Cultures in Musical Dialogue

Cultures in Musical Dialogue

Course information:
ETHNMUS 91Z, section 1 and 161Z, section 1

Director: Gamin Kang

Cultures in Musical Dialogue is a performance-based ensemble course specifically designed for ethnomusicology undergraduate majors to cultivate improvisational skills, to engage with different musical genres and traditions, and to create original compositions. The ensemble course will enable students to become more consciously aware of the processes that figure into musical improvisation. It will also introduce students to fundamental techniques and philosophies of improvisation in a diverse range of musical traditions. Students will be able to advance their listening abilities, develop a rich musical vocabulary, and implement improvisation as a communication tool to express their musical ideas, perform together, and co-create improvisational musical pieces that draws on their engagement with different musical traditions and their intercultural exchanges. Cultures in Musical Dialogue welcomes undergraduate ethnomusicology students looking for a high-level performance experience to join its weekly, three-hour long rehearsals on Thursday evenings during the spring quarter. Students are encouraged to bring their own instruments, ideas, and aspirations to the rehearsals.

 

Student’s creations for their final recording project in spring 2024: Spring 2024 projects

Musicology Professor Ray Knapp to Deliver UCLA's 138th Annual Faculty Research Lecture
In 1925, UCLA established the annual Faculty Research Lectures to recognize two Academic Senate members with exceptional achievement in research and creative endeavors. Ray Knapp, distinguished professor of musicology, disability studies and humanities at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, will deliver the 138th lecture, entitled "How Music(ology) Saves Lives."
Review: UCLA Philharmonia Shines at Mahlerthon
From the LA Times: “Neal Stulberg led an intense, brilliant, riveting performance of Mahler’s most agitated symphony, the 80-minute Sixth (known as the “Tragic”).”
Ethnomusicology Department Hosts 66th Annual Meeting of Society for Ethnomusicology Southern California and Hawai'i Chapter
This year’s meeting marked the 70th anniversary of Mantle Hood’s arrival at UCLA. Hood’s visionary establishment of an institute of ethnomusicology (later to become the ethnomusicology department) made UCLA a
Support the Ensemble and Keep the Music Playing!