a10c">Newman Civic Fellowship</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span> .</p> <p>The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community service-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions to problems in communities throughout the country. Applicants come from <a href="https://compact.org">Campus Compact</a> <spa aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"> member institutions that support students’ personal, professional, and civic development. Fellows demonstrate the motivation and potential for effective long-term civic engagement.</spa></p> <p>Barnes is majoring in vocal performance in the Conservatory of Music and anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, with a minor in ethnomusicology. She has a passion for increasing access to music and arts education in public schools.</p> <p>Since coming to 91ֱ��, she has been engaged in several music-based community learning projects with 91ֱ�� City residents. In 2016, she began working with the newly formed 91ֱ�� Arts Center to compile a calendar for arts-related events happening in 91ֱ��. She has also worked with Bronwen Fox, the music teacher at Langston Middle School, to formulate and execute a series of weekly music workshops in which they explored different musical genres with the seventh-grade choir.</p> <p>More recently, Barnes has become involved in community-based learning through courses taught by Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology Jennifer Fraser. In fall 2017, she was a teaching assistant for Fraser’s Ethnomusicology as Activism class. She is a student representative on the Community-Based Learning Committee.</p> <p>“I am really excited to get to know other students who are working and learning in community- engaged ways throughout the country,” says Barnes, who is from Baltimore, Maryland. “Building relationships and sharing ideas will not only be helpful with work that I hope to do while I am still at 91ֱ��, but also with work I hope to do after I graduate.”</p> <p>Barnes says she looks forward to continuing her musical journey with 91ֱ�� Public Schools.</p> <p>“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with 91ֱ��'s young students and share with them some of the art that has made such a difference for me and so many others. I will keep working so that 91ֱ�� school students have greater access to free and approachable music and arts education.” </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-05-16T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/16/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2357">Double Degree Program</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" hreflang="und">Anthropology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Zola Barnes '19</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jennifer Manna</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bringing Black Spirituals to the Masses</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 19:24:35 +0000</p> <span>Bringing Black Spirituals to the Masses</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-02-07T14:24:35-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 7, 2018 - 14:24">Wed, 02/07/2018 - 14:24</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p dir="ltr">In high school and community youth choirs in Chicago, DaQuan Williams regularly performed spirituals and gospel music arranged by renowned conductor Moses Hogan. When he came to 91ֱ��, however, he didn’t immediately make the connection that Hogan, an accomplished concert pianist and <a href="https://singers.com/choral/director/Moses-Hogan/">choral director</a>, was a 1979 graduate of the Conservatory of Music.</p> <p dir="ltr">It wasn’t until his second semester, when Williams was having conversations with students majoring in vocal performance, that he discovered Hogan’s relationship to 91ֱ��. The revelation led him to think more deeply about 91ֱ��’s institutional history with the genres of African American spirituals and black classical music.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I began to ask, ‘If I’m just now discovering Hogan’s ties to 91ֱ�� after a full semester of study, what else haven’t I learned?” Williams says. He found that 91ֱ��’s history with black spirituals runs deeper than Moses Hogan: Musicians such as R. Nathaniel Dett, Revella E. Hughes, and Francois Clemmons trained at 91ֱ�� and went on to become pioneers in the genre.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think it would be great to further educate the campus community about black choral music,” says Williams, a second-year majoring in anthropology and musical studies. “Whether this takes the form of an entire course, a couple of featured lectures, or some fun interactive programs, we need to implement more ways of interacting with this content.”</p> <p dir="ltr">To that end, Williams has organized a Moses Hogan Sing-Along in celebration of <a href="/events/series/black-history-month">Black History Month</a>. The <a href="/events/blackhistorymonthpresentationmoseshogansing-along">event</a>, which will take place Thursday, February 22 in Warner Concert Hall, welcomes anyone who enjoys singing to rehearse some of Hogan’s most famous spiritual arrangements in hopes of learning more about his art.