Farzaneh's Recommendations
This is a list of resources mentioned by Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi during her interview with Claire Latosinsky. The resources are listed alphabetically.
American Musicological Society
The American Musicological Society (AMS) was founded in 1934. Now in 2021, its mission is "to expand understanding of music and sound through research, teaching, learning, and advocacy." The AMS runs various programs to achieve its mission, including performances, lectures, workshops, grants, and publications.
#AMSSOWHITE
This hashtag, meaning "American Musicological Society: So White," appeared across social media in 2016 following the publication of an article by Pierpaolo Polzonetti. The article, "Don Giovanni Goes to Prison: Teaching Opera Behind Bars," was criticized for ignoring the racial inequality of prison populations in the US. The discussion quickly expanded to include criticism of racial inequality and systemic discrimination within musicology as a whole. The hashtag appeared in numerous Tweets, and was discussed in musicology blogs extensively.
Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Committee
The Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Committee at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music was created during the summer of 2020 as the Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Workgroup, co-chaired by Farzaneh Hemmasi and Aiyun Huang. The Committee has established its mandate "to create a culture of mutual respect whereby everyone can safely express themselves, engage with each other, and respect one another's differences."
You can learn more at their website.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé is an American singer-songwriter and actress who became popular as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, an R&B group. Since then she has had a hugely successful solo career, as well as being an outspoken advocate for civil rights and racial justice, for instance, with the directory of Black owned businesses on her website.
Homecoming
This documentary film was released on Netflix in 2019. It follows the creative process which led to Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance.
Dr. Bina Ann John
Dr. Bina Ann John is an assistant professor of Music Education, Early Childhood, and Psychology at the Universty of Toronto Faculty of Music. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Piano Skills for Music Education, Psychological Foundations of Music Education, Social Psychology of Music, Developmental Psychology, Curriculum Inquiry, and Advanced Topics in Music in Childhood.
Dr. John's research interests currently focus on the intersection of music, youth, and the criminal justice system. You can also find her thesis, title "Music in early childhood and consciousness" in the Universty of Toronto Libraries.
Dr. Danielle Brown
Danielle Brown, Ph.D. is an artist, scholar, and entrepreneur. Brown earned a doctorate in Music from New York University with a concentration in ethnomusicology and specialization in the music of Latin America and the Caribbean. She is the Founder and CEO of My People Tell Stories, LLC, a company she started based on the premise that people of colour in particular, and marginalized people in general, need to tell and interpret their own stories. Originally designed as a hub to house Brown’s artistic and scholarly works, My People Tell Stories has expanded its reach to provide education and consulting services to educators, businesses, and others seeking to dismantle the effects of systemic racism in the field of music.
Read her "Open Letter on Racism in Music Studies" here.
John Coltrane
John Coltrane was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader, and composer who lived from 1926 to 1967. Over a 30 year career as a saxophonist, Coltrane played with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, and the Miles Davis Quintet. In 1960 he founded his first band.
Oberlin College and Conservatory
Oberlin College and Conservatory is an American institustion and "historically, was a leader in the education of African Americans". The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a well-regarded institution in the musicology field, and as an educational institution its mission is to "educate students for lives of intellectual, musical, and artistic rigor and breadth".
Philip Ewell
"I am an associate professor of music theory at Hunter College of the City University of New York, where I am the Director of Graduate Studies in the Music Department. I am also on the faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center, one of the top doctoral-granting music institutions in the country. My research specialties include critical-race studies, Russian music and music theory, Russian opera, modal theory, and hiphop and popular music. I have writings published in many top journals. As cellist, I perform both classical and contemporary music, playing either my acoustic cellos or my five-string electric cello."
Read more on Philip Ewell's website.
You can read Ewell's article, "Music Theory and the White Racial Frame" here.
Society for Music Theory
"The Society for Music Theory promotes the development of and engagement with music theory as a scholarly and pedagogical discipline. We construe this discipline broadly as embracing all approaches, from conceptual to practical, and all perspectives, including those of the scholar, listener, composer, performer, teacher, and student. The Society is committed to fostering diversity, inclusivity, and gender equity in the field."
Learn more about their programs on their website.
Society of Ethnomusicology
"The Society for Ethnomusicology is a U.S.-based organization with an international membership of approximately 1,800 individuals dedicated to the study of all forms of music from diverse humanistic and social scientific perspectives. As a network of scholars, educators, students, musicians, activists, curators, and other professionals that reaches across countries, disciplines, and institutions, SEM serves as an inclusive forum for the exchange of knowledge about the world’s music and for advocacy on behalf of musicians and their communities."
Learn more about their programs on their website.