Save the Date for the Highly Anticipated 2024 Black Music Symposium
Photo by Austin Brown.
The Arkansas Center for Black Music in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music at the University of Arkansas will host its highly anticipated 11th Annual Black Music Symposium Jan. 31 through Feb. 4.
The 2024 Black Music Symposium is open to the public, and this year’s theme will be “Celebrating Afro-Caribbean Music,” which explores the rich culture of the Caribbean nations and their contributions to music genres ranging from Reggae and Salsa to Merengue, Calypso and more.
“Save the dates because we’ll be featuring some amazing Afro-Caribbean music, reflecting the vibrant tapestry of this musical tradition while acknowledging the significant contributions of major and emerging artists and scholars,” said Grammy Award-winning educator Jeffrey Allen Murdock, who is the symposium’s organizer.
Murdock added that, “this is also the first year in which peer-reviewed or refereed presentations and performances will be accepted, marking a significant milestone in the history of the Black Music Symposium.”
Throughout the symposium week, lectures will explore the ways in which Afro-Caribbean music relates to the experiences of Black musicians as well as social movements.
Additionally, premier classes and clinics will demonstrate the intricate rhythms and specialized instrumentation within Afro-Caribbean styles, and evening concerts will include major artists, faculty, and students, while the daily concerts and lectures will feature a multitude of presenters.
More information and the full schedule of events will be available on the Black Music Symposium website soon.
Supported by generous funding from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the Alice L. Walton Foundation, the annual Black Music Symposium has proven to be a major boon for the arts at the University of Arkansas and to the surrounding Northwest Arkansas community.