Curb Institute Fellows Learn Spiritual History
Publication Date: 6/18/2007
The first five fellows of the Mike Curb Institute of Music at Rhodes have immersed themselves in the history of music in Memphis and the Mid-South, researching topics as diverse as a federal music project in the Bluff City during the 1930s and the stylistic features of Memphis rap music today.
Last week visiting lecturer Paul T. Kwami, who holds the Curb-Beaman chair at Fisk University, spoke to them on the topic, “Music within the African-American Church.” In the process he recounted the moving history of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which he directs.
The Curb Fellows and their projects are:
- Lindsey Cloud ’08, the only music major of the group, who is looking into the WPA Band that was part of the federal project referenced above.
- Brian Darrith ’08, a neuroscience major, hopes to discover the intersection of secular and spiritual themes in the blues.
- Sarah Eldridge ’09 intends to build an archive of the music of Burnet Tuthill, a Rhodes legend who was also a founder of the National Association of Schools of Music.
- Cord McLean ’09 is researching gospel quartet music in Memphis. He is an anthropology/sociology major.
- Laura Vansickle ’07 , an English major, is tackling the Memphis rap style challenge.
The fellows are pictured here with Mr. Kwami and Rhodes president Dr. William E. Troutt.