Nepal Monitor: Learning to Study Nepali Music

Eleven years ago, I first traveled to Nepal, for the first of three subsequent trekking holidays. As so often is the case with American tourists who first visit South Asia, I was drawn primarily by geographical considerations: the scenery, terrain, and relatively remote location. Additionally, as a student of comparative religions, I was fascinated with Hinduism and Buddhism and wished to gain a deeper understanding of these faiths.

Professionally, I am a college music professor, completing my twentieth year at Georgia Southern University, my current institution. I teach music composition, orchestration, analytical techniques and other music theory-related coursework. Additionally, I am a pianist and harpsichordist, equally comfortable with traditional Western chamber music, jazz and rock. I have published over twenty choral compositions and arrangements, many of which draw on various world music traditions. Through those three visits to Nepal in the past decade, I have gained a rudimental knowledge that leads me to delve further into studies of both the country’s culture and its music.

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