Volume 50, Number 3 Summer 2016 An Ethnomusicologist’s Introduction to Washington, DC. Anne Rasmussen, SEM President ummer Greetings SEM Colleagues! This article fol- and providing local arrangements for our robust confer- Slows two streams I introduced in my winter and spring ence. columns. First, I hope to stimulate awareness of the in- Immediately following our SEM Board Meeting (May tersections of academic and public ethnomusicology and, 13-14), the American Folklife Center (AFC) held its three- second, to stir up enthusiasm for our upcoming meeting day meeting for their Board of Trustees in the Madison in Washington, DC. My piece begins with a view into the Building of the Library of Congress (May 15-17). This is business of SEM as it transpires in the contemporary the second biannual meeting of the AFC that I have at- moment and leads to some reflection on the overlapping tended in my stead as SEM President and I want to take a histories and objectives of our organization with those of few paragraphs of my column to describe my experience. the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Comprised of congressional appointees, presidential ap- I hosted the SEM Board meeting this May at the pointees, librarian appointees and ex-officio members like College of William and Mary’s Washington Center and I myself, being a “trustee” of the American Folklife Center want to first thank board members for their excellent spirit at the Library of Congress is an automatic gig for the SEM and collaborative productivity. We worked hard and we President. The SEM President (along with the president had fun! I proposed that we meet in Washington because of the American Folklore Society) is invited to attend and of its practical location and so that we could host a Friday contribute to the biannual meetings of the 16 member, afternoon “mixer” for our colleagues who are involved in AFC Board and to represent the interests of the Society the local arrangements of the SEM 2016 Annual Meeting. for Ethnomusicology in that forum. All told, an SEM presi- Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the George dent will attend four AFC Board meetings at the Library of Washington University will co-host our meeting, Congress during their term. November 10-13, 2016. Local Arrangements Commit- This is a particularly exciting time to be involved be- tee co-chairs, Terry Liu from the National Endowment for cause the AFC is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this the Arts and Jonathan Dueck from George Washington year with a calendar of special events. Among the con- University, lead a pack of enthusiastic participants from certs, symposia, workshops, and projects that it plans is institutions in the area, all the SEM Pre-Conference, of whom are contributing “Soundings: Public Sector unique local knowledge, in- Ethnomusicology in the 21st novative programming, prac- Century” that it will host on tical hospitality, and gener- November 9, 2016. Co- ous funding. This consortium chaired by Nancy Groce and of area hosts exemplifies a Judith Gray, both of them model of meeting produc- “AFC Folklife Specialists,” tion that is an option for the the pre-conference promises future in situations where it to describe and demonstrate would be difficult for a single [continued on page 3] institution to take on hosting The SEM Board and LAC Consortium in Washington DC on the Balcony of the William and Mary Washington Center, May 13, 2016. Pictured left to right -- Back: Eliot Bates (SEM Board); Ben Harbert (Georgetown University), Gabriel Solis (SEM Board), Jonathan Dueck (George Washington University and SEM LAC co-chair), Nate Gailey-Schlitz (University of Maryland, student volunteer coordinator). Middle: Sarah Weiss (SEM Board), Larry Witzleben (University of Maryland), Judith Gray (American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, SEM Pre-Conference co- chair), Front: Bev Diamond (SEM Board), Travis Jackson, (SEM Board), Nancy Groce (American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, SEM Pre- Conference co-chair), Sean Williams and Sonia Seeman (SEM Board), Terry Liu (National Endowment for the Arts and SEM LAC Co-chair), Anne Rasmussen (SEM Board), Kendra Salois (American University), and Steve Stuempfle (SEM Board). Conspicuously absent for the photo:Atesh Sonneborn (Smithsonian Folkways). Photo by Adam Anthony, Director, William and Mary Washington Center Features Announcements News Our Back Pages An Ethnomusicologist’s SEM 2016 Member News Sound Matters Introduction to Washington, D.C. Preliminary Events Schedule Alan Lomax’s Michigan and Ethnomusicology Today Transportation Wisconsin Recordings Conference Calendar SEM News Editor’s Note Internet Resources The Society for Ethnomusicology, SEM Newsletter Gordon Ross Thompson, Editor, SEM Newsletter SEM Membership Department of Music, Skidmore College he object of the Society for Ethnomusicology is the Saratoga Springs, New York 12866 USA advancement of research and study in the field of [email protected] T ethnomusicology, for which purpose all interested per- Jennifer Milioto Matsue, Editor, SEM Newsletter sons, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual Music Department, Union College orientation, or physical ability are encouraged to become Schenectady, New York 12302 USA members. 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Yale NUS College, 16 College Ave. West ISSN 0036-1291 #01-220 Singapore 138527 2 An Ethnomusicologist’s Introduction [continued from page 1] public ethnomusicology through an innovative format the Southern Appalachian and mid-Atlantic – both as a involving a variety of colleagues in allied ALT-AC fields. scholar and performer. And I, a mid-westerner of Scan- (ALT-AC = alternative to academia). dinavian and Northern European heritage, and with a The Library of Congress is situated directly behind the solid formation from the New England Conservatory Prep United States Capitol, which stands at the East end of the School,