Kay Kaufman Shelemay | |
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Title | G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music Professor of African and African American Studies |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Harvard University |
Kay Kaufman Shelemay is the G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. [1] She received her PhD in Musicology from the University of Michigan and won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007. [2] Shelemay was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2013. [3]
Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin,however,often it is applied to a genre,a distinct modal system that is pentatonic,with characteristically long intervals between some notes.
The Beta Israel,or Ethiopian Jews,are an African community of the Jewish diaspora. They coalesced in the Kingdom of Aksum and the Ethiopian Empire,which is currently divided between the Amhara Region and Tigray Region in modern-day Ethiopia. After the founding of the State of Israel in 1948,most of the Beta Israel immigrated to Israel or were evacuated from Africa through several initiatives by the Israeli government.
Ejigayehu Shibabaw,known by her stage name Gigi,is an Ethiopian singer. She has performed the music of Ethiopia in combination with a wide variety of other genres,often in collaboration with her former husband Bill Laswell,a bassist and producer.
Sigd,also Mehlella or Amata Saww,is one of the unique holidays of the Beta Israel community,and is celebrated on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Marcheshvan. Since 2008,it has been an official Israeli state holiday.
The Hager Fikir Theatre is a theatre in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia. It is one of the oldest and foremost theatre in Ethiopian history;hosting as multipurpose artistic venue over half decades.
Sarah Anne Coakley is an English Anglican priest,systematic theologian,and philosopher of religion with interdisciplinary interests. She commenced as an honorary professor at the Logos Institute,the University of St Andrews,after retiring from the position of Norris–Hulse Professor of Divinity (2007–2018) at the University of Cambridge. She is also an honorary fellow at the Australian Catholic University,both in Melbourne and Rome.
Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent,as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. The largest Ethiopian American community is in the Washington,D.C. metropolitan area,with some estimates claiming a population of over 200,000 in the area;other large Ethiopian communities are found in Minneapolis–Saint Paul,Las Vegas,Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue,Denver,the San Francisco Bay Area,Los Angeles,Salt Lake City,Columbus,and South Dakota.
An Azmari is an entertainer who sings and plays traditional string instruments of the Ethiopian Highlands. Its comparable to medieval European minstrels or bard or West African griots.
Tizita is one of the Pentatonic scales or Qañat of the Amhara ethnic group.
Peter Jeffery is an American musicologist.
Haymanot is the branch of Judaism which is practiced by the Beta Israel,also known as Ethiopian Jews.
Bete Amhara was a historical region located in north-central Ethiopia,covering most of the later Wollo Province,along with significant parts of North Shewa. The state had 30 districts,including Ambassel,Lakomelza,Laikueyta,Tatakuyeta,Akamba,Ambassit,Atronsa Mariam,Genete,Feresbahir,Amba Gishen,Gishe Bere,Wasal,Wagada,Mecana-Selasse,Tabor,Tedbaba Mariam,Zoramba,Daje,Demah,Ephrata and Ewarza. The region is the source of much of Ethiopia's clothing,eating culture,language,and education.
Ethiopian liturgical chant,or Zema,is a form of Christian liturgical chant practiced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The related musical notation is known as melekket. The tradition began after the sixth century and is traditionally identified with Saint Yared. Through history,the Ethiopian liturgical chants have undergone an evolution similar to that of European liturgical chants.
Musicians under China's Ming dynasty had a diverse status,with many musicians having low social positions. At the same time,musicians could also enjoy great status,like in the case of the emperor Hongzhi who was very well known for being a proponent of music. Most musicians however,were not part of imperial or gentry family and Ming music culture was characterized by four distinct but closely interrelated subcultures. These were the court,literati,religious,and commoner music subcultures. The lives of these different types of musicians were incredibly different,but songs were a shared art form that demonstrated the ideals of both the elites and commoners.
The history of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages roughly spans the period from the decline of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 7th century to the Gondarine period beginning in the 17th century. Aksum had been a powerful empire during late antiquity,appearing in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and mentioned by Iranian prophet Mani as one of the "four great kingdoms on earth",along with the Sasanian Empire of Persia,the Roman Empire,and China's Three Kingdoms. The kingdom was an integral part of the trade route between Rome and the Indian subcontinent,had substantial cultural ties to the Greco-Roman world,and was a very early adopter of Christianity under Ezana of Aksum in the mid-4th century. The use of "Ethiopia" to refer to the region dates back to the 4th century. At its height,the kingdom spanned what is now Eritrea,northern Ethiopia,eastern Sudan,Yemen and the southern part of what is now Saudi Arabia. However,by the 7th century,the kingdom had begun a slow decline,for which several possible political,economic,and ecological reasons have been proposed. This decline,which has been termed the "Post-Aksumite Period",saw extreme loss of territory and lasted until the ascension of the Zagwe dynasty.
Telela Kebede is a retired Ethiopian singer who gained popularity during Ethiopia's 1960s and 1970s ‘‘Golden Era’’of music.
Marcia Alice Herndon was an American ethnomusicologist and anthropologist. She specialized in the ways culture and music reflect each other. Herndon grew up in a family of country music performers in North Carolina. After completing her master's degree in 1964 at Tulane University,she performed classical music for several years. Earning a PhD in anthropology and ethnomusicology in 1971,she taught at the University of Texas at Austin,the University of California,Berkeley,and the University of Maryland. She is widely known for her contributions to Native American music studies with books such as Native American Music, as well as collaborating on Music as Culture,and Music,Gender,and Culture,which analyze the overlapping of musical forms and cultural structures.
Orthodox Tewahedo music refers to sacred music of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The music was long associated with Zema (chant),developed by the six century composer Yared. It is essential part of liturgical service in the Church and classified into fourteen anaphoras,with the normal use being the Twelve Apostles.
Sirvart Vartan Poladian was an Armenian-American ethnomusicologist and librarian.
Popular music in Ethiopia started in 20th century with the advent of western influence and mostly blended with the traditional Ethiopian music genre. The first band was formed in 1924,which came from Armenia and served as the royal band of Emperor Haile Selassie. After the World War II,large orchestras accompanied the singers such as Army Band,Police Band,and Imperial Bodyguard Band. From 1960s to 1970s,the Ethiopian Golden Age of music altered the popular music industry with numerous singers marked their popularity such as Tilahun Gessesse,Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete.