Category Archives: music

July 15, 2020

Todd Decker, new editor of American Music

Posted by Tiffany Tzeng
in announcement, journals, music | Comments Off on Todd Decker, new editor of American Music

Todd Decker is serving as the editor of American Music, the oldest scholarly journal devoted to the subject, from 2020 to 2022.  Todd Decker is Professor of Musicology at Washington University, St. Louis, MO where he teaches courses on twentieth-century … Continue reading →

July 15, 2020

Marian Wilson Kimber Awarded Sight and Sound Subvention Award

Posted by Tachel Brown
in american history, art, awards, dance, gender studies, music, open access, poetry, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Marian Wilson Kimber Awarded Sight and Sound Subvention Award

Marian Wilson Kimber’s book The Elocutionists reclaimed a forgotten performance genre. From the mid-1800s to the 1940s, elocutionists recited poetry or drama with music to entertain audiences, in particular women’s groups. Women, in fact, dominated the art, and their purveyance … Continue reading →

July 13, 2020

African Americans in Chicago

Posted by Tachel Brown
in African American Studies, american history, biography, black studies, Chicago, Illinois / regional, music, The Callout | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on African Americans in Chicago

African American figures and subjects continue to play a central role in the stories and scholarship offered by the Press. A number of recent releases highlight our commitment to publishing books on the African American experience in Chicago. Always the … Continue reading →

June 15, 2020

Five Things You Should Know About Florence Price

Posted by Charrice Jones
in African American Studies, biography, black studies, music, women | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Five Things You Should Know About Florence Price

Florence B. Price was a composer whose career spanned both the Harlem and Chicago Renaissances, and the first African American woman to gain national recognition for her works. This June, we’re delighted to publish Rae Linda Brown’s biography, The Heart … Continue reading →

June 12, 2020

Black Opera Awarded Irving Lowens Book Award

Posted by Tachel Brown
in African American Studies, awards, biography, music | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Opera Awarded Irving Lowens Book Award

We are pleased to announce Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi André has won the Society for American Music‘s Irving Lowens Book Award. From the SAM Bulletin:“Focusing on opera, this monograph explores important questions of how race, class and … Continue reading →

June 10, 2020

Banjo Roots and Branches Awarded American Musical Instrument Society’s Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize

Posted by Tachel Brown
in African American Studies, awards, bluegrass, folklore, music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Banjo Roots and Branches Awarded American Musical Instrument Society’s Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize

We are pleased to announce Banjo Roots and Branches edited by Robert B. Winans has won the American Musical Instrument Society’s Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize. The Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize is awarded annually for the most distinguished book-length work in English which … Continue reading →

December 20, 2019

1619 Project Reading List: Black Popular Music

Posted by Tiffany Tzeng
in 1619 Project, African American Studies, american history, black studies, music | Comments Off on 1619 Project Reading List: Black Popular Music

  This August marked the 400th anniversary of slaves arriving in America. To commemorate the anniversary, The New York Times Magazine launched the 1619 Project, a major initiative led by Nikole Hannah-Jones, with the goal of re-framing our understanding of the impact of … Continue reading →

October 21, 2019

Q&A with Sonja Lynn Downing, author of Gamelan Girls

Posted by Tiffany Tzeng
in author commentary, authors, culture, ethnomusicology, music, Q&A | Comments Off on Q&A with Sonja Lynn Downing, author of Gamelan Girls

Sonja Lynn Downing is an an associate professor of ethnomusicology at Lawrence University. She recently answered some questions about her book, Gamelan Girls: Gender, Childhood, and Politics in Balinese Music Ensembles. Q: Why did you decide to write this book? I wanted … Continue reading →

October 14, 2019

Q&A with Vincent L. Stephens, author of Rocking the Closet

Posted by Tiffany Tzeng
in author commentary, culture, gay/lesbian, music, Q&A | Comments Off on Q&A with Vincent L. Stephens, author of Rocking the Closet

Vincent L. Stephens is the director of the Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity and a contributing faculty member in music at Dickinson College. He is a coeditor of Post Racial America? An Interdisciplinary Study. He recently shared his thoughts on … Continue reading →

October 7, 2019

Celebrating Chicago Blues

Posted by Tiffany Tzeng
in African American Studies, blues, Chicago, culture, ethnomusicology, music | Comments Off on Celebrating Chicago Blues

This fall we have two new books on the Chicago Blues scene that celebrate the city’s incredible musicians and their legacy. Celebrate with us and check out our books on Chicago Blues and some interesting articles in American Music. Blues … Continue reading →