Pitt Organizes April 8-10 International Music and Cultural Rights Conference

PITTSBURGH—Who owns culture? Who can claim cultural rights? Why are cultural rights important in today's globalized society? These are not trivial questions, but ones that have immense political and economic ramifications.

An April 8-10 international conference at the University of Pittsburgh titled Music and Cultural Rights: Trends and Prospects is designed to explore the meaning of cultural rights through the study of music as a cultural practice, a commercial product, and an aesthetic form. The conference is organized and sponsored by Pitt's Asian Studies Center (ASC) within the University Center for International Studies and Pitt's Department of Music and will bring together more than 25 people from different disciplines within the music profession, including musicians, concert impresarios, cultural officials, policy makers, music industry executives, legal experts, and academics from throughout the United States, as well as from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Israel, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The conference will be held April 8 and 9 at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave., Oakland, while events taking place the morning of April 10 will be held in the Babcock Room on the 40th floor of Pitt's Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

"In recent years, much attention has been paid to individual creativity and the rights that pertain to it," says Bell Yung, Pitt professor of music and director of ASC. "For example, scholars and advocates have been working on intellectual property rights and copyright law as legal instruments for determining and enforcing individual ownership and control to access. Little attention has been paid, however, to a group's right to receive, share, develop, enjoy, and be inspired by music," which—according to conference conveners Yung and Andrew Weintraub, Pitt associate professor of music—is as fundamental to humanity as are other human rights.

As part of the conference, Pitt is sponsoring a concert at 8 p.m. April 8 featuring four musical artists—Han Hong, Juan Pablo Hernandez Gomez, Jon Kamakawiwo'ole Osorio, and Joe Ayala—who hail from China-Tibet, Colombia, Hawaii, and the Philippines, respectively. The concert will take place in the auditorium of Bellefield Hall, 315 S. Bellefield Ave., Oakland, and provide a glimpse into each artist's performance style. The cost of general admission is $15 and $10 for senior and student admission. Pitt students receive free admission. For additional ticket information and reservations, call 412-624-4125.

"Cultural rights" is a term that has received increased attention and may be understood as a group's ability to preserve its culture, to raise its children in the ways of its forebears, to continue its language, and not to be deprived of its economic base by the transnational and globalized environment in which it is located, according to Yung and Weintraub. Music, say the conference conveners, "provides an important means for the transmission of knowledge and ideas across regions and generations." The loss of access to music "can result in the loss of a group's sense of shared identity and, ultimately, its sense of self," they add.

Complex issues arise from the globalization of music, according to Yung and Weintraub. For instance, in a global environment, the players involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of music are different from those in the past, they say. "Prominent players unfamiliar with local traditions transform traditional music genres and styles according to market demands," comments Weintraub. "Often such products flow back to the home community in which the music originated, being hailed by some as progress, but condemned by others as corruption. The globalization of music has brought to the fore questions pertaining to the responsibilities of music industry players, from artists to policy makers," he adds.

Registration for the conference is required and costs $10 for one day and $20 for the entire conference. Registration forms must be received by March 28. For a downloadable registration form or for more information about the conference, the underlying position paper, and its speakers and performers, visit www.musicandculturalrights.org.

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