Vernacular Music Center

Last updated
The Vernacular Music Center at Texas Tech University
Vernacular Music Center logo.jpg
Address
Vernacular Music Center
School of Music MS2033, Lubbock TX 79409

Flag of the United States.svg Lubbock
,
TX

United States
Coordinates 33°34′51″N101°52′28″W / 33.580916°N 101.874512°W / 33.580916; -101.874512
Information
Type Public
MottoWe live in the whole world of music. (paraphrasing Henry Cowell)
Established2000
Executive DirectorChristopher J Smith
EnrollmentApproximately 540
Campus Lubbock
Website http://vernacularmusiccenter.org

The Vernacular Music Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, is a center for in-depth and comparative research, study, teaching and advocacy on behalf of the world's vernacular musics and dance. The Center was founded at Texas Tech in the Fall of 2000 under Executive Director Dr Christopher J Smith. The VMC states that it "engages with folk music, traditional music and dance from around the world: vernacular idioms that are learned, taught, shared, and passed-on by ear and in the memory." [1] The term "vernacular" is employed in its title in order to allude to "vernacular languages"—those languages used for commonplace communication—and in order to avoid potentially limiting terms such as "folk," "traditional," or "non-Western."

Contents

The VMC offers a range of programs, partnerships, scholarships, certificates and activities and events for students, educators and the public.

History, naming and purpose

The Vernacular Music Center was founded at Texas Tech University in the winter of 2000 under Executive Director Dr Christopher J Smith. [2] [3] [4] Professor Roger Landes of the TTU School of Music became Associate Director in 2014. The VMC is a center for in-depth and comparative research, study, teaching and advocacy on behalf of the world's vernacular musics and dance. The VMC states that it "engages with folk music, traditional music and dance from around the world: vernacular idioms that are learned, taught, shared, and passed-on by ear and in the memory." [1]

The Center was founded on the model of the Indiana University Latin American Music Center and Early Music Institute and considers its peer institutions to include the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki), the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (Limerick), and the Royal College of Music (Glasgow). The term "vernacular" is employed in its title in order to explicitly, directly allude to "vernacular languages"—those languages used for commonplace communication—and in order to avoid potentially limiting terms such as "folk," "traditional," or "non-Western." [5]

The Center partners with campus and community groups on the local, regional, national, and international level. These include: Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, the Country Dance and Song Society, [6] [7] the Bay Area Country Dance Society, and others. [8]

Programs for students

For students: The VMC sponsors a range of activities—courses, [9] ensembles, [10] sponsored organizations, [11] scholarships, [12] [13] study abroad, [14] summer courses, and others.

The VMC's faculty and affiliate faculty offer a range of courses cross-listed under musicology, ethnomusicology, music theory, folklore, anthropology, and other fine arts & humanities disciplines.

The VMC sponsors The Tech Irish Set-Dancers (Participatory social dance from Ireland) Caprock Morris (Ritual dance from the Welsh Borders) Dancers with Soul: Texas Tech Hip-Hop Team, Mind freak!, The Caprock Ceili Band (Irish dance music) Caprock English Country Dancers (Social dance from Jane Austen, the BBC, and the Brontes), and The Playford Band (Instrumental dance music) [15]

The VMC sponsors students engaged in vernacular music and dance studies. These include a scholarship program [12] [13] VMC Scholarship and an "Outreach Scholar" program [16]

In addition to serving on the TTU Study Abroad Competitive Scholarship committee, VMC faculty also lead study abroad experiences in Ireland, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Low Countries, with expanded program offerings in Kenya and Zimbabwe on the horizon. [17]

The VMC also offers certificates in Early Music, World Music and Community Arts Entrepreneurship [18]

Programs for educators

The VMC provides a range of presentations, consultation, in-service professional development resources for Fine Arts specialists: locally, regionally, and across the country. VMC teaching staff and affiliates include expert pedagogues specializing in folk and traditional music and dance from: northern and eastern Europe; northern, western, and southern Africa; the Americas; the Indian subcontinent; and Polynesia, in addition to film music and a very wide range of popular and vernacular musics from the USA.

