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 John Schechter was born in Rockville Centre, New York, on April 29, 1946. His early training was in voice and clarinet. After
receiving the A.B. in Music (1967, Hamilton College), he pursued choral conducting at the Indiana University School of Music (M.Mus., 1970), where he studied with Don Moses and Julius Herford. He subsequently taught choral conducting in the Peace Corps (Colombia,1968-1969) and at the New England Conservatory of Music (1973-1975), where he was assistant to Lorna Cooke de Varon. He received the Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from The University of Texas at Austin (1982), where he studied Latin American musics with Gérard Béhague, Andean anthