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 […]
Category: music
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
Your Foggy Mountain Breakdown Playlist
This month we’re publishing Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: The Making of An American Classic by Thomas Goldsmith. It’s a deep dive into the origins and influence of “Foggy Mountain […]
Q&A with Jake Johnson, author of Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America
Jake Johnson is an assistant professor of musicology in the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University. He recently answered some questions about his new book, Mormons, Musical Theater, […]
Chinatown Opera Theater in North America awarded Irving Lowens Book Award from SAM
We are pleased to announce that Chinatown Opera Theater in North America by Nancy Yunhwa Rao has won the Irving Lowens Book Award from the Society for American Music (SAM). […]