Alea III, 13th International Composition Competition for Young Composers, September 27, 1995

This is the concert program of the Alea III, 13th International Composition Competition for Young Composers performance on Wednesday, September 27, 1995 at 7:00 p.m., at the Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. Works performed were The Shamen bk. 1 by James Boznos, The Dance of the Maenades by David Charles Martin, Reaction for 12 Instruments by Jongwoo Yim, Meng-Long by Joan Huang, Mirroring by Evangelia Kikou, Triptych by Ian J. Crutchley, The Deathwatch Beetle by Thomas Whitman, and Chamber Concerto by Laura Elise Schwendinger. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund

Representations and Discourses of Black Motherhood in Hip Hop and R&B over Time

This study will examine how representations and discourses regarding Black motherhood have changed in the Hip Hop and R&B genres over time. Specifically, this scholarly work will contextualize the lyrics of 79 songs (57 Hip Hop songs; 18 R&B songs; 2 songs represented the Hip Hop and R&B genre; 2 songs represented artists who produce music in 5 or 6 genres) from 1961-2015 to identify the ways that Black male and Black female artists described motherhood. Through the use of Black Feminist Theory, and by placing the production of these songs within a sociohistorical context, we provide an in-depth qualitative examination of song lyrics related to Black motherhood. Results gave evidence that representations and discourse of motherhood have been largely shaped by patriarchy as well as cultural, political, and racial politics whose primary aim was to decrease the amount of public support for poor, single Black mothers. In spite of the pathological framing of Black mothers, most notably through the welfare queen and baby mama stereotypes, a substantial number of Hip Hop and R&B artists have provided a strong counter narrative to Black motherhood by highlighting their positive qualities, acknowledging their individual and collective struggle, and demanding that these women be respected

The Opie Recordings: What’s Left to be Heard?

This chapter presents an analysis of selected recordings from the Opie Collection of Children's Games in the National Sound Archive. It contextualises them with an account of the Opies' research approach, and identifies three themes emerging from the recordings which are not found in published work by the Opies. These are: the strong rleatinoship between children's media cultures and traditional play cultures; more extensive variation of words and music in the singing games; and more extreme examples of obscene and scatological rhymes

"Our Own Gayful Rest": A Postcolonial Archive

My subject is an archive of gay and lesbian activism that helps us understand a postcolonial counterpublic. The project I undertake is of historical recovery and theoretical elaboration of the specificities of postcolonial sexuality-based movements as necessary and long overdue supplements to global sexual activism

Music 2025 : The Music Data Dilemma: issues facing the music industry in improving data management

© Crown Copyright 2019Music 2025ʼ investigates the infrastructure issues around the management of digital data in an increasingly stream driven industry. The findings are the culmination of over 50 interviews with high profile music industry representatives across the sector and reflects key issues as well as areas of consensus and contrasting views. The findings reveal whilst there are great examples of data initiatives across the value chain, there are opportunities to improve efficiency and interoperability

An examination of automatic video retrieval technology on access to the contents of an historical video archive

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an initial understanding of the constraints that historical video collections pose to video retrieval technology and the potential that online access offers to both archive and users. Design/methodology/approach – A small and unique collection of videos on customs and folklore was used as a case study. Multiple methods were employed to investigate the effectiveness of technology and the modality of user access. Automatic keyframe extraction was tested on the visual content while the audio stream was used for automatic classification of speech and music clips. The user access (search vs browse) was assessed in a controlled user evaluation. A focus group and a survey provided insight on the actual use of the analogue archive. The results of these multiple studies were then compared and integrated (triangulation). Findings – The amateur material challenged automatic techniques for video and audio indexing, thus suggesting that the technology must be tested against the material before deciding on a digitisation strategy. Two user interaction modalities, browsing vs searching, were tested in a user evaluation. Results show users preferred searching, but browsing becomes essential when the search engine fails in matching query and indexed words. Browsing was also valued for serendipitous discovery; however the organisation of the archive was judged cryptic and therefore of limited use. This indicates that the categorisation of an online archive should be thought of in terms of users who might not understand the current classification. The focus group and the survey showed clearly the advantage of online access even when the quality of the video surrogate is poor. The evidence gathered suggests that the creation of a digital version of a video archive requires a rethinking of the collection in terms of the new medium: a new archive should be specially designed to exploit the potential that the digital medium offers. Similarly, users' needs have to be considered before designing the digital library interface, as needs are likely to be different from those imagined. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt to understand the advantages offered and limitations held by video retrieval technology for small video archives like those often found in special collections

Two sides of the ancient vase: eastern and western principles in the works of Keiko Abe

Keiko Abe is recognized as one of the leading marimba virtuosos of the Twentieth century. As a composer, she has been writing for solo marimba since the early 1960s and continues composing for the medium today. Her music became popular with Western percussionists after the publishing of Works for Marimba in 1987. This was her first compilation of works for the five-octave marimba. These pieces have become a constant source of repertoire for collegiate and professional performers. Despite Abe’s popularity and influence, little research has examined her compositions. This document features analysis and background of Abe and her music and is the beginning of this examination. This investigation acknowledges the influence that Eastern and Western musical culture has had in the shaping of Abe’s compositional style. These Eastern and Western cultural influences, and their manifestations in her music, will be identified through analyses of Variations on Japanese Children\u27s Songs (1982), Dream of the Cherry Blossoms (1984), and Marimba d\u27amore (1998). Readers will be presented with the inspiration for these compositions and the Eastern perspectives that invite an authentic performance. These Eastern perspectives include the Japanese concepts that she integrates into formal construction and the historical information behind the traditional Japanese music that is the basis for thematic material. The use of these Eastern elements within a Western approach to form will complete the framework that comprises Abe’s compositional style. Variations on Japanese Children’s Songs and Dream of the Cherry Blossoms will establish how Abe uses these Eastern concepts to construct the form of her compositions. Marimba d’amore will show the progression of her style in the compositional decade following Dream of the Cherry Blossoms. The complete narrative will provide valuable elements of performance practice and establish the compositional formula for one of the first historic figures to compose for the medium of solo marimba