UHCN Article
“Music Across Boundaries”

A true mark of a major research university is its ability to focus faculty, staff and student attention on particular topics and issues.  The faculty senate at the University of Houston, for example, supports two such current initiatives.  The first initiative is the plan to organize faculty research, hiring, and in terms of interdisciplinary “clusters.”  The second initiative consists of the exciting efforts to expand the university’s presence in health care research and service.  The focus on common topics enhances acquisition and use of university resources, spurs creativity, and gives all members of the university community a sense of ownership and contribution. 

            We do not often think of music as the kind of scholarly topic we can all share.  Music seems to belong to the humanities, where issues of aesthetics, performance and criticism clearly apply.  The faculty senate is sponsoring an upcoming event to show that music is a phenomenon that many university groups—and the community—can celebrate.  The event is “MusicAcrossBoundaries: Culture-Identity-Performance.”  This one-day conference will be held on September 26th at the Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom, University Hilton.  The first purpose of the conference is to explore the many ways music is central to the work of the university in teaching, critiquing and understanding the culture(s) of our various constituents.  The second purpose is to celebrate the magic of music as performed by artists and others involved in its creation.

Scholarly discussions will include multimedia presentations on authenticity in music. (Fun quiz: The Platters were one of the greatest doo-wop bands of the 1950s, selling more records than any other vocal group until the arrival of The Beatles.  Is the current configuration of the Platters, which contains only one original member of the group, Herb Reed, still the Platters?)  We will also examine voice in terms of clinical research on the science of singing as well as a vocal performance of Purcell’s Music For A While.  Other performances will include examples of Latino music, hip hop, rock music, the blues, and Americana.        

The good news:  Attendance—and lunch—are free if you pre-register.  See you on September 26!