05-23-19 | Songs for Listening | Mark Katz
Mark Katz, professor of music at UNC-Chapel Hill, picked tunes for Thursday, May 23 at Songs for Listening. Mark's scholarship focuses on music and technology, contemporary popular music, and the violin. He has written three books, Capturing Sound: How Technology has Changed Music, The Violin: A Research and Information Guide, and Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ. He co-edited (with Timothy Taylor and Anthony Grajeda) the collection Music, Sound, and Technology in America. He is the former editor of Journal of the Society for American Music and served for many years on the National Recording Preservation Board.
In 2011, Mark received an Innovation Grant from UNC’s Institute for the Arts & Humanities to expand the scope and reach of university-level music pedagogy. One result of this grant was the creation of several new courses, including 'The Art & Culture of the DJ', 'Beat Making Lab', 'Rap Lab', and 'Rock Lab'.
Since 2013, Mark has been awarded more than $3.3 million from the U.S. Department of State to create and run Next Level, a program that sends American hip-hop artists abroad to foster cultural exchange, conflict prevention, and entrepreneurship. Since 2014, the program has conducted workshops in more than a dozen countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, and South America. His work in promoting the arts and music education in under served communities has been recognized through awards from the Freedoms Foundation, the Hip-Hop Education Center and Indy Week. In 2016, Mark was awarded Royal Musical Association’s Dent Medal, which credited him with taking “musicology and hip-hop studies in bold new directions, creating a model of exemplary and ethical scholarship that internationalizes the discipline in productive ways.”
Mark is a long-time violinist, an amateur turntablist and a DJ at UNC’s radio station, WXYC 89.3 FM.
Here's a brief note from Mark on his playlist:
"I chose 2 pieces that I think are especially beautiful (Harrison’s 'Double Concerto' and 'Community' by Mirah & Spectratone International) and one that feels urgent to me (“Somos Sur” by Ana Tijoux ft. Shadia Mansour). Coincidentally or not, all feature strings."
'Double Concerto for Violin & Cello with Javanese Gamelan' by Lou Harrison
'Community' by Mirah & Spectratone International from 'Share This Place: Stories & Observations'
'Somos Sur' by Ana Tijoux & Shadia Mansour from 'Vengo'
