“Music of Asian America: History, Activism, and Collaborations” is a three-day conference and festival that explores music created and consumed by Asian Americans. Organized by the Music of Asian America Research Center and the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, it celebrates the wide variety of musical traditions practiced by our communities, from Asian folk traditions to Bhangra and Mandopop, and from Western classical music to hip hop. Simultaneously, the panelists acknowledge and explore the many conflicting racial, gender and historical discourses that Asian American musicians must navigate.

For example, many people subscribe to the notion that music is a “universal language.” Yet, in North America, music genres are defined largely by race—classical music and country music are “white,” R&B and rap are “black,” and salsa and reggaeton are “Latino.” Musicians who write or perform in the “wrong” styles are almost automatically (and not always wrongly) labeled as “inauthentic” or, worse yet, as cultural appropriators. What’s more, Asian American musicians have to deal with the model minority stereotype, which tends to enhance the belief that they are technically proficient imitators with limited capacity for innovation and emotional expression.

We hope that attending this conference will lead our audience to explore the work of Asian American musicians, and to a better understanding of Asian American histories and experiences. We also hope that you will join MAARC and PAAFF in fighting for increased Asian American representational belonging in the arts, and for a more equitable and just society!

Members of the “Music of Asian America” Program Committee are: Lei Ouyang Bryant (Swarthmore College), Rob Buscher (PAAFF), Anaar Desai-Stephens (Eastman School of Music), Eric Hung (MAARC), Fariha Khan (University of Pennsylvania), Michelle Myers (Yellow Rage), and Jacqui Sadashige (Drexel University).

Conference Schedule

Panel Abstracts