The Department of Music at Princeton University will host a Second International Symposium on the Music of Africa on December 9th and 10th, 2005 in McCormick Hall on the Princeton University campus. Leading and emerging scholars from Africa, Europe and the United States will explore current issues in African music research with a particular focus on composition, performance and analysis.

The keynote speaker will be Professor Meki Nzewi of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Professor Abiola Irele of Harvard University will deliver the Banquet Speech. Invited speakers include Eric Akrofi , Kwasi Ampene, Willie Anku, Eric Charry, Peter Cooke, Akin Euba, Jacqueline Djedje, Lucy Duran, Susanne Fürniss, Barbara L. Hampton, Bertram Lehmann, David Locke and Ingrid Monson.

On Friday 9th December, Azaguno, a multi-ethnic ensemble led by Dr. Paschal Younge and Dr. Zelma Badu-Younge of Ohio University, Athens will perform traditional and contemporary African music and dance at 8 pm in Taplin Auditorium.

Registration. While there is no charge for attendance, one must register by November 21st to be guaranteed admission to all events. To register, send an e-mail to Michelle Horgan of the Center for Visitors and Conference Services with your name and contact information.

Accommodation. The historic Nassau Inn has reserved a few rooms for attendees at a special rate of $126.00 a night plus taxes. Call the Inn at 609-921-7500 to make your reservation. This rate will not be available after 11th November.

Second International Symposium on the Music of Africa
Princeton University, December 9-10, 2005
McCormick 101

Program

Friday, December 9th

8:00-9:00 Coffee and registration

9:00-9.15 Greetings and pouring of libation by Kofi Agawu, Director of the Symposium

9.15-9.30 Welcome by Scott Burnham, Chair, Music Department, Princeton University

9:30-11:00 Session 1: Harmony and Counterpoint

Eric Charry (Wesleyan University)
Mande Harmony: Composition and Improvisation in Balafon and Kora Music

Ingrid Monson (Harvard University)
Neba Solo's Senufo Counterpoint

11:00 Coffee

11:15-12:45 Session 2: Meter and Rhythm

Bertram Lehmann (Berklee College of Music)
The Syntax of 'Clave': Aspects of Metrical Perception in Cuban and African Music

Willie Anku (University of Ghana)
Inside a Master Drummer's Mind: A Quantitative Theory of Structural Analysis for African Music

12:45 - 2.00 Lunch

2:00-3:30 Session 3: Polyphony and Accompanied Song

Susanne Fürniss (CNRS-Laboratoire d'ethnomusicologie, Paris)
What is polyphony? Multipart-singing between Perception and Conception

Peter Cooke (University of Birmingham and University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies)
'Fixing his Channel': Composing and Performing Accompanied Song in Uganda

3:30 Coffee

4:00-5:30 Keynote Address

Meki Nzewi (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
The lore of life: Discerning the logic of African indigenous musical arts
In dialogue with Kofi Agawu and Martin Scherzinger (Princeton University)

8.00-10:00 Concert

Azaguno, directed by Dr. Paschal Yao Younge and Dr. Zelma Badu-Younge (Ohio University, Athens), perform music and dance of Africa and the African diaspora in Taplin Auditorium

Saturday, December 10th

9:00-10:30 Session 4: Composition

Akin Euba (University of Pittsburgh)
A Theory of Automusicology and Its Application to Themes from Chaka No. 2

Eric A. Akrofi (Walter Sisulu University, South Africa)
A Comparative Study of the Compositional Techniques of Traditional and Modern Art Xhosa Music

10:30 Coffee

10:45-1:00 Session 5: Analysis

Jacqueline Djedje (University of California, Los Angeles)
Form, Melody, and Rhythm in West African Fiddling
Kwasi Ampene (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Formal Templates of Song Units as Compositional Models in Nnwonkoro

Barbara L. Hampton (Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York)
Rappin' Ga: Understanding One Approach to Hiplife

1.00-2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:30 Session 6: Performance

Lucy Duran (University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies)
'Cultural Space' and the New Music in Mali--Toumani Diabate and the Symmetric Orchestra

David Locke (Tufts University)
Gideon Foli Alorwoyie's Project to Revitalize Old School Agbadza: Scholar as Annotator, Amanuensis, Interlocutor and Analyst

3:30 Coffee

4:00-5:30 Session 7: Open Forum: Teaching African Music in the Academy

7:00-10:00 Banquet, Palmer House

Banquet Speaker: Abiola Irele (Harvard University)
Music and the African Imagination