</p> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Williams spent time with the Morehouse College Glee Club for winter term. Credit: Courtesy of DaQuan Williams</figcaption> </figure> <p dir="ltr">“It also aims to give aspiring choral conductors like me the opportunity to get hands-on experience leading an ensemble of singers,” says Williams.</p> <p dir="ltr">Williams led a similar event during last year’s Black History Month programming, but this year he has devoted more time to planning and researching. For this winter term experience, he visited historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that have played an integral role in the instruction and production of prominent black musicians. These include Fisk University, Kentucky State University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College, all located near Atlanta.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have learned so much about the culture and musical history of these HBCUs. These institutions are the reason why African American spirituals are as widely disseminated and venerated as they are today.”</p> <p>Despite 91ֱ��’s legacy and impact on black choral music, Williams is among a vocal group on campus who have expressed a need for more education and inclusion of music from non-western cultures. He says he has engaged with Conservatory Associate Dean for Academic Support <a href="/node/30061" target="_blank">Chris Jenkins</a> and conservatory faculty members Fredara Hadley and <a href="/node/6911" target="_blank">Charles McGuire</a> to address the issue head-on.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jenkins and Hadley are holding open lectures centered around African American classical music and the black history of the conservatory during Black History Month. See the full <a href="/sites/default/files/content/series/documents/bhmposter2018.pdf">Black History Month schedule</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: rgb(189, 8, 28); position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; top: 316px; left: 61px; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: rgb(189, 8, 28); position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; top: 316px; left: 61px; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-02-07T12:00:00Z">Wed, 02/07/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p dir="ltr">DaQuan Williams ’20 works to promote education of African American spirituals and the works of musicians of color.</p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2495">Black History Month</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2390">Events</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=28856">Musicology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25281">Musical Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/charles-mcguire" hreflang="und">Charles McGuire</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/musical-studies" hreflang="und">Musical Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/musicology" hreflang="und">Musicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">DaQuan Williams is an aspiring choral director.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of DaQuan Williams</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Javanese Gamelan Course Makes Welcoming Space for Lorain County Youth</h1> <p>anagy — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 15:54:31 +0000</p> <span>Javanese Gamelan Course Makes Welcoming Space for Lorain County Youth</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-12-07T10:54:31-05:00" title="Thursday, December 7, 2017 - 10:54">Thu, 12/07/2017 - 10:54</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p dir="ltr">For five weeks this fall, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology <a href="/jennifer-fraser">Jennifer Fraser</a> and students in her Gamelan as Community Engagement class joined the Salvation Army Learning Zone in Lorain to facilitate an after-school community music program for students in kindergarten through seventh grade.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fraser oversees 91ֱ��’s Javanese <em>gamelan</em> collection, which includes gongs and bronze keyed instruments.</p> <p dir="ltr">The course, part of the Conservatory of Music’s new <a href="/conservatory/divisions/pace">Pedagogy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement (PACE)</a> division, provides students with focused and rigorous curricular and cocurricular opportunities to imagine, research, and practice how their musical work will impact communities beyond 91ֱ��.</p> <p dir="ltr">Although the partnership with the Salvation Army after-school program came together at the last minute, Fraser says it was her intention to focus her efforts in Lorain County beyond 91ֱ��.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We designed this music intensive to be deeply collaborative and inclusive,” says Fraser, who teaches courses in gamelan and has directed 91ֱ��’s ensemble since 2007. “We made it a welcoming space to get greater participation and a sense of ownership.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The beauty of using Javanese gamelan with children is that they don’t need any previous musical experience or musical literacy to participate. The nature of gamelan—an ensemble from Indonesia that mostly consists of percussion instruments, including varying sizes of gongs and drums—makes learning accessible because participants can easily produce sounds.