Ethnomusicologist
to lead Arts of Americas
Loza
aims to ‘erase borders,’ continue hemispheric work
By Laurie
Mellas Ramirez
Steve
Loza, Ph.D., hired in January to lead the Arts of Americas Institute
(AAI) in the UNM College of Fine Arts, believes that performance
and research make beautiful music.
I
dont like to separate the academic from the artistic,
Loza said. Teaching and research are important, but if
you dont engage the public, then you cant get the
work out into the community.
On faculty
at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), for more
than 17 years, Loza is taking a leave of absence for two years
to direct the AAI. He is also a professor in the Department
of Music at UNM, specializing in Latin American and U.S. Latino
musical culture, West Africa and African American music, jazz
studies, multiculturalism and globalization.
At UCLA,
he has directed the Mexican Arts Series since 1985, and participated
in numerous performing and lecture activities. He is also a
member of the Grammy Awards National Screening Committee.
Loza earned
a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology in 1985, and masters in Latin
American studies in 1979, both from UCLA. He has a bachelors
in music from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Author
of numerous books, anthologies and articles, he has produced
a record and led several recordings.
He recently
edited a compilation of reports in ethnomusicology Musical
Cultures of Latin America: Global Effects, Past and Present.
Performance media expertise includes trumpet, voice, piano,
composition, arranging and orchestration.
Loza has
conducted extensive research on Latin American music, especially
the musical culture of Mexico, Cuba, and the U.S. In 1996-97
he taught at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan,
and, in 1989, he taught at the University of Chiles School
of Music.
Loza was
part of a Ford Foundation program at UCLA implementing research
in curriculum on multicultural arts and society in Los Angeles
and edited the related anthology, Selected Reports in
Ethnomusicology: Musical Aesthetics and Multiculturalism in
Los Angeles.
An academician
and performer who helped organize more than 80 events during
the past 15 years, Loza said he plans to carry the AAI tune
even further.
There
is no such thing as just the Americas anymore, said Loza,
who speaks three languages and comprehends two more. We
have to continue to develop work that is going on in the hemisphere
we have to erase the borders first the ones down
here and then those around the world.
Loza said
artistic expression furthers a grassroots exchange of culture
worldwide.
If
there is to be true globalization, its going to happen
through the arts, not economics or politicization, he
said.
One of
Lozas first projects will be developing a joint UNM/UCLA
international, interdisciplinary research conference held next
spring on both campuses. The working title for the project is
Towards a Theory for Religion as Art: Guadalupe, Buddha,
Orishas and Sufi.
We
will look at how art is used as a very basic element of religion,
Loza said.
Arturo
Marquez, Mexicos renown contemporary composer of symphonic
music, will be commissioned to write a symphonic tone poem based
on the Guadalupe cult and religious belief. The UCLA and UNM
symphony orchestras will premiere the piece during the conference.
Related multimedia artwork will also be created and unveiled
as part of the project.
Other plans
for AAI include collaborations with the Hispanic Cultural Center
and actor and art collector Cheech Marin.
In 1991,
the UNM College of Fine Arts created the AAI to celebrate diverse
cultures and traditions of the Western Hemisphere, explore artistic
similarities and differences, enhance the artistic process by
crossing cultural and national boundaries and create long-term
relationships that promote future interaction.
AAI has
enjoyed support on and off campus. UNMs Center for Regional
Studies has been particularly instrumental in bringing Loza
to New Mexico.