2007-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 4

SUBJECT: Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place presents: An Ethnomusicology of Hope

DATE: September 11, 2007

Memorial University’s Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place (MMaP) presents the sixth installment of the Music, Media and Culture lecture series next week. The series showcases diverse research areas, approaches, and presentation styles in the field of music. The first in this year’s series will feature Dr. Deborah Wong who will present the lecture: An Ethnomusicology of Hope on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Petro Canada Hall, School of Music, St. John’s campus.
            Dr. Wong is professor of music at the University of California, Riverside, and specializes in the music of Asian America and Thailand. Her research interests include identity politics, performance studies, cultural studies, popular culture, critical pedagogy, and music and difference. She is president-elect for the Society for Ethnomusicology. Dr. Wong has published two books, Speak It Louder: Asian Americans Making Music (2004), and Sounding the Center: History and Aesthetics in Thai Buddhist Ritual (2001).
            Under the direction of Dr. Beverley Diamond, Canada Research Chair in Traditional Music, MMaP was established in 2003 to initiate and enable music research within the academic and general community. Many of the website, CD, and other media projects of MMaP focus on the rich traditional music of Newfoundland and Labrador.
            Through the program of the Canada Research Chair in Ethnomusicology, the centre promotes national and international exchange by sponsoring visiting lecturers and organizing a lecture series, as well as annual symposia or conferences. Located in the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s at the east end of the campus, MMaP houses a multimedia and audio restoration studio, a small performance space, and student workspace for the graduate program in ethnomusicology at Memorial University.
The lecture is open to the public, free of charge. For more information on the lecture series visit: www.mun.ca/mmap/media/lecture/.  Media agencies are encouraged to send representatives. 
Parking available in Lot 15.

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