Music in Pacific Island Cultures Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture

The Pacific Islands- Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia-are steeped in diverse musical traditions that transcend the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. In Music in Pacific Islands Cultures, authors Brian Diettrich, Jane Freeman Moulin, and Michael Webb bring to life this region of the world that has long been underrepresented in ethnomusicological studies. The authors use three themes-modern nationhood, systems of belief (i.e., Christianity and indigenous faiths), and the effects of globalism and cultural exchange-to explore how the musical experiences of the Pacific Islanders are unique to each island group, but shaped by similar influences. The book concludes with an account of the Festival of Pacific Arts-a transregional celebration held every four years-that shows how these three themes are intricately woven into the fabric of the islands' culture. Designed to be used as one of several short and inexpensive case study volumes in the Global Music Series, this volume is appropriate for introductory undergraduate courses in world music or ethnomusicology and for upper-level courses on Pacific Island/Oceanic music and/or culture. The twenty-second volume in the Series, this text is based on the authors' own extensive fieldwork and features interviews with performers, eyewitness accounts of performances, and vivid illustrations. The book also features listening activities that enable students to engage critically and actively with the text. The included 70-minute CD contains examples of music discussed in the text, and supplementary material for instructors will be available on the companion web site.

Brian Diettrich is Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University, in Wellington. New Zealand. Jane Freeman Moulin is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA. Michael Webb is Lecturer in Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Sydney, Australia.