Lunch & Learn: Southeast Asian Music Ensembles
Southeast Asian music ensembles have been prominent in UCLA’s Ethnomusicology program since its beginnings in the 1950s. Central to the program was the novel idea of bi-musicality: that researchers of foreign music ought to learn to perform in the traditions they study. Join us for a presentation by Supeena Insee Adler and PhD candidate Otto Stuparitz on ensembles from Bali, Java, Philippines, and Thailand—among the first Asian ensembles established at UCLA. Learn about the history of these instruments, including the spectacular, ornately decorated Mon gong circle exhibited at the Fowler now; and discover how they continue to enrich the lives of students, faculty, and community members. Otto Stuparitz is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He has received numerous fieldwork and archival research grants in Indonesia and the Netherlands, as well as a Student of the Month award from the Society of Ethnomusicology. For 15 years, he has studied traditional and popular music of Indonesia; he also helped revive UCLA’s Javanese gamelan ensemble. Stuparitz is currently completing a dissertation on the role of Indonesian popular music sound archives in the historiography of jazz in Indonesia. In May 2021, he released a recording with Sundanese jazz and traditional musicians entitled, Bluesukan. Supeena Insee Adler is an adjunct assistant professor, World Musical Instrument Collection curator, and director of the Music of Thailand Ensemble at UCLA. She received her BFA in Thai classical music from Mahasarakham University, Thailand; and her MA in Southeast Asian Studies and PhD in music (ethnomusicology) from UC Riverside. Adler restored the Thai instrument collection and re-established the Music of Thailand Ensemble at UCLA in 2015. Her main areas of interest include: Thai royal court music; music and community; musical instruments, mediums, and healing rituals; music in Northeast Thailand and Southern Laos; Thai music performance in Southern California; and Okinawan minyo. Lunch & Learn The Fowler’s Lunch & Learn series offers easily digestible explorations of charismatic objects from around the world. Join us to chew on some sustenance and feed your mind and soul during your lunch break.
