Taylor’s music department is going global.
For the first time ever, the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will offer the Exploration of Global Music Ensemble. This class gives students the chance to learn traditional music from around the world.
Some see this class as a welcome chance to face new challenges.
“Since Ringers was dissolved and I still wanted to be in an ensemble I decided to join,” senior Tucker Germain said. “And I recently took and enjoyed the Music and World Cultures course so I thought a chance to try and learn new musics would be a good experience.”
Each semester will focus on music from a different region. This fall, the ensemble will perform songs from China, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand.
The music will be taught using a variety of methods. Styles may be taught by having students repeat examples they hear or through different types of musical notation.
Eva Kwan, assistant professor of music, will teach this class. She sees this as a way to help students broaden their horizons.
“It is kind of meeting the needs of the university and the world today,” Kwan said. “Quite a number of universities have this kind of world music ensemble, and I think it is meeting the needs of the time too because we also want every student of our university to be able to understand other cultures.”
This cultural understanding will be found through more than just the music. Different field trips and activities aim to help students better understand the cultures behind the sounds they produce. For example, Kwan plans to take the group to the Indianapolis Chinese Festival in late September.
These hands-on experiences are what will separate the Exploration of Global Music Ensemble from other classes.
“Music majors have to take a Music and World Cultures class that is only offered during J-Term, and so usually it is only like three weeks of instruction on different global styles and is usually very surface level,” junior music composition major Hannah Fortin said.
The Global Music Ensemble meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. all semester, giving students more time to explore the cultures in-depth. Guest performers may also play with the class, offering further opportunities to interact with the different styles of music.
All students are invited to join the ensemble, no matter how much or how little musical experience they have. Both singers and instrumentalists are needed, so there are opportunities for any type of musician to participate.
Anyone interested in joining can sign up for MUS270, which is available for one or zero credits. Kwan is also available to answer questions at evkwan@taylor.edu.
