Post 2: My Music Ethnography Proposal

There are many music cultures in the Dallas area, from a variety of cultures. It was a hard choice on what to choose as the music culture that I wanted to study, however one particular music culture has been a part of the Dallas area for many years, and that music culture is the Classical western music. The first radio station in Texas was WRR (http://www.wrr101.com/?id=1 ), a classical music station, the Van Cliburn competition (http://www.cliburn.org/ ) is held in the Dallas area, a very large competition for pianists who, of course, play classical music. Studying this music culture sheds light on the entire DFW area culture and has been a part of the Dallas soundscape for generations.

I will be attending the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 on Friday February 19th. http://www.dallassymphony.com
The music presented by the DSO is unique to the Dallas area because it is played by Dallas area residence, supported by local DFW patrons, playing the music that Dallas area classical music enthusiasts want hear. This has created performances that are special Dallas, and experiences that only those who attend the DSO will experience.

Post1: (My Most Profound Musical Influence)

There are many different music cultures that constantly surround us, some we enjoy and are a part of, and others we barely recognize. I have had many musical influences, Classical Music, Classic Rock, Contemporary Christian Rock, Jazz and Nu Jazz, but of all my influences the most powerful, the one that shaped my understanding of music, and even served as my introduction into the world of music was the traditional hymns of the Lutheran Church. I spent much of childhood attending a Lutheran Church where my Grandmother was choir director and my aunt was the hand bell choir director. I listened and sang these hymns for many years, this was music to me. Throughout my life and throughout all the changes in my taste in music have still continued to love these hymns; the power of the organ, a staple of Lutheran hymns, the harmony of the choirs created a reverence that I personally have not found in other styles of music.

I have previously mentioned that I had an Aunt and Grandmother involved in directing the music, but in fact, much of my family has been a part of that music culture. My Grandfather sang in the choir, and my Grandmother on the other side of my family along with my Mother and Father sang and listened to these hymns both at and out of the Church setting. With this much influence, I was obviously deeply involved, from birth, with this music. Much of the hymns were written by Johann Sebastian Bach such as Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdWVfrZ3MeQ&feature=related. A very famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snj9yR5Ae_k&feature=related , was written by Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran.

These songs have been a part of my soundscape for as long as I have been alive, and are the songs which helped to create my own music culture.