Graduate Student Triumphs at Society for Ethnomusicology Conference, Receives Acknowledged Award in Ethnomusicology Studies
The 2019 Society for Ethnomusicology, Southern California and Hawaii Chapter (SEMSCHC) conference, held at UC Santa Barbara, was a celebrated event that brought together scholars, students, and enthusiasts of ethnomusicology. Among the conference's highlights was a roundtable discussion, "Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings: A Publishing Collaboration between the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive and Adam Matthew Digital."
Organized by the Ethnomusicology Archive, the roundtable was a testament to the collaborative spirit of the field. The Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA was well-represented at the conference, with graduate students Wan Yeung, William Matczynski, Lucas Avidan, Mehrenegar Rostami, Blair Black, Maureen Russell, Jesse Ruskin, Jessie Vallejo, and Helen Rees, along with alumni Katherine Lee, Shani Miller, Linda O'Brien, Aaron Bittel, Xiaorong Yuan, Mei-Chen Chen, and Alfredo Rivera, as well as archivists Veronica Pacheco and Simone Salmon, participating. Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology Supeena Insee Adler was also among the attendees.
The conference was presided over by program chair Supeena Insee Adler. The Ki Mantle Hood Student Prize, awarded to the student with the most distinguished paper read at the SEMSCHC conference, was a significant highlight. This year, the prize was awarded to Tyler Yamin, a graduate student, for his paper "Creativity and Contestation in the Canopy: Reflections on the Material-Discursive Boundaries of Gibbon Song."
Yamin's paper holds significant relevance within the context of SEMSCHC. It focuses on regional themes of creativity and social negotiation within musical communities, aligning with the chapter’s interest in examining music as a cultural and social practice in Southern California and Hawaii. The paper also addresses central themes in ethnomusicology such as creativity, cultural identity, power dynamics, and contestation within musical spaces, topics that resonate deeply with SEMSCHC’s scholarly priorities.
Moreover, Yamin’s work contributes to ongoing discourse promoted by the chapter by providing a nuanced case study or theoretical framework that can spur discussion, comparative analysis, and further research among chapter members. His approach in examining musical creativity and contestation offers valuable methodological perspectives for scholars in SEMSCHC, encouraging rigorous ethnographic research while attending to complex socio-political contexts in music-making.
Congratulations were given to all who participated in the 2019 SEMSCHC conference. The Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), a global, interdisciplinary network engaged in the study of music across all cultural contexts and historical periods, commends Tyler Yamin for his outstanding work and the valuable contributions it makes to the field of ethnomusicology.
A complete program for the 2019 SEMSCHC conference can be found here. The 2018 SEMSCHC conference was a previous event where Tyler Yamin's paper was read, and the prize was awarded at the 2019 conference held at UC Santa Barbara on March 2-3.
Attendees at the 2019 SEMSCHC conference included graduate students and archivists, showcasing the broad participation in online education and learning within the ethnomusicology field. In the roundtable discussion, "Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings," the Ethnomusicology Archive demonstrated the collaboration in education and self-development that continues to shape the discipline.