Programs for the general public

The VMC welcomes participation by members of the community and general public across a wide range of its ensembles, sponsored groups, and activities, but has also developed and partnered with initiatives specifically designed to facilitate community participation. [19] [20]

Events

The VMC offers a range of monthly, weekly, and annual events. Most are musical, vocal and dance performances. [19] [21] [22] Almost all open to the general public. [23]

Funding structure

The VMC depends for funding (for guest artists, scholarships, young-professional training, event-production costs, ensemble travel, and all other programming) upon a network of supporters. All guest artist concerts and master-classes are free & open to the campus and community. Receipts from ticketed events are 100% allocated to support of VMC programming.

Alumni

VMC alumni have gone on to graduate programs, internships, and professional appointments in a range of situations, including university programs, arts series, and the private sector. VMC alumni have matriculated into programs including: Claremont Graduate School, the University of Memphis, the University of Oregon, Indiana University, and others. VMC alumni have held internships at the Smithsonian Institution and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.

Staff

Vernacular Music Center staff includes: [24]

References & notes

  1. 1 2 "What we do - The Vernacular Music Center". 2015-02-01. Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  2. ↑ "Director". The Roots Music Institute. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  3. ↑ "Holding the Lotus to the Rock: Creating Vernacular Music Community(s) in Red-State America - College Music Symposium". 2013-10-04. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  4. ↑ "Texas Tech University :: TTU Profiles :: Christopher J. Smith". Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  6. ↑ "Rima at Camp—part 6: English & American Week at Pinewoods, and more!". Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2013. Retrieved July 2013
  7. ↑ http://www.cdss.org/member_details/items/371.html Retrieved July 2013
  8. ↑ http://www.nfaonline.org/Publications/Convention-Program-Books/2007ProgramBook.pdf 35th Annual Convention of The National Flute Association Albuquerque, New Mexico Retrieved July 2013
  9. ↑ "Courses". The Vernacular Music Center. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  10. ↑ "Ensembles". The Vernacular Music Center. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  11. ↑ http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/sponsored-groups.html Retrieved July 2013
  12. 1 2 "Scholarships". The Vernacular Music Center.
  13. 1 2 http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/the-vmc-scholarship.html Retrieved July 2013
  14. ↑ "Study Abroad". The Vernacular Music Center. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  15. ↑ http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/sponsored-groups.html Retrieved July 2013
  16. ↑ http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/outreach-scholars.html Retrieved July 2013 Outreach Scholars program
  17. ↑ "Study Abroad partnerships - The Vernacular Music Center". 2018-10-01. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  18. ↑ "Certificates". The Vernacular Music Center. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  19. 1 2 Writer, Nikki Culver Staff (2013-02-14). "Students dance in regency ball". The Daily Toreador. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  20. ↑ Gulick, Joe. "Irish music and dancing livens up a northwest Lubbock neighborhood Tuesday". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  21. ↑ http://lubbockonline.com/node/97293/photos Lubbock Avalanche-Journal By Stephen Spillman Retrieved July 2013
  22. ↑ Staff Writer. "Musical summer block party to benefit Texas Tech Vernacular Music Center". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  23. ↑ Walden, Ariel (2013-01-24). "Texas Tech Vernacular Music Center And Moonlight Musicals To Host World Premiere Show "Dancing at the Crossroads" [AUDIO]". News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  24. 1 2 "Staff". The Vernacular Music Center. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  25. ↑ http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/37nzk8md9780252037764.html Retrieved July 2013
  26. ↑ Smith, Christopher J. (2012). "Irish Traditional Music on Audio Recordings: A Core Historical Collection". Journal of American Folklore. 125 (497): 343–358. doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.125.497.0343. Project MUSE   487396.
  27. ↑ "Texas Tech University School of Music: Christopher J. Smith". Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013. Retrieved July 2013

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University</span> Public university in Lubbock, Texas, US

Texas Tech University is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on October 2, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University System. As of Fall 2023, the university enrolled 40,944 students, making it the sixth-largest university in Texas. Over 25% of its undergraduate student population identifies as Hispanic, so the university has been designated a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTXT-FM</span> Student radio station at Texas Tech University

KTXT-FM is a non-commercial educational college radio station licensed to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, United States. KTXT-FM is licensed to broadcast 35,000 watts of power to Lubbock and the surrounding South Plains of West Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center</span> Public health sciences university in Lubbock, Texas, US

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) is a public medical school based in Lubbock, Texas, with additional campuses in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, and the Permian Basin. TTUHSC serves more than 100 counties in the western portion of Texas. The university is a separate institution from Texas Tech University; both universities are among five universities that are part of the Texas Tech University System. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, founded in 1969 as a branch campus of TTUHSC, became a separate institution in 2013.