</p> <p dir="ltr">The music intensive was held on campus for one hour per week. 91ֱ�� students took turns facilitating musical concepts, such as rhythm, call and response, collaboration, and theme and variation. The music is not designed to feature the contributions of any individual, but rather a collective, group effort.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Not a lot of people know what gamelan is,” Fraser says. “The music was new to everyone, which made it more democratic and equalizing in that regard. The kids were very excited to see us. They’ve been a pleasure to work with.”</p> <p dir="ltr">At the end of the five-week intensive, the Lorain students performed at the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving Dinner on November 21. They returned to campus December 3 to perform in “Gong Fest,” a collaborative concert with students of 91ֱ�� College Gamelan.</p> <p dir="ltr">Peter Ogbuji, an independent grantwriting consultant who helped connect Fraser's class to the after-school program, says he received positive feedback from parents. He says the youth were eager to learn because of the curiosity and enthusiasm from the 91ֱ�� student facilitators. </p> <p dir="ltr">The students enrolled in the fall PACE course each had some familiarity with gamelan. They also had a desire to teach and work with children. Second-year Momo Suzuki, a comparative literature major, says the class has been transformative because it has shaped her interest in teaching and using music to build community.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I got to see how malleable and un-elitist music could be, and how much music could influence one’s self-esteem and mood,” said Suzuki, who is from Ridgewood, New Jersey. “There was one instance where one of the students was very upset and unresponsive, but was smiling so widely and laughing after just 30 seconds of playing the drums in the ensemble. I want to make more spaces for people to experiment with that.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Fraser will teach the course again in the spring, and she plans to continue the partnership with the Salvation Army Learning Zone. She is currently looking for a new group of students to enroll in the course, and she hopes that two of her current students will return as senior facilitators in the spring.</p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-12-11T12:00:00Z">Mon, 12/11/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2398">Community Education</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jennifer-fraser" hreflang="und">Jennifer Fraser</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/musicology" hreflang="und">Musicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students from the Salvation Army Learning Zone, an after-school program in Lorain, Ohio, play with 91ֱ�� College Gamelan on December 3.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Doug Menefee</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Hosts Ethnomusicologists' Midwest Conference March 24-26</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:44:43 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Hosts Ethnomusicologists' Midwest Conference March 24-26</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-04-28T14:44:43-04:00" title="Friday, April 28, 2017 - 14:44">Fri, 04/28/2017 - 14:44</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� Conservatory will serve as host to a conference of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology, or MIDSEM, March 24 through 26. All events are free and open to the public.</p> <p>The conference was organized by Jennifer Fraser, MIDSEM president and 91ֱ�� Conservatory associate professor of ethnomusicology and anthropology, along with a program committee representing Wayne State University, the University of Illinois, Bowling Green State University, DePaul University, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.</p> <p>A keynote address will be presented by Aaron A. Fox, associate professor of music and director of the center for ethnomusicology at Columbia University. Fox’s talk, titled "Ways of Hearing: Decolonizing the Ethnomusicological Archive,” will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, in Stull Recital Hall. This presentation will offer a broad view of repatriation and recovery projects undertaken in recent years by activists and ethnomusicologists working with archives of recorded sound. It will connect the history of recording and collecting Native American music in the early 20th century to the later Cold War context, in which contemporary ethnographic ethnomusicology emerged in its current institutionalized form.</p> <p>Other highlights include:</p> <p><b>4:30 p.m. Friday:</b> A panel entitled “Contemporary Popular Music and Social Change” will be led by Katherine Meizel of Bowling Green State University. It happens in Bibbins Hall Room 223. At the same time, Fraser will lead a workshop on learning to play talempong in Bibbins 238.</p> <p><b>10:30 a.m. Saturday:</b> A workshop will be presented by 91ֱ�� Emeritus Professor of Ethnomusicology Roderic Knight titled “YAHOO: Yet Another Hornbostel Organology Ouevre,” a hands-on primer on the Knight-Revision of Hornbostel-Sachs. It takes place in Bibbins Hall Room 224, and an associated display will be available for viewing throughout the weekend.</p> <p>A tour, called “Tamburas of Eurasia: Tracing a Musical Instrument Family from India to the Czech Republic,” will begin immediately following the workshop. It will be led by Ian MacMillen, director of the 91ֱ�� Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies.</p> <p><b>1:30 p.m. Saturday:</b> A roundtable discussion called “Community-Engaged Projects: From Pedagogy to Practice” will take place in Bibbins Hall Room 237. It will include Jennifer Fraser, Associate Professor of Music Education Jody Kerchner, Kathryn Metz of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and 91ֱ�� students Zola Barnes, Catherine Lytle, and Emily Edelstein.</p> <p>Complete program information can be found at the <a href="https://midsem.wordpress.com/245-2/">MIDSEM website</a>.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-03-22T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/22/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2567">Conference-Symposium</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jennifer-fraser" hreflang="und">Jennifer Fraser</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/musicology" hreflang="und">Musicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Ethnomusicology professor Jennifer Fraser has led winter term studies in Indonesia with 91ֱ�� students. She is seen here (in white) playing a talempong.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Jennifer Fraser</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>“The Music is There but the Awareness is Not”</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:44:43 +0000</p> <span>“The Music is There but the Awareness is Not”</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-04-28T14:44:43-04:00" title="Friday, April 28, 2017 - 14:44">Fri, 04/28/2017 - 14:44</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=05e3b1ac-aaa1-410b-adb5-ce817ca8e427">Fredara Hadley</a> led a group of 91ֱ�� students on a 10-day tour of New York City over winter term in January. Intent on learning about the history—and future—of jazz in the Big Apple, they took in performances at the 13th annual Winter Jazzfest, explored communities that were pivotal to the development of jazz, and probed the lives of jazz musicians in New York City today.</p> <p>Hadley herself is an ideal tour guide: She divides her time between teaching at 91ֱ�� and living in New York, where she operates a tour company dedicated to sharing the city’s rich history of African American music.</p> <p>“They say the city never sleeps, and during this winter term, we probably won't either!” Hadley told us before embarking on the trip. That’s why we caught up with her beforehand, to discuss what she loves—and even hates—about music, how Michael Jackson ignited her passion, how nightclubs are the world’s great cultural equalizer, and how she turned frustrations into opportunities.</p> <p><b>How did you arrive at the musical path you chose?</b></p> <p>There were two things that happened to me that have both affected my pedagogy and what I do now. One is that I was burned out on music performance by the time I graduated high school. I don’t know if K-12 music education has changed, but it was just a constant cycle of contests and recitals because it’s preparing you to come to a conservatory. But I personally was just burned out, maybe because I was doing two instruments [classical piano and viola]. It wasn’t fun for me anymore. I was kind of over it and didn’t really have the discipline to think about coming to a place like this.</p> <p>Also, I was really interested in jazz in high school. I really wanted to play jazz piano. And I don’t think it was intentional, but there was definitely gender discouragement from doing it. The male students who wanted to play jazz were nurtured, encouraged, and taught. For me, it was like <i>You stick with Chopin</i>, or maybe the edgiest things I could do back then was like Rachmaninoff or Liszt, or something that had aggression in it. I was not, when I expressed that interest, directed or supported. I think that really made me feel that jazz was not for me. It was that world way over there that I couldn’t engage in.</p> <p>So it was a really nice full-circle moment that, when I ended up at 91ֱ�� Conservatory, my job was initially in the jazz studies department. The vast majority of students that I teach are jazz studies majors. So it’s been a really cathartic experience in that way. </p> <p>After high school, even though I wasn’t encouraged to do jazz performance, I was coming into my own personal knowledge and interest in jazz through hip-hop. Groups like A Tribe Called Quest and other groups that would sample jazz a lot sent me down a rabbit hole of learning who Ron Carter is, who Donald Byrd is, who Freddie Hubbard is, who all these people were. Bobby Humphry, Gary Bartz—<i>folks who teach here</i>—are heavily, heavily sampled. And so I was really getting into the music myself, and I was frustrated that I didn’t feel like I had an outlet to directly engage it. </p> <p>When I went to college, I was a business major because I thought I wanted to have a record label. The whole time I was an undergrad [at Florida A&M University], I continued to take courses in the department of music in performance. I didn’t know ethnomusicology was a thing then, but I took courses on black artistic culture, and I taught piano lessons throughout college and stuff like that. I tried to keep my hand in a bunch of different worlds of performance. Culture studies, business, all of that.</p> <p><b>Tell us about some of the topics you’ve researched in ethnomusicology.</b></p> <p>My research is really about black popular music and how people use music to build communities among themselves. I am looking at upper-middle-class, lower-class black people in Atlanta, about how people use nightclub spaces to create a third space in a way that is separate from both their class counterparts. The idea of music and community is really important to me.</p> <p>Very often we talk about popular music as if popular music is not also serious music and as if people are not using this music to actually work out their social identities. Whether you're a musician or fan, we use music to index who we are and who we want to be seen as and how we present ourselves. So a lot of my research deals with that—and as an extension of that the music industry, because these things do not exist in the ether. There's a machine that helps to build these things and disseminate them.</p> <p>I'm even thinking a lot about the history and presence of jazz here at 91ֱ��’s campus and what that means. I'm thinking about what [91ֱ�� jazz studies founder] Wendell Logan was building and trying to achieve. I'm looking into what it means that jazz is now taught in conservatories, because one of the things I'm interested in, now that I found my way in the jazz world, is how to build a jazz <i>community</i>. So much of the language around jazz is that the audience is dying, the art is dying. However, everywhere I turn I see young brilliant musicians making incredible art.</p> <p>So what does it look like to build community around that and help people understand that jazz is not this thing that you have to get dressed up for, and go to [Jazz at Lincoln Center] and pay $70 for, sit still, and be quiet? That’s fine, but it’s not just that. There's so many artistic permutations of what jazz is. You can touch it, feel it, and dance to it. That's how it started, so how do we go back and bring that feeling along? The music is there but the awareness is not, so how do we correct that? It’s something that I spend a lot of time working on with institutions and artists who are interested in figuring that out.</p> <p><b>What can places like 91ֱ�� do to be more inclusive of women in jazz?</b></p> <p>We know that even in the jazz world, when people think about women in jazz performance, they normally think of them as vocalists and not instrumentalists. Given that, I think that it still goes a long way that jazz studies here now has jazz voice as a major and the jazz voice professor is a woman, because before [teacher of jazz voice] <a href="https://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21e1c8ca-f2df-414a-8ff0-d0cae8961294">La Tanya Hall</a> came, you had no women on the faculty.</p> <p>Women on the faculty signal to students of any gender that there is an authority presence here that is a woman, and I think that is really important. Also, it brings that perspective into the department, and that affects how the department shapes itself. I know that it’s a thing that women musicians don’t want to be “women musicians.”</p> <p>What happens in the jazz studies department—or in jazz period—is not separate from sexism that happens in the world in general. People have to continue to work on that and understand it when it’s brought to their attention or when they notice it in themselves or see it in their friends.</p> <p>Also, continuing to incorporate the compositions of women is important. Everybody knows that you’ll have this “Women in Jazz Day.” It doesn’t have the same impact if it’s not in the repertoire, if you don’t have Mary Lou Williams or Teri Lynn Carrington. If you’re not playing or listening to it, if it's not fully integrated in every sort of way. I think that work is happening, but it doesn’t change overnight.</p> <p><b>How can musicians from all genres incorporate social activism into their music?</b></p> <p>There are a couple ways that students can incorporate activism into their music. One is to look for repertoire that directly reflects social activism and directly addresses a lot of the issues that we are dealing with today. Another way to do it is to align yourself with organizations that do the type of work that you find useful and inspiring. Some people think, 'I have this gig coming up and I will give 10 percent of it and donate it to whatever, or I am going to invite people that work at this organization or work within this community to come to my show for free, so that they can have a good night out.' I think all of that is activism and important work.</p> <p>The great thing about music and those that are gifted is that it can often say things that words can't. You are here to refine your technical abilities, but also to find your voice. Your voice can be angry. It can be defiant. It can be sad. It can be joyful. When you are committed to finding your voice, almost anything can have that resonance. Anger can be fuel for musical practice, and that is still musical activism.