As they pursue their graduate studies in ethnomusicology here at Pitt, Yuko Eguchi and Benjamin Pachter are already making a significant impact on the field both locally and nationally.

Yuko Eguchi, a doctoral candidate in ethnomusicology, has been elected to the Council of the Society for Ethnomusicology. She is one of two student members elected this year. The SEM Council is an elected body that provides advice to the Board of Directors. It addresses the long-range plans of the Society and also communicates the general concerns of the membership to the Board in the form of recommendations. The Council meets each year in conjunction with the SEM Annual Meeting. The 42 members of the Council serve three-year terms, with terms staggered so that at least 12 regular members and 2 student members are elected each year. The Council Nominating Committee prepares a slate of candidates for each year’s election.

Ethnomusicology PhD student Benjamin Pachter recently completed a series of workshops and concerts at the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School in Pittsburgh. The workshops were part of an outreach initiative sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia, and Pachter was assisted by members of Japanese drumming group Pittsburgh Taiko. 160 students grades 3-8 participated in hands-on workshops; in addition, a concert was given for 128 students grades K-2. Pachter will be continuing his outreach activities next semester with a series of planned lecture/demos at several high schools in the region sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania.