News and Events

Spring 2010

Auditions for Individual Performance Study,will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2-5pm. Sign up for an audition appointment on the bulletin board across from the Music Office in Pratt. Be prepared to sing a piece of your choosing or play two contrasting pieces and a scale; you may be asked to sight read. The Music 100 Exemption exam will be given on Wednesday, January 27 at 4 pm in room. 109 Pratt and Monday, February 1at 4:00 pm in room 109.

For orchestra, chorus, and jazz ensembles, sign up for an audition appointment on the bulletin board across from the Music Office in Pratt--times may vary.

Grant-in-Aid Deadline

Students who receive financial aid from the College are eligible to apply for a Grant-in-Aid to help pay for music lessons. The deadline for application is Friday, January 29, 4 pm. Applications are available in the Music Office. Continuing students must submit an application every semester--there are no automatic renewals.

New Course

Music 110f Transgressive Music (First-Year Seminar)
The seminar will introduce and discuss various musical works and genres that fall under rock critic Ann Powers' definitions of "Violator art", exploring them within the context of their wanton and disturbing appeal, as well their often scandalous social impact. Topics will include the Second Viennese School free jazz, protest music, punk rock, hip hop, works such as J. S. Bach's Cantata No. 179, Strauss's Salome, Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps, Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit", George Crumb's Black Angels, and artists such as Frank Zappa, Donna Summer, Prince, and Nirvana, among others (Students should be prepared for mature themes and some coarse language).

Meets Humanities I-A requirement
David Sanford
Prereq. None; 4 credits

World Music Courses

Music 371f  Topics in Music
Analytical Studies in World Music
(Writing-intensive course) The main focus of this course is to facilitate a culturally sensitive analytical engagement of musical traditions from different parts of the world. The course surveys some of the theoretical and methodological issues that have shaped the field of ethnomusicology and influenced the study of musical traditions, and examines musical examples from different parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and Latin America. Emphasis will be on understanding musical structures as defined in specific traditions, and the ways in which musical performances/compositions relate to and are shaped by factors emanating from the cultural environment in which they are situated.

Meets Humanities I-A requirement
O. Omojola
Prereq. Music 282 and 232 or permission of instructor; 4 credits

West African Music Ensemble
The West African Music Ensemble, a Five College ensemble in residence at Mount Holyoke since the spring semester ’05, performs traditional music, including dance and song, of the peoples of southern Ghana, Togo and Benin, including sections of Adjogbo and Agbekor.