The Department Welcomes Nine New Graduate Students

Published: September 28, 2006

After completing his undergraduate studies in the Western Classics and Philosophy at St. John's College, Annapolis, MD (Class of 2000), Kevin Blankenship moved to New York City. While living in NYC, he worked for the independent hip-hop label Tableturns, dj'ed at various clubs, and covered the rest of his bills by bartending. His interests include philosophy, musical aesthetics, and music theory; or, stated differently, he’s “interested in exploring the reasons for and manners through which human beings express themselves musically.”

Julius Reder Carlson is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (2002). He received his Master’s degree from the Universidad de Chile, Santiago (2005) with a thesis regarding the Chacarera, a genre of Argentine folk music. He spent the 2005-06 academic year as a DAAD scholar in Berlin, where he conducted research on Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy reception.

James Rhys Edwards, has a BA in philosophy from Grinnell College. He last lived in London, and before that Tokyo. Scholarly influences include Adorno, Benjamin, Barthes, Lyotard, and Bataille. He is particularly interested in the music of Japan.

Alexandro D. Hernández is interested in contemporary Chicana/o synthesis of the
South Texas borderlands. He also aspires to research Afro-Mestizo identity and resistance through Son Mexicano.

Marisa McFarlane was born and raised in San Francisco California. She recently noted, “I am biracial (Jamaican and Irish and proud of it).” She received her BA in Sociology from Pomona College and was involved in numerous organizations and courses including the social and performative aspects of ethnomusicology. Learning about music from all over the world has always been a passion of hers and no matter what she does in life, it must involve learning about, performing, or sharing her knowledge of music with others.

Veronica Pacheco is from Ecuador and currently completing her Masters degree in Ethnomusicology at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her MA thesis is a study of the social and cultural relationships between music and rituals in the Huave community of San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca-Mexico. She loves music, and hopes to be involved in many music ensembles at UCLA.

Julie Raimondi received her B.A. in Music from the University of Rhode Island, and her M.A. in Music with a concentration in Ethnomusicology from Tufts University.  For two years she has taught as an adjunct professor at Rhode Island College.  Her current research interests include music in religion, American roots music, and the music culture of New Orleans, post-Katrina.

Although she was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Leticia Soto has experienced music and cultures from various countries, including Mexico, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Brazil.  With a BA in Economics from UCLA, she began her professional career in a small business development center and later became a contractor for the US Air Force.  Her diverse musical and scholarly experiences inspired her to explore a career in the field of ethnomusicology where she intends to examine gender relationships, regional styles, impacts of the mass media, and migration patterns that involve mariachi music.

Angsumala Tamang was born and brought up in India. Her desire to study world music brought her to the United States. She enjoys attending concerts, playing music, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.