KU musicology professor wins international book competition

Ketty Wong-Cruz, assistant professor of musicology in KU's School of Music, received the 2010 Casa de las Americas Musicology Award for her new book manuscript La musica nacional: Identidad, Mestizaje y Migracion en Ecuador. This work examines changing perceptions of a nation through the analysis of musical practices and discourses about the artistic value of several styles of Ecuadorian popular music.

This prestigious book competition is organized every two years in Havana, Cuba. Eighteen books representing nine countries were entered into the competition this year, and the international jury consisted of renowned scholars from Argentina, Peru, Cuba and Venezuela who work in the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, sociology, and folklore studies. The award includes the publication of the book and a monetary prize.

Ketty Wong-Cruz joined the KU faculty in August 2006, having taught previously at the University of Texas at Austin and in her home country Ecuador. She received her Ph. D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Texas at Austin with a dissertation on how urban popular music has constructed varied perceptions of Ecuadorian national identity. She also holds a master's degree in ethnomusicology from UT Austin and a master's in musicology from the Moscow Conservatory P. I. Tchaikovsky. Her research interests focus on Latin American art, folk, and traditional music, nationalisms, identity, migration, and popular music. She has conducted short and extended fieldwork research in Ecuador, Peru, Spain, and New York.

For more information, contact the KU School of Music at 785-864-9742. www.music.ku.edu