KCBD is a television station licensed to Lubbock, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned Gray Television alongside Wolfforth-licensed CW+ affiliate KLCW-TV and four low-power stations—MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYL-LD, Snyder-licensed Heroes & Icons affiliate KABI-LD, Class A Telemundo affiliate KXTQ-CD and MeTV affiliate KLBB-LD. Gray also provides certain services to Fox affiliate KJTV-TV and low-power Class A independent KJTV-CD under a shared services agreement (SSA) with SagamoreHill Broadcasting. The stations share studios at 98th Street and University Avenue in south Lubbock; KCBD's transmitter is located at its former studios near the interchange of I-27 and Slaton Highway.

<i>The Daily Toreador</i>

The Daily Toreador, also known as The DT, is the student newspaper of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The newspaper was first published in 1925 as The Toreador and later changed its name to The University Daily before arriving at the current name in 2005. All content for The DT is produced by a staff around 40 members including editors, reporters and photographers. The DT has received numerous regional and national awards, including a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold crown award, two Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver crown awards, and two Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award finalists. As well, the paper counts five Pulitzer Prizes and four winners amongst its former staff members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University System</span> Public university system in Texas

The Texas Tech University System is a Public university system in Texas with five member universities. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the Texas Tech University System is a nearly $3 billion enterprise focused on advancing higher education, health care, research, and outreach with approximately 21,000 employees, more than 63,000 students, nearly 400,000 alumni and an endowment valued at $1.7 billion. In its short history, the TTU System has grown tremendously with 24 academic locations statewide and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso</span>

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso is a public university focused on the health sciences and located in El Paso, Texas. It was founded in 1969 as a branch campus of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and became a separate institution in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University School of Law</span> Public law school in Lubbock, Texas, US

The Texas Tech University School of Law is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The school offers three academic centers, ten dual-degree programs, a nationally recognized legal writing program, and a competitive advocacy program that has earned 45 national and international championships. Additionally, third-year law students may participate in one of the school's eight clinical programs, which allow students to gain real-world experience while providing free legal representation to low-income individuals. The school focuses on forming practical lawyers who are ready to practice law upon graduation. The student population is approximately 60.4% male and 39.6% female.

The Rawls College of Business is the business school of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Rawls Business offers curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students and received its initial business accreditation in 1958 from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Established in 1942, Texas Tech's business school was originally known as the Division of Commerce. In 1956, the school was renamed the College of Business Administration. Following a $25 million gift from alumnus Jerry S. Rawls in 2000, the school was renamed as Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huckabee College of Architecture</span> Architecture school at Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University College of Architecture is the college of architecture at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The architecture program has existed at Texas Tech University since 1927. Texas Tech's Master of Architecture is a professional degree and it is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). On November 30, 2022, the school announced it would be named the Huckabee College of Architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication</span>

Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication provides faculty, staff and students opportunities to study communications-related disciplines. The college is located on the sprawling Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock, Texas. TTU CoMC features seven undergraduate programs as well as a doctoral program and three master's degree programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts</span> Arts school of Texas Tech University

The J. T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts is a college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Prior to 2002, the college's departments existed within the College of Arts & Sciences. In 2016, the college was renamed to honor the nearly $70 million in donations to the university by the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Foundation.

TTU K-12 is an approved learning school from kindergarten through twelfth grade program in Texas, offering high school diplomas. It is operated by Texas Tech University, which is located in Lubbock. TTU K-12 offers individual courses (supplemental), credit by exams (CBEs), homeschool curriculum, bulk testing services, and a full-time Texas Diploma Program that includes high school, middle school and elementary school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Texas Tech University</span>

The history of Texas Tech University dates back to the early 1880s, but the university was not established until 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Tech Red Raiders golf</span>

The Texas Tech Red Raiders men's and women's golf teams represents Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech. The teams compete as members of the Big 12 Conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Texas Tech University School of Music is the music school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Previously a department of the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Music has been within the Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts since the college's founding in 2004.

Brad Rogers is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2017 NFL season, wearing uniform number 126.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.