Music of North Carolina

Catalog description

This course explores music and musicians from North Carolina, giving special emphasis to the state's distinctive musical cultures and styles. It explores the musical contributions of different populations going back to the 17th century including indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and European colonizers. The bulk of the class focuses on classical, folk, jazz, and popular music in the 20th and 21st centuries. The musicians we study will include hip-hop legends 9th Wonder and J. Cole, jazz innovators Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane, country hitmakers Randy Travis and Luke Combs, American Idols Scotty McCreery and Fantasia Barrino, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw, and many others. Students will conduct their own scholarly research which will include interviewing a professional (or professionals) actively involved in the creation, dissemination, or support of music in North Carolina. Students do not need to be musicians in order to excel in this class.