From the Archives

The UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive is thrilled to announce that the first 54 recordings from our collections are now available at California Light and Sound Collection on the Internet Archive. 

As probably everyone knows, Mantle Hood (1918-2005) was the Founder and DIrector of the UCLA Institute of Ethnomusicology.  Hood was on the UCLA Faculty from 1956 to 1975.  As Chris Waterman said to the LA Times in 2005, "Mantle Ho

June is African American Music Appreciation Month.  As the Presidential Proclamation explains in part: 

The Music of Persia Performance Group was founded in 1959-1960, under the direction of Hormoz Farhat (now Emeritus Professor of Music, Trinity College, University of Dublin).  Professor Farhat is perhaps best known for his book, The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music (Cambridge University Press, 2004), now available on Google Boo

Newsreel archive British Pathé has uploaded its entire collection of 85,000 historic films, in high resolution, to its YouTube channel.  This unprecedented release of vintage news reports and cinemagazines is part of a drive to make the archive more accessible to viewers all over the world.

D.K. Wilgus and Wayland D. Hand established Folklore studies at UCLA, and together founded the Folklore and Mythology Program in 1965.  Wilgus was the Program’s first chair and served in that position for 17 years.  During his tenure at UCLA, Wilgus built an archive of folksong and folk music of over 8,000 commercial recordings and 3,000 field recordings. These recordings are now part of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive.

Applied ethnomusicology is making inroads towards recognition as a valued contribution within professional organizations beside traditional academic research and/or teaching careers. Its embrace by some organizations is reflected by publication opportunities dedicated to the topic and by active branches of members with this shared interest.

The Music of Japan ensemble began in 1956 as a gagaku group led by then-graduate student Robert Garfias. 

The UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive is pleased to announce that 50 recordings from our collections have been accepted into the California Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP). 

Christopher Kirkley is an archivist, artist, curator, and occasional DJ who runs the project Sahel Sounds.