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TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003

"A hundred years ago, the question of what American concert music might sound like fueled a roaring debate.

Some wanted to break from European roots completely, turning to Native American and plantation music of African slaves as aboriginal source material. Others believed Americans could create a new "sound" by rearranging the vocabulary of existing Western music culture.

No one questioned the idea, though, that America should have its own classical music, its own contribution to the legacy of Beethoven and Bach. This point of national pride has been well emphasized in the programming of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's American Roots Festival, which runs through Sunday.

Modern audiences know the continuing influence African-American music has on symphonies and operas, chamber music and solo forms, from spirituals to gospel, blues to jazz. But whatever came of the idea that Indian tribal music might inspire a new genre?"

Get the Story:
Exploring the tribal roots of American music (The Newark Star-Ledger 1/21)