International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance

A Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO

Circular letter January 2006

Study Group meeting and SEM- conference
The next Meeting of our Study Group will take place 19 -21 November 2006 in Honolulu, following the 11/19 mid-day closing of the SEM Annual Meeting and conclude with a 11/21 dinner around 19:00.

The SEM Pre-Conference will take place Nov. 15th, 2006, 8:30 am – 6:00 pm at the conference hotel, the Marriott Waikiki Beach. The pre-conference theme is “Whose Asia-Pacific: Representation and presentation in Ethnomusicology.” The call for papers is only for SEM members (if you are a SEM member and would like to submit an abstract for this Pre-Conference, you can contact Fred Lau: fredlau@hawaii.edu for more information). The SEM Annual Meeting will take place Nov. 16 – 19, 2006 at the same hotel. See the SEM website, for information on themes, program chair, etc.

After the closing of the SEM conference at mid-day of Sunday Nov 19 our Study Group Meeting will start. It will continue through to Tuesday Nov 21, with a closing dinner around 19:00.

There are two major themes for the papers at the Study Group meeting:
a) Pacific Strings:
This theme is open to topics concerning research on 'ukulele, string bands, guitars etc., as well as presentations of particular string instruments in the Pacific. Besides information concerning construction, tuning, sound, music, etc., it would also be of interest to learn about the string bands, their music and lyrics, their role and position in society, their relation to the tourist business, etc. We hope to receive presentations from many different cultural areas of Oceania.

b) Recent and/or on-going research: papers concerning the members' recent and/or on-going researches are very much welcome, even on informal and spontaneous basis.

For the SGMO meeting, the following members have indicated interest in participating: Ammann, Barwick, Bendrups, Diethrich, Gillespie, Kaeppler, Lawson, Moulin, Neuenfeldt (with Costigan), Puryear, Smith, Stillman, Szego, Wild, Witzleben.

In planning for the meeting, we are assuming a normal length of 20 mins per presentation followed by 10 mins of discussion. However, if you wish to use more or less time, please let the organisers know.

Please send your abstract (a few lines would be enough) with copies to Moulin, Smith and Ammann before June 30, 2006.

The organisers are preparing an appealing programme and I think we will spend some wonderful days together in Hawai'i.

Jane has organized housing for the Study Group members during our meeting at the East West Center as follows:

EWC HOUSING DURING THE SGMO MEETING
We have reserved 10 rooms in Hale Manoa/Hale Kuahine (at $26 per night single;$35 double) and 10 studio rooms in Lincoln Hall (at $49 per night single or double) for
IN: Sunday, November 19, 2006
OUT: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Please make your bookings for this special, on-campus housing as soon as possible (see details with booking info below). Please note that all unreserved rooms will be released on September 19th.

EXTENDED EWC HOUSING
If you want to remain at the EWC for additional days to do research, or if you prefer to stay at the EWC during the SEM meeting, we have reserved 12 studios in Lincoln Hall (at $49 per night single or double) for
IN: Tuesday, November 14, 2006
OUT: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Please make your booking as soon as possible (see details with booking info below). Please note that all unreserved rooms will be released on September 14th

OTHER OPTIONS
Additional extensions can be arranged on a space-available basis. Please confirm your dates directly with the EWC housing office at: housing@eastwestcenter.org.

If you would prefer to stay in a hotel, there are many attractive possibilities in Waikiki that you can arrange on your own. Your travel agency might have discount packages to offer. Count on about 15-20 minutes drive from Waikiki to the EWC. Buses also come to the campus from Waikiki, but may take 30 minutes or more.

EAST-WEST CENTER HOUSING ON THE UH CAMPUS
Reservations are normally confirmed up to a year in advance.

Our facilities house international graduate students and research staff year round. A limited number of rooms are available for conference housing with priority given to groups of similar background and interests.
Deposits, Requester Responsibility & Penalty Charges
Advance deposits are required. The advance deposit requirement will be waived if the requester guarantees payment, in writing, of possible penalty charges. The requester is responsible for the conduct of his/her guests as well as any losses, damages, penalty charges or unpaid room accounts.

Cancellation charges will be assessed based on the following notification schedule to cancel the group reservation or any unused rooms:
• 60 days or more -- no charge
• 30 - 59 days -- one night’s rent per room
• less than 30 days -- two night’s rent per room.
Inquire about our “call-in” program that permits conference attendees to contact our office directly and arrange their own housing. This program frees the conference coordinator from the administrative and financial responsibilities of managing each attendee’s housing reservation.
Check-ins & -outs
Check-ins & -outs are handled at the respective residence hall desks. Hale Manoa is open 24 hours. Lincoln Hall and Hale Kuahine desk hours are 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. (After-hour check-ins are handled at Hale Manoa).

Check-in time -- 2:00 p.m.
Check-out time -- 10:00 a.m.

Please check with the Housing office for exceptions to this regulation.
Payment
Normally, the requester is billed for all housing charges. Individuals can be responsible for their own housing costs, but they will be required to pay for their room charges upon check-in. Mastercard, Visa, traveler's checks and personal checks (US dollars) are accepted. Personal checks must be payable to the East-West Center and for the exact amount only. Third party checks are not accepted.
Conference Rates
Hale Manoa and Hale Kuahine
(dormitory rooms with shared bathroom facilities)

Telephone service, bedding and linen are provided in all rooms. Room cleaning services, towels and soap are not provided. Towel packets are available at the front desk for a nominal cost. Double rooms are furnished with 2 single beds.

