White, Western men who died long ago are still studied in music schools.
Obviously noted musician/composer Quincy Jones “is often mentioned” in British music programs, and as such a Hunter College music teacher says this proves “racial separation still shapes National classrooms”.
Philip Ewell, the music theory professor who called his ( Communist ) father “racist” for admiring ( white ) composers like Beethoven and Bach, believes Jones ( pictured ) is an “essential piece in the history of American music”, yet the ideology of white supremacy — “deeply rooted” in our society— refuses his recognition.
Elite audio schools, quite as Julliard and Eastman School of Music, continue to study generally European artists like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and Chopin, Ewell writes in The Conversation.
” These are all white, Western men who died long ago”, he says.
What’s more, universities “frequently” do no matter courses related to jazz—” a narrative deeply rooted in African National music traditions” — toward a main in music.
Since” American music academies ]… ] generally reflect the social norms of the day”, Ewell says a “relevant” music curriculum would begin with the” first great American musician” Francis” Frank” Johnson, move on to 19th-century pianist Basile Barès, and then to conductor/composer Harry Lawrence Freeman, creator of 21 “remarkably underexplored” operas.
All are African-American. And Ewell notes he “didn’t actually mention any blue, hip-hop, Motown, stone or R&, B musicians”.
As for Jones, Ewell ( pictured ) says his accomplishments — 28 Grammys, “multiple film scores”, and producing the all-time best-selling album” Thriller” ( for Michael Jackson ) — warrant being a staple of music courses.
” ]Jones ‘ ] commitment to genre fusion teaches students the importance of versatility”, the University of Florida’s José Valentino Ruiz ( to whom Ewell links ) wrote the day after Jones ‘ death.
Further: UNC’s music department launches blog posts to combat racism.
” Jones’ job demonstrates that blending jazz, pop, funk and also classical elements can make something revolutionary and accessible”, Ruiz said. Students can learn to break free of the constraints of producing single-genre music by examining how different music styles can collaborate to produce original, captivating sounds.
Jones ‘” story through design” is “resonate” with kids, as well as his predilection for collaborating with some — for “demonstrates the value of open-mindedness and adaptability”, Ruiz added.
After U.S., Ewell was involved in discussion in 2020. Timothy Jackson, a professor of music theory at Northwestern Texas, refuted his statements that whiteness in their field was” structural and institutionalized” and that Heinrich Schenker, a 19th-century music theory, was an “ardent discriminatory” whose ideas were “in order to benefit members of the dominant white culture of audio theory.”
Ewell had urged his followers on X ( then Twitter ) to sign an” Open Letter on Antiracist Actions” which denounced the journal’s alleged “violation of academic standards of peer review” and” singling out” of Ewell despite admitting he had not read the full volume of the journal in which Jackson and others made their arguments (” I refuse to participate in my own dehumanization” ).
Next year, Ewell was among those who denounced Jason Aldean’s track” Try That in a Small Town”, claiming it is “part of a phenomenon of simple yet undeniable’ anti-Blackness.'”
MORE: His black father is racist because he likes Bach, according to a music professor.
IMAGE: Deeds Magazine, Will Robin/X
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