Music

To the Editors of The Crimson:

While in general I found The Crimson's May 2 feature article on my friend and colleague Professor Eileen Southern sympathetic and informative, there was at least one misstatement of fact that needs correction, since it perpetuates myths about the Music Department that I am sure did not come from Eileen herself, and that oculd mislead students about course offerings and faculty in the department.

It is stated in the second paragraph of the article that Dr. Southern's departure "will leave the University without a scholar in ethnomusicology." The study of ethnomusicology as a branch of the department of music has had course offerings at the undergraduate and graudate levels for many years, taught by Pian, Prof. John M. Ward (retired last year), and myself. The chief upper-level course for those interested in the field is Music 185, Topics in Ethnomusicology, offered every year since 1979, most often jointly by Pian, Shapiro and Ward (thus affording an extraordinary student-teacher ratio!), and varying in its focus from year to year, so that it is repeatable only by students who so desire. It tends to attract not only music majors and graduate students, but also anthropology students and those from areas like Far Eastern Studies, Folklore and Mythology, and the like.

Topics in ethnomusicology will certainly continue (despite Ward's retirement and my own departure), taught by Professor Pian in the first semester and jointly by her and the new Assistant Professor, Graeme Boone, in the second semester. Several graduate students are pursuing doctoral dissertations in areas of ethnomusicology ranging from music of Oceania, to ancient Chinese music, to Afro-American songs of the 19th century. Undergraduate courses in Chinese music, American folk and popular genres, and Jazz will also continue to be offered. All of these courses are supported by the steadily expanding collections of the Archive of World Music and the Seeger Room of the Music Library.

Thus, despite the loss which the Music Department will suffer from Eileen Southern's and other retirements and departures, the study of ethnomusicology is alive and well at Harvard. Anne D. Shapiro   Assistant Professor of Music