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Smithsonian's Dr. Dwandalyn R. Reece set to speak at CU

Dr. Reece
The is hosting a special lecture on Tuesday, November 5th by nationally acclaimed Dr. Dwandalyn R. Reece from the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of African American History and Culture.  Dr Reece, who curates the museum鈥檚 prize-winning and permanent exhibition will present, 鈥At the Crossroads: African American Music-Making in American Life鈥 at 4:30 p.m. in the new on CU campus.  

Drawing upon objects in the National Museum of African American History and Culture鈥檚 collection, Dr. Reece aims to explore in this presentation how objects deepen our understanding of music in the United States, offering new ways to construct narratives about the social, cultural and historical meaning music holds in our daily lives. The ways we engage with music is constantly evolving and the multiple worlds that music inhabits is a culture unto itself. 

鈥淭his movement to preserve, document, and interpret music鈥檚 existence is driven by a growing interest in its material culture, the tangible objects of things that are the material evidence of its creation, performance, dissemination, and reception,鈥 Dr. Reece describes, and continues, 鈥渢he musical object as artifact, anticipates interpretation and has the power to broaden our understanding of music beyond an experiential level.鈥

Dr. Reece 2
Dr. Reece, a scholar and musician, who is highly regarded by her academic colleagues and has been highlighted on , is responsible for the acquisition, research and interpretation of the museum鈥檚 music and performing arts collections, is chair of  and the Smithsonian Pan-Institutional Group, is leading the , and publishing a book on the material culture of African American music.  The comprised 19 museums and research centers and is the largest cultural complex in the world.  Dr. Reece considers museums her calling and is working diligently to make humanities accessible through music.

Dr. Reece's lecture is part of African American Music--At the Crossroads, a collaboration with Boulder's Trance Blues Festival and will be followed at 5:30 p.m. by Black Banjo & Beyond, a roundtable discussion with Dr. Reece, Dom Flemons "The American Songster," Johnny Baier from the National Banjo Museum, and the Trance Blues Festival's creator, Otis Taylor.