Single room $26.00 per night
Double room (single or double occupancy) $35.00 per night

Lincoln Hall
(rooms with private bathrooms and cable TV)

Bedding, linen and towels are provided. Rooms are cleaned Monday through Friday. Most apartment units have a double bed.

Studio (single or double occupancy) $49.00 per night
1-bedroom with kitchen (single or double occupancy) $65.00 per night

EWC Alumni are eligible for reduced rates.
Rates are subject to change.

Contact the Housing Reservations office for more information:
East-West Center
Housing Office
1711 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96848-1711 Telephone: (808) 944-7805
FAX: (808) 944-7790
Email: housing@eastwestcenter.org

ICTM Vienna 2007
A suggested theme for the planed Study Group Panel at the Vienna 39th ICTM conference in Vienna was proposed by Rick Trimilios: “Europe Consuming the Pacific in the 19th Century”. Other suggestions mentioned at the Sheffield conference: "Festivals" and "Archives".

Members, who are planning to participate at the Vienna conference and would join the panel, please indicate your interest by mail so that we can start to organize a panel and search for the appropriate theme.
Web site
During January 2006 the Study Group Web site will be updated. If you have suggestions or comments concerning the Web site please let us know.

The SGMO bibliography will then be accessible on this Web site. At the moment it contains the bibliographies of Ammann, Barwick, Hayward, Mink, Moulin and Niles. I look forward to receiving the bibliographies from the other members.

Melanesian Arts Festival
Fiji will host the 3rd Melanesian Arts Festival in 2006. As of our latest news, the date of the Arts Festival is not fixed yet.
News from Members
Brian Diettrich (Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hawai‘i and Study Group Member) has received a Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant for doctoral research on "Transforming Colonial Encounters: Performing Arts and Conceptions of Tradition in Chuuk, Micronesia". Drawing on postcolonial theory, anthropological work on the creation of heritage, and notions of cultural innovation in Chuuk, his work explores the ways in which Chuukese invoke multiple layers of colonial encounter in their performing arts and articulate these hybridized cultural sites as “tradition.” The grant runs from Jan 2006--Jan 2007.

Congratulations Brian!!

Listserv.
With the help of Keola Donaghy at UH it was possible to create a listserv for the Study Group.

The address of our list is ictm-oceania-l@hawaii.edu. You can send to the list via e-mail, or by a web. Similarly, users can chose to get each post as it is made by members, receive a digest, or eschew e-mail and simply access the archives via the web.

In simple words: Communication among the Study Group members is much easier by using this list service, as it takes over the job of distributing your mail to all the members. If you want to reach all the members by mail, you simply address your mail to ictm-oceania-l@hawaii.edu. When you answer a mail from the list it will reach all the members as well.

For those who want to know more about this, see: https://listserv.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/wa. This is also the address to access the list via web.

Each member will receive a welcome e-mail, when his/her name is put on the list.

Conference of the International Small Islands Studies Association
CALL FOR PAPERS ISLANDS OF THE WORLD IX Sustainable Islands - Sustainable Strategies
Conference of the International Small Islands Studies Association 28 July - 4 August 2006 Maui Community College - Kahului, Maui, Hawai'i

OBJECTIVE - Scholars and experts will meet to make presentations and participate in workshops and discussions on issues and problems relevant to sustainability on small islands.

CALL FOR PAPERS - All submissions for papers and posters will be made online. Go to the conference web site at and select Call for Papers. Deadline is 1 February 2006. Notification of acceptance will be e-mailed to the primary author by 1 March 2006.

THEME - The general theme of the conference is Sustainable Islands - Sustainable Strategies with emphasis on the interconnected topics of po`okela (economy), mâlama `âina (ecology), and ho`ohanohano (social equity and cultural heritage.) In addition to bringing this international group together and giving them an opportunity to study and discuss important issues, the Islands of the World IX Conference will showcase Maui's rich cultural heritage, strong economic factors, and diverse environment.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
28 July 2006 - conference participant check-in and pre-registration 29 & 30 July 2006 - registration and pre-conference excursions around the island of Maui 31 July through 2 August 2006 - plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, poster sessions, and special events 3 & 4 August 2006 - post-conference excursions to neighbor islands

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - For information about the conference, including accommodation options and travel discounts, please refer to the conference web site. Registration will be online and will open on 1 February. For specific questions, contact Janet Six at or phone 808.984.3670. Information about the International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA) and previous Islands of the World Conferences is available at http://www.geol.utas.edu.au/isisa/

Contributions
At this place I would like to thank those members who sent contribution for this circular newletter and like to remind all the members to send me reports of your recent field research, news of your own or other publications, CDs, films/videos, etc; reports of cultural events in or related to Oceania (concerts, festivals, exhibitions, etc.); upcoming seminars, symposia, conferences calls for participation in forthcoming events other activities, promotions, appointments or awards vacant positions vacant that may be of interest to our members any other news relevant to the Study Group.

With my best wishes for this new year

Raymond