The Society for Ethnomusicology, Southern Plains Chapter awarded Yang Chen (MA, Ethnomusicology, 2020) the 2020 Vida Chenoweth Prize for his paper entitled, “Sounding the Ancestors: Sangpuy Katatepan Mavaliyw and the Ancestral Spirit Imaginary."

The Yale Institute for Sacred Music has appointed Dr. Steven Friedson to its new Black Sacred Arts Steering Committee to design and implement a series of international conferences and related publications over the next four years. This initiative will make a substantial contribution to an underrepresented field of study and to the diversification of sacred music studies.

Arathi Govind (MM, Ethnomusicology, 2012) received her PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley in August of 2019 with a dissertation entitled "'An Undeniable Presence': Racial Justice Work among South Asian American Musicians." She was recently promoted to Senior College Advisor at ScholarMatch, a San Francisco-based college access and persistence nonprofit, in which capacity she provides academic, emotional, and professional development support to first-generation low-income college students. Arathi is also the soprano section leader for Resound Ensemble and serves on the boards of Music at Kohl Mansion and Violins of Hope. She writes, "my academic training in race theory, career development, and the arts fuels my knowledge and drive to support underserved communities throughout the Bay Area."          

Please join us for Tomie Hahn's lecture: Bewildering Transmission: When Silence Matters on Friday, January 31st at 4:00 pm in Music 321.  There will be a reception to follow in MU-250.  This event is free and open to the public.  Tomie Hahn is also the keynote speaker at GAMuT's 7th Annual Graduate Student Conference on Saturday, February 1, 2020.  Click here for more information!

Dr. Cathy Ragland has received a grant from the Rea Charitable Trust to support the development of and programming for the Mariachi Ensemble.  

Please join the Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology for UNT Chinese Ensemble's 2019 Fall Concert: Chinese Folk Songs on Saturday, November 23rd at 6:30 pm in the Recital Hall. It is free admission and there will be a reception to follow in the Graham Green Room.

Please join us for the Moscow Nights Trio and Dance Ensemble Radost visit on Thursday, October 24.  There will be a traditional Russian music demonstration at 12:30 pm in Voertman Hall.  They will present a Russian and Ukrainian Folk Music & Dance Concert at 7:00 pm in the Recital Hall.  This event is free admission to all!  Sponsored by: UNT Charn Fund, Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology, and the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. 

Please join us for the Dhrupad Sisters Guest Artist Recital on Monday, October 7th at 8 pm in the Recital Hall!  Dhrupad is one of the oldest forms of Indian classical music.  Singers present compositions and improvisations set in traditional rāga-s using unique vocal techniques to create a hypnotically meditative effect. The Dhrupad Sisters are the world’s FIRST all-female dhrupad troupe.  They have trained with India’s leading dhrupad exponents, the Gundecha Brothers, to represent the Dagar lineage of singing, which dates to the 15th century and is known for its rich timbre and nuanced intonation. Vocals: Amita Sinha Mahapatra & Janhavi Phansalkar Pakhawaj (Percussion): Anuja Borude Free admission to all! 

Cathy Ragland recently published her Spanish language article, "Hacer sonar la tradición a través de las fronteras: la popularidad transnacional de Ramón Ayala, ícono de la autenticidad fronteriza en la música norteña" (Sounding tradition across borders: the transnational popularity of Ramón Ayala, icon of bordered authenticity in música norteña), in the latest edition of the journal Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos, Vol. 35 No. 1, Winter 2019, University of California Press. Ayala has been an accordionist and band leader for 50 years. Click here for more information.