UCLA Dept. of Ethnomusicology offers concert & lecture series

The UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology offers a series of events for the public's enjoyment throughout the year. Programs include performances of high artistic accomplishment in various genres directed by faculty of national and international renown, as well as academic lectures, conferences and symposia. For updated information and confirmation of events, the public may call 310-206-3033 or visit www.ethnomusic.ucla.edu.

For events at UCLA's Schoenberg Music Building, all-day parking ($10) and short-term parking (payable at pay stations) are available in Lot 2 (enter the campus at Hilgard and Westholme avenues).

FREE CONCERTS

Monday, March 8 7 p.m.
Student Showcase Concert Schoenberg Hall, Schoenberg Music Building

This showcase will feature UCLA jazz combos directed by Kenny Burrell, George Bohanon, Clayton Cameron, Charles Owens, Michele Weir and Charley Harrison.

Tuesday, March 9 7 p.m.
Big Band Concert Schoenberg Hall, Schoenberg Music Building

This concert features the UCLA Jazz Orchestra, directed by Charley Harrison; the UCLA Latin Jazz Ensemble, directed by Bobby Rodriguez; and the UCLA Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, directed by Kenny Burrell and James Newton.

FREE LECTURES

Wednesday, March 3 1–3 p.m.
Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy Colloquium Series: Tim Rice "What and Where Is Theory in Ethnomusicology?"
Schoenberg Music Building (B544)

Tim Rice is director of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and a professor of ethnomusicology.

Friday, March 5 1–3 p.m.
Steven Feld film presentation "A Por Por Funeral for Ashirifie"
Jan Popper Theater, Schoenberg Music Building

Steven Feld is distinguished professor of anthropology and music at the University of New Mexico. Since 1975, his acoustemology studies and visual/sound art projects and have focused on Papua New Guinea, Japan, southern Europe and Ghana. Feld will show and discuss his film "A Por Por Funeral for Ashirifie," part of his just-released DVD trilogy titled "Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra, Ghana."

Por Por music (pronounced "paw paw") is named for the honking sound of antique squeeze-bulb car horns, ubiquitous on the wooden lorries of Ghana's early transport history. Invented by members of the bus and truck drivers' union in the Accra township of La, the music incorporates the Por Por horns, along with bells, drums and voices and is performed at funerals of union transport workers.

This film documents the funeral performed in memory of one of the key members of the La Drivers' Union, Nelson Ashirifie Mensah, and discusses Por Por's relation to the New Orleans jazz funeral.