</p> <p><b>What do you hope students will take away from your course on African American music? Also, how are these things important for those studying European classical music?</b></p> <p>I hope that they—particularly jazz majors—understand the role of jazz in the continuum of African American music. I hope they understand what the narratives of African American music and African American people are. One, because I think that's important. Also because even if you’re talking about someone who may not care about that, but they want to know what about this class will help me be a better jazz musician, I think it's important that jazz musicians come up listening to other jazz musicians—the greats. I think it is really important that jazz performance can decode what some of their idols are doing in their music.</p> <p>I hammer home stuff about minstrel songs, negro spirituals, about folk spirituals, because they never really go away. People are constantly taking pieces of them or taking the whole work and reinterpreting that in jazz performance. Like when we listen to “Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac” and connecting that to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and really thinking about why Dizzy Gillespie is drawing on this in his performance.</p> <p>On a sociological level, let’s just be honest: The majority of my students are white men that play jazz, and there aren’t a lot of places for them and for us to have honest conversations about race and culture. So if this class can help us do that a little bit better—give people language, musical repertoire, historical references that make unpacking that easier, to have better conversations among themselves—I think that’s a win.</p> <p>I think it’s hugely important that students of any race understand that “jazz” is a political term. I always say this: I am not here to tell you what your politics around that should be. But you should know what the discourse is, what people are arguing about, and why. It is up to each of us to decide how we engage or not. I think all of that does help give someone context in honing their musical voice, thinking about their musical practice, and how they want to angle their career.</p> <p>That course is what makes 91ֱ�� different from almost any other jazz studies program in the country. No other program has that course as a required course. Wendell Logan was very adamant that he did not want it to be called a “jazz history” course. He wanted it to be this grand narrative course, and I think that was a really brilliant move.</p> <p>In terms of the classical side, some of my best students have been classical musicians. One of my students was a classical pianist, and for their group project, she did a piano duet with a jazz student, and she was like <i>This is soooo different</i>. In classical musical performance, there is musical interpretation, but your interpretation is strongly based on what is notated. She felt like it was a liberating experience, not that she was about to abandon classical music, but it helped her to really understand what those jazz kids are working on. When you say "improvisation," it doesn’t mean play whatever the hell you want. There’s a range of accepted response that one can give in their improvisation. It was really great to hear that from that student.</p> <p>Even in the classical world, let’s just be real about the marketplace: Most students are not going to get gigs in the symphony orchestra and become concert pianists. So if you come to this class and it sparks musical ideas for your musical practice, then that’s a great thing.</p> <p>What you are hoping for when you come to and leave this space is that you are going to make something that people want to hear. So thinking about the people that you want to hear you is just smart. Ethnomusicology is equipped to do that, so I think these types of courses would be a service to every student in the conservatory.</p> <p><b>You also teach a class on entrepreneurship. Why is that important to you?</b></p> <p>Yeah. Again, I was a business major. I think if we are going to constantly talk about how challenging the landscape is for musicians, then while students are here we have to give them a chance to start to figure out “What do I want to do when I leave here? I’ve been knee deep in classical viola, baroque violin, jazz saxophone, voice, whatever it is, so what is my plan for when I am out of this space?”</p> <p>If students can start thinking about that here, it can hopefully make that transition better. Because I tell students all the time that if you say you want to be a musician, you are by definition saying that you want to be an entrepreneur. You are going to be finding your own gigs, you are going to be getting your own groups, you are going to be deciding what gigs you want to take that are offered to you. You are going to be figuring out your own health insurance. You are going to be figuring out if this is a contract you should sign. So let’s have a place where we can start to talk about that side of things and decisions other folks have made about them. </p> <p>I encourage students to talk to their professors, particularly in jazz studies. You know, those guys are in and out, and on the road, and doing this, and doing that. That is a form of entrepreneurship—putting together their career. So I was just really excited and grateful that the course was approved, to bring it here to students. I bring in a lot of guest speakers in that course, almost every week. I don’t know everything, so let’s let you hear from a lawyer, let’s let you hear from someone who books artists. I have a friend who is an ethnomusicologist as well, and she is with a big, fancy concert series over at Cornell. I think it was great for them to hear from her, "This is what it takes for me to book you." They should hear that from people who are actually living that. </p> <p>So I enjoy that course, and it is always interesting to see how students come into it and make it their own. It’s more like a workshop, an opportunity for students to become aware of things, like some students aren’t even aware that there are musicians’ unions, and why does that matter? Music is an art and a gift. But we don’t talk enough about the business of it and the mechanics of it. And I just think to be forewarned is to be forearmed.</p> <p><b>You’re involved with a company, called Jooksi, that gives walking tours in New York about black music. Can you talk about that?</b></p> <p>Yeah. I started it in 2012, and what it has evolved into is really like a field-trip version of the Introduction to African American Music class. I realized, living in New York, that it is one of the few places where you can take someone to places that connect with almost every genre of African American music that I teach about. You can go to abolitionists’ houses and talk about negro spirituals. You can go to the Paradise Garage and talk about house [music]. You can go to where Studio 54 was and talk about disco. Obviously, there are tons of places that you can go to that connect with jazz. Bessie Smith recorded St. Louis Blues in Queens. Louis Armstrong’s house is a museum in Queens. </p> <p>So there are literally all these places that you can go to that connect to all these different genres. Hip-hop, obviously. I got really excited about not just the history, but that there are all these places to take people to hear great music today. Because New York is the kind of place that lots of people visit, but really and truly, outside of Times Square and the Financial District, they don’t necessarily know how to explore it. So everyone can’t take my class, everyone can’t come out here to 91ֱ�� and get registered. I think it’s just a really exciting and interesting way to extend that experience beyond.</p> <p><b>Can you remember the first albums and artists that were inspirational to you?</b></p> <p>That’s a great question. I remember the first album I ever bought in my life. It was Michael Jackson’s <i>Bad</i>. That was the late 1980s, and it was the first album I bought with my own money. And these were actual <i>albums</i> back then. I read the liner notes back then, so that’s how I got to know things like, “Oh, this Quincy Jones person must be kind of important because his name is all over this album.” Quincy Jones became one of the first musical luminaries where I decided I wanted to know everything about him. So, I was a huge Michael Jackson fan. I was completely obsessed. My parents bought me the <i>Thriller</i> companion book. I was all in on Michael Jackson. The thing people forget about Michael Jackson is that the music was incredibly sophisticated and really well thought out. Again, this idea that pop music is only this superfluous thing is absolutely not true. Quincy Jones was a jazz musician, bandleader, and arranger, and he brought all of that to Michael Jackson.</p> <p><b>How do you handle traveling between New York and 91ֱ��?</b></p> <p>I always say that no one is going to feel sorry for me that I live in New York and work in 91ֱ��, so I just get over it. And I am grateful that 91ֱ�� has made it as easy and as possible as it is. I realize that I am on a non-traditional academic path, and it’s always important to me that 91ֱ�� feels like I am part of this community, and this community is important to me. So I work hard to remain available to students, faculty, and just the community here. Of course, there are times where I come up short. This is my fourth year here, you know, and I hope it continues to be mutually beneficial.</p> <p>People ask me all the time, “How is 91ֱ��?” I say, “What do you mean? If you could teach any kind of kid, wouldn’t you want to teach kids that are both bright <i>and</i> creative? Most days it’s like a dream, because the level of rigor we are able to toss at students, and you all can bat back at us, keeps me on my toes for sure. I genuinely hope that it’s as enriching an experience for students as it is for me as an instructor. And I sleep a lot on planes.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-03-06T12:00:00Z">Mon, 03/06/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Michael Esber</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=34691">Jazz Performance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35766">Ethnomusicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/musicology" hreflang="und">Musicology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">When Fredara Hadley grew tired of performing music, she took up studying it in new ways.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Brandi Pettijohn</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>