An Afrological Approach to the Study of Sonic Representations from African American Band Tradition

ACTOR Speaker Series
Afrological Perspectives on Timbre and Orchestration presents:
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”: An Afrological Approach to the Study of Sonic Representations from the African American Band Tradition"
by Prof. Marvin McNeil (Emory University)

Marvin McNeill is an assistant professor at Emory University. After serving 20 years as a collegiate band director—most recently serving for sixteen years as the Associate Director and Chief Arranger for the “Pride of Connecticut,” the University of Connecticut Marching Band—McNeill attended Wesleyan as a PhD student to pursue and expand upon personal scholarly interests and passions. His research interests include African American folk and popular music traditions with special attention on Black New Orleans brass band and HBCU [Historically Black College and University] marching band history, culture, and traditions. Additional research interests include youth culture studies; community and social bonding studies; and affect theory. McNeill is the founding member of The Funky Dawgz Brass Band, a New Orleans style brass band that has toured nationally and internationally. This research project is supported by a 2021 Global South Fellowship awarded by the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South at Tulane University. His talk is titled “‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’: An Afrological Approach to the Study of Sonic Representations from the African American Band Tradition”