Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Anti-Colonial, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Global Music, History, Nationalism, Orchestra Reform, Orchestras, Post-Colonialism, Research, World Music

Orchestres anti-coloniaux : une réponse culturelle à l’impérialisme de la musique classique occidentale

So thrilled that my piece, “Anti-Colonial Orchestras: A Cultural Response to Classical Music Imperialism,” has been translated into French by Liko Imalet and Luc Le Maignan of AMECAS (Amicale des Etudiants Caribéens Africains et Sympathisants) at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne!

AMECAS

L’un de mes projets de recherche les plus longs consiste à retracer l’évolution des orchestres dans le monde. Pas seulement l’orchestre européen, mais tous les orchestres du monde, y compris les grands ensembles des peuples autochtones, les orchestres de personnes esclavagisées, les orchestres folkloriques d’Europe de l’Est, et plus largement les groupes que je commence à appeler les orchestres anti-coloniaux.

Les orchestres anti-coloniaux sont des orchestres qui se sont formés souvent immédiatement après les indépendances, ou bien en opposition directe à l’impérialisme culturel de la musique classique occidentale. D’une certaine manière, cela fait écho à l’objectif des orchestres folkloriques soviétiques (ainsi que des orchestres folkloriques d’autres États communistes). Mais ils diffèrent en ce que beaucoup d’entre eux n’étaient pas nécessairement des groupes parrainés par l’État ou du moins pas des groupes forcés de se former pour contrer directement l’impérialisme occidental. Cet arcticle offre un petit échantillon de certains de…

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Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Anti-Colonial, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Global Music, History, Nationalism, Orchestra Reform, Orchestras, Organology, Post-Colonialism, Research, World Music

Anti-Colonial Orchestras: A Cultural Response to Classical Music Imperialism

One of my longest research projects is tracing the evolution of the orchestra. Not just the European orchestra, but all the orchestras of the world including indigenous large ensembles, slave orchestras, Soviet folk orchestras, and groups I'm starting to refer to as Anti-Colonial Orchestras. These are orchestras which formed often immediately after independence, or in … Continue reading Anti-Colonial Orchestras: A Cultural Response to Classical Music Imperialism

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Anti-Colonial, Arts Education, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Global Music, History, Music, Music Discourse, Music Education, Nationalism, Orchestras, pedagogy, Post-Colonialism, Race, Racism, Research, World Music

Slave Orchestras: Classical Gabfest Interview Transcript

Here's an edited transcript of The Classical Gabfest Podcast (Episode 10) where I was interviewed about Slave Orchestras from November 2020. I've linked relevant content/sources within the text and the podcast link for the episode has other related links listed. The interview is the third segment and starts at about minute 00:34:12 and ends at … Continue reading Slave Orchestras: Classical Gabfest Interview Transcript

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ American Classical Music History, Arts Funding, Blogging, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Education, History, Music, Music Education, Orchestra Reform, Orchestras, Organization, pedagogy, Post-Colonialism, Projects, Research

US Orchestras and Large Ensembles

The Orchestra as an institution is constantly evolving and taking many different forms all around the world, but like the White Male Classical Music Canon, we tend to only see canonical ensemble types and treat them, like the repertoire canon, as universal and neutral.

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ American Classical Music History, Arts Education, Bibliography, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Education, History, Intersectionality, Music, Music Education, Orientalism, Post-Colonialism, Race, Racism

Colonialism, White Supremacy, and the Logic of Exclusion of Colored Bodies in Classical Music

As I'm working on this bibliography of white supremacy and colonialism in classical music, I've come to a few things that has helped me understand the logic of exclusion of colored bodies in the field. Here are a few main takeaways. 1) Sources for information about Slave Orchestras are in formerly colonized countries or mémoires … Continue reading Colonialism, White Supremacy, and the Logic of Exclusion of Colored Bodies in Classical Music

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ American Classical Music History, Arts Education, Cello, children, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Education, Local Culture, Louisville, Music, Music Education, New Albany, Post-Colonialism, Psychology, Racism, String Playing Careers

Made in Thailand: Composed in America

Last week on Monday I was over at mae's1 house helping her clean out her kitchen while we were listening to the late Suthep Wongkamhaeng2 (สุเทพ วงศ์กำแหง), one of mae's favorites. As I was drying dishes, a song came up in the playlist and mae said she used to sing it to me as a … Continue reading Made in Thailand: Composed in America

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ American Classical Music History, Arts Education, children, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Education, Global Music, History, Intersectionality, Music Education, Nationalism, Orchestras, Orientalism, Post-Colonialism, Race, Racism, World Music

Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education (part 4): Immigration

This is the fourth of a nine part series about Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education. Many of the ideas and themes here build on past pieces of this series, so reading them is suggested (for series overview, visit this link. part one: Intro; part 2: Postcolonialism; part 3: Assimilation). As this piece follows up … Continue reading Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education (part 4): Immigration

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ American Classical Music History, Arts Education, children, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Decolonialism, Diversity, Education, Feminism, History, Literature, Music, Music Education, Musicians, Operas, Post-Colonialism, Race, Racism, Teaching, Women's Studies, World Music

Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education (part 3): Assimilation

This is the third of a seven part series about Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education. Many of the ideas and themes here build on past pieces of this series, so reading them is suggested (for series overview, visit this link. part one: Intro; part 2: Postcolonialism). As this piece follows up on ideas brought … Continue reading Diversity, Inclusive Programming, and Music Education (part 3): Assimilation

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Diversity, pedagogy, World Dance, World Music

There are covers and then, there are Covers

I do a lot of covers. In a sense, I spend most of my musical life doing covers. Playing a Beethoven Symphony? Cover. Playing a 14th century Turkish Mevlevi song? Cover. Playing a piece I wrote? Cover. Wait...what? "But you're playing an original tune, not a cover," you might say. Well, as I've been saying … Continue reading There are covers and then, there are Covers

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Diversity, Music Literacy, Post-Pop, Race, World Music

The Parochialism of “Everything Except Rap and Country”

When I blogged some time ago about music literacy, I mentioned the tired trope "I like to everything except Rap and Country," which seems to be a response given when someone wants to show a cosmopolitan or open musical taste. Plenty of pixels have been typed about the class and race issues associated with the … Continue reading The Parochialism of “Everything Except Rap and Country”

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Arts Education, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Culture, Education, Fragmentation

Is Classical Music in the “Real World”?

One of the hallmarks of the Classical Music Crisis viewpoint is the idea that Classical Music, as a field, is insular and cut off from what has been variously referred to as the "Wider World," "Outside World," or "Real World." The purpose of this kind of rhetoric is to contrast the Classical Music field with … Continue reading Is Classical Music in the “Real World”?

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Audiences, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Culture, Economics, Live Entertainment, Local Culture, Music, Pop, Post-Pop

What’s it like playing Pop Music when you’re not a Pop Superstar?

Some time ago one of my friends and one of the owners of a local record shop/venue, Modern Cult Records, posed a question (friends only post, unfortunately) on Facebook: Why do so many bands tour directly around Louisville? How can we change this frustrating f**king trend? Do I need to open my own damn venue? … Continue reading What’s it like playing Pop Music when you’re not a Pop Superstar?

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Audiences, Business, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Culture, Economics

Pop Music Attrition

One of the long term research projects I've been working on is the attrition rates of local bands. Over the years I've had many discussions with local musicians about how often bands fold, or how a singer-songwriter will drop off the face of the earth, or how a musician decides to go back to school … Continue reading Pop Music Attrition

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, American Classical Music History, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Diversity, Fragmentation, History, Non-Western Cello, Orchestra Reform, Orchestras, Post-Colonialism

The Other Orchestras (part 1): Ethnic Orchestras

There's such a problem with Eurocentric terminology when discussing analogues to a Western institution found in other cultures. That's no different than with orchestras. I've used the phrase "Ethnic Orchestras" in reference to large ensembles modeled after the European-styled Orchestra (e.g. Traditional Chinese Orchestras), but at the same time, some of these large ensembles are … Continue reading The Other Orchestras (part 1): Ethnic Orchestras

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, American Classical Music History, Arts Education, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Diversity

Classical Music is alive because it’s constantly evolving

In a recent piece by Bill Zuckerman, which is ostensibly a defense of the state of Classical Music not being so dire as some Crisis folks are saying, we get the explanation that many of the types of values taught are the focus of music school instruction.  While I don't necessarily disagree with that, I … Continue reading Classical Music is alive because it’s constantly evolving

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, American Classical Music History, Art, Business, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Economics, Fragmentation

On Faux Musical Quality, Popularity, and Relevance

A few weeks ago I read a clickbait piece on mic.com, "How The Music Industry Is Brainwashing You to Like Bad Pop Songs." It linked to a study showing how the emotion centers of the brain light up in fMRIs when familiar tunes were played to the test subjects. This isn't a particularly surprising result.  … Continue reading On Faux Musical Quality, Popularity, and Relevance

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, Business, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Cross-Cultural criticism, Culture, Diversity, Economics

Walking with Dinosaurs

In a recent Telegraph piece by Hannah Furness we're told that Peter Sellars has called for the end of Mass art forms In a speech about the importance of art, Sellars argued the changing world had left consumers wanting a different experience from simple, traditional mass market. Saying opera had an “irrational beauty” which is … Continue reading Walking with Dinosaurs

Jon Silpayamanant - โจนาทาน ศิลปยามานันท์ Aesthetics, American Classical Music History, Audiences, Classical Music Crisis Crisis, Culture, Diversity, Economics, Film

Young Audiences (part 1): Hollywood, Classical Music, and the costs of Social Justice

In my previous post I talked about the minuscule returns that live audience ticket revenue gives for the total operating budget of movies. I'm going to divide this post into two parts as the first has gotten rather lengthy. In this post I've summarized some of the things I brought up in the previous one, … Continue reading Young Audiences (part 1): Hollywood, Classical Music, and the costs of Social Justice