African Music Scholar to Speak Feb. 29

by Richard Veit

Kofi Agawu, a widely respected and prolific scholar and professor of music at Yale University, will speak on "African Music as Text" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb.. 29, in Roxy Grove Hall.
A native of Ghana, Kofi Agawu has studied in both England and the United States. The recipient of numerous awards, grants, fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1990-91, and visiting lectureships, he has published two books and more than 60 articles and reviews in scholarly books and journals. The focus of his work is the application of semiotics to the interpretation of music.
This interest has led Agawu to explore musical meaning in two repertoires that are traditionally far distant from one another-concert music of the Western European tradition and African music. His dual expertise in these two disciplines is probably unparalleled.
Agawu's "African Music as Text" lecture is expected to offer rare insights into an unfamiliar musical and linguistic phenomenon.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Baylor School of Music at 755-3991.