The Vernacular Music Center at
Texas Tech University in
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, is a center for in-depth and comparative research, study, teaching and advocacy on behalf of the world's vernacular musics and dance. The Center was founded at Texas Tech in the Fall of 2000 under Executive Director
Dr Christopher J Smith. The VMC states that it "engages with
folk music,
traditional music and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
from around the world:
vernacular idioms that are learned, taught, shared, and passed-on by ear and in the memory."
[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/what-we-do.html ] The term "
vernacular" is employed in its title in order to allude to "
vernacular languages"—those languages used for commonplace communication—and in order to avoid potentially limiting terms such as "folk," "traditional," or "non-Western."
The VMC offers a range of programs, partnerships, scholarships, certificates and activities and events for students, educators and the public.
History, naming and purpose
The Vernacular Music Center was founded at
Texas Tech University in the winter of 2000 under Executive Director Dr Christopher J Smith.
[http://www.rootsmusicinstitute.com/director.html Retrieved July 2013][http://symposium.music.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=8922:holding-the-lotus-to-the-rock-creating-vernacular-music-communitys-in-red-state-america&Itemid=133 Retrieved July 2013] Professor Roger Landes of the TTU School of Music became Associate Director in 2014. The VMC is a center for in-depth and comparative research, study, teaching and advocacy on behalf of the world's vernacular musics and dance. The VMC states that it "engages with
folk music,
traditional music and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
from around the world:
vernacular idioms that are learned, taught, shared, and passed-on by ear and in the memory."
[
The Center was founded on the model of the Indiana Universitybr>Latin American Music Center]
an
Early Music Institute
and considers its peer institutions to include the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki), the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance
The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accord ...
(Limerick), and the Royal College of Music (Glasgow). The term " vernacular" is employed in its title in order to explicitly, directly allude to " vernacular languages"—those languages used for commonplace communication—and in order to avoid potentially limiting terms such as "folk," "traditional," or "non-Western."
The Center partners with campus and community groups on the local, regional, national, and international level. These include: Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, the Country Dance and Song Society
The Country Dance and Song Society (abbreviated CDSS) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote participatory dance, music, and song with English and North American roots.
History
CDSS began in 1915 as a series of American chapters of t ...
,[http://www.cdss.org/member_details/items/371.html Retrieved July 2013] the Bay Area Country Dance Society, and others.[http://www.nfaonline.org/Publications/Convention-Program-Books/2007ProgramBook.pdf 35th Annual Convention of The National Flute Association Albuquerque, New Mexico Retrieved July 2013]
Programs for students
For students: The VMC sponsors a range of activities—courses,[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/courses.html courses Retrieved July 2013] ensembles,[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/ensembles.html ensembles Retrieved July 2013] sponsored organizations,[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/sponsored-groups.html Retrieved July 2013] scholarships,[ study abroad,][http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/study-abroad.html Retrieved July 2013] summer courses, and others.
The VMC's faculty and affiliate faculty offer a range of courses cross-listed under musicology
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
, ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
, music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
, folklore, anthropology, and other fine arts & humanities disciplines.
The VMC sponsors The Tech Irish Set-Dancers (Participatory social dance from Ireland) Caprock Morris (Ritual dance from the Welsh Borders) Dancers with Soul: Texas Tech Hip-Hop Team, Mind freak!, The Caprock Ceili Band (Irish dance music) Caprock English Country Dancers (Social dance from Jane Austen, the BBC, and the Brontes), and The Playford Band (Instrumental dance music) [http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/sponsored-groups.html Retrieved July 2013]
The VMC sponsors students engaged in vernacular music and dance studies. These include a scholarship program [http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/the-vmc-scholarship.html Retrieved July 2013] VMC Scholarship and an "Outreach Scholar" program [http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/outreach-scholars.html Retrieved July 2013 Outreach Scholars program]
In addition to serving on the TTU Study Abroad Competitive Scholarship committee, VMC faculty also lead study abroad experiences in Ireland, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Low Countries, with expanded program offerings in Kenya and Zimbabwe on the horizon.[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/study-abroad-partnerships.html ]
The VMC also offers certificates in Early Music, World Music and Community Arts Entrepreneurship [http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/certificates.html Certificates]
Programs for educators
The VMC provides a range of presentations, consultation, in-service professional development resources for Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
specialists: locally, regionally, and across the country. VMC teaching staff and affiliates include expert pedagogues specializing in folk and traditional music and dance from: northern and eastern Europe; northern, western, and southern Africa; the Americas; the Indian subcontinent; and Polynesia, in addition to film music and a very wide range of popular and vernacular musics from the USA.
Programs for the general public
The VMC welcomes participation by members of the community and general public across a wide range of its ensembles, sponsored groups, and activities, but has also developed and partnered with initiatives specifically designed to facilitate community participation.[http://www.dailytoreador.com/lavida/article_d1edf492-7730-11e2-a218-0019bb30f31a.html ''Students dance in regency ball'' By Nikki Culver Staff writer Daily Toreador February 14, 2013 Retrieved July 2013]
Events
The VMC offers a range of monthly, weekly, and annual events. Most are musical, vocal and dance performances.[http://lubbockonline.com/node/97293/photos Lubbock Avalanche-Journal By Stephen Spillman Retrieved July 2013][http://lubbockonline.com/go/music/2012-07-16/musical-summer-block-party-benefit-texas-tech-vernacular-music-center#.UfZ-Lqyt8Ro ''Musical summer block party to benefit Texas Tech Vernacular Music Center'' Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Retrieved July 2013] Almost all open to the general public.
Funding structure
The VMC depends for funding (for guest artists, scholarships, young-professional training, event-production costs, ensemble travel, and all other programming) upon a network of supporters. All guest artist concerts and master-classes are free & open to the campus and community. Receipts from ticketed events are 100% allocated to support of VMC programming.
Alumni
VMC alumni have gone on to graduate programs, internships, and professional appointments in a range of situations, including university programs, arts series, and the private sector. VMC alumni have matriculated into programs including: Claremont Graduate School, the University of Memphis, the University of Oregon, Indiana University, and others. VMC alumni have held internships at the Smithsonian Institution and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.
Staff
Vernacular Music Center staff includes:[http://www.vernacularmusiccenter.org/staff.html Staff Retrieved July 2013]
* Dr Christopher J Smith, executive director[http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_american_folklore/v125/125.497.smith.pdf Retrieved July 2013][ Retrieved July 2013]
* Professor Roger Landes, associate director [
]
References & notes
External links
Official siteFacebook pageSchool of MusicTexas Tech UniversityTedX talk by Dr Smith "The Old Ways"Google Plus
{{DEFAULTSORT:TTU Vernacular Music Center
Music schools in Texas
Texas Tech University
2000 establishments in Texas