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Assistant Professor of ethnomusicology Mark Levy teaches his class about a popular urban music developed in Greece called Rebetika on Tuesday, May 1.
Professor shares love of ethnic music
Mark Levy calls on visiting
musicians and his own
performances to enrich his
students’ musical insight
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
University music professor Mark
Levy has devoted his life to expanding
his learning of music from around the
globe, and found that each culture's
music is just as unique as its lan
guages and customs.
"I don't believe that music is a uni
versal language," Levy said. "It's a uni
versal phenomenon."
Now, Levy not only shares his
knowledge of ethnomusicology with
University students, he also takes his
expertise outside the classroom. He
organizes three foreign-music per
formances in the School of Music's
World Music Series every year and reg
ularly brings in guest musicians to
work with his students. He also plays
clarinet in a Balkan-style band, "Trio
Slavej," with graduate music student
Kalin Kirilov and his wife, University
anthropology and folklore Professor
Carol Silverman.
Levy's journey through a world of
music began with piano lessons —
which Levy admits he "wasn't that en
thusiastic about" — when he was 8
years old. In middle and high school,
he played clarinet in the band and vi
olin in the orchestra, which he said he
enjoyed mostly for the social aspects.
Influenced by his family, Levy start
ed at the University of Chicago as a
pre-medicine major but quickly de
cided to follow his passion and switch
to music. He became swept up in the
folk dance movement of the 1960s,
falling in love with the music an<|
dance ofthe Balkan regions, especial
ly from Bulgaria and Macedonia.
One summer, Levy went out dancing
every night. Combined with a sparked
interest after taking an introductory eth
nomusicology class, the folk dance
craze caused Levy to focus on what he
now teaches — world music.
After graduating from the Universi
ty of Chicago, he worked with visually
impaired children in Los Angeles for
five years. Levy then pursued a mas
ters degree in ethnomusicology at the
University of California, Los Angeles,
with a focus on North Indian and Bul
garian music. While completing his
seven years of study — from 1972 to
1979 — he played the gaida (a Bul
garian bagpipe) and clarinet in a
Balkan and Middle Eastern style mu
sical group, "Aman," and spent his
summers traveling to Bulgaria and
Macedonia, where he experienced the
cultures' music firsthand.
"I would fly to Europe, buy a used
car for a few hundred dollars and
drive to the Balkans," he said. "There,
I would sleep in campgrounds. The
locals were very hospitable. I had the
chance to spend time in villages and
see how music fits into daily life."
It was during one of these visits that
Levy met his wife. He first crossed
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paths with Silverman, a New York
based teacher of Balkan singing at the
time, at a folk music festival in Bulgar
ia. They met up every few years at vari
ous music events, and eventually mar
ried. They lived in Bulgaria from 1979
to 1980, then moved to Eugene when
Silverman was hired to teach anthro
pology and folklore at the University.
Levy worked his way up to his current
University position, beginning as an
outreach coordinator in the Russian
and East European Studies Center,
then working in the Office of Interna
tional Programs and finally teaching
at the School of Music in 1991.
Levy said he emphasizes hands-on
work in his courses by bringing in visit
ing musicians, which he discovered was
a useful learning method while in grad
uate school. Last year, he brought in a
Javanese performer to make use of a
number of Javanese instruments that
had been donated to the School of Mu
sic He also said he shows videos to turn
classes into virtual travels. Music Grad
uate Teaching Fellow Kurt Doles, who
has worked with Levy for five years, said
Levy goes above and beyond the duties
of a teacher.
"He works harder than anyone else
in the music school," Doles said. "He
puts out effort to bring in new perform
ers and styles and does work that he
doesn't necessarily have to do. He
makes class meaningful and interesting
for students, and we have had feedback
from students who said he has changed
their perspective on the world."
His trio (which features vocals from
Silverman, clarinet music from Levy
and accordion and keyboard music
from Kirilov ) plays around Eugene
at venues such as Cafe Paradiso and
Cozmic Pizza, while also perform
ing nationally. Silverman said be
cause of Levy's performance experi
ence, he brings an enriched
knowledge of the type of music he
teaches to his students.
"He brings an understanding of the
music and the expressive qualities
that it should have," she said. "Some
people teach who have only listened
to the music, but he has actually
played it. He brings in the point of
view of a practitioner."
Levy said he plans to continue
strengthening the School of Music's
ethnomusicology program, and he
has already made a significant im
provement. Last year, he initiated the
requirement that all freshmen music
majors complete an introductory
world music course. He said he would
like to begin a course in music of the
African diaspora, which includes gen
res triggered by Africans moving to
new parts of the world during slavery.
He said teaching gives him the oppor
tunity to keep learning.
"It's really mind-broadening to re
alize there are all different kinds of
music, and different views of what is
beautiful in music," he said. "My
courses are a trip to these places. Mu
sic is a window into other cultures."
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.