RMSS business meeting and the SEM conf.

[Dustin D Wiebe]

Dear members of the RMSS listserv,

Our annual business meeting is right around the corner -- Oct 28, 8-10pm Eastern -- and there are a few items to mention in advance. First, if you haven't already done so, please pay your section dues. These contributions pay for student awards and travel bursaries that assist under-employed scholars and students to attend the SEM conference. Thank you to those of you who have payed your dues for the year!

Second, the RMSS in now accepting nominations (including self-nominations) for the positions of President-elect and Student Representative. As per last year's election amendments, these nominations should be submitted in advance of the business meeting on Oct. 28. Thank you for your help in making this procedural adjustment. Descriptions of the above positions can be found in the attached RMSS policies and procedures. 

Third, this year's meeting will feature a keynote address from Sumarsam, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music at Wesleyan University. His presentation is titled "Between History and Myth: The Religiosity of Gamelan Sekatèn." An abstract of Professor Sumarsam's research on the role of Javanese saints in spreading Islam through performing arts can be found at the end of this message.

Fourth, and as is our tradition, we will award a prize to the best student paper related to music and religion and presented at the 2021 SEM conference. Eligibility and submission requirements can be found at: https://www.ethnomusicology.org/page/ReligionPrize

Submissions are due one week after the last day of the conference (Nov. 7, 2021). 

Finally, this year the RMSS is please to sponsor a panel and a roundtable at the upcoming SEM conference. For complete information please refer to the 2021 SEM conference program. Below are roundtable/panel titles and names of those involved. 

1. A Touchy Topic: Mission, Agency and Advocacy in Ethnomusicological Research (a roundtable discussion): Chaired by Muriel E. Swijghuisen Reigersberg with contributions from Dustin Wiebe, Mason Brown, Robin Harris, and Austin Akigobo (discussant)

2. Racial In/Visibility and the Global Gospel Marketplace (panel): with papers by Bo Kyung B Im, Cory Hunter, and Charrise Barron

Thank you for taking the time to review this message and I look forward seeing many of you (virtually) next week at the business meeting!

Sincerely,

Dustin

"Between History and Myth: The Religiosity of Gamelan Sekatèn"

With this premise in mind, I will present a case study of people’s constructed meaning in believing the role of Islamic saints (wali) to spread Islam through performing arts. This belief cannot be confirmed fully by historical evidence, but it is engrained deeply in the heart and mind of Javanese people through oral transmission and myth. This fact has led me to view history and mythology as two most powerful cultural sources and forces from which Javanese shape their lives and beliefs. I discuss the history, myth, and religiosity of gamelan Sekatèn in this light. Believed to be composed by wali Sunan Kalijågå, this sacred gamelan is performed once a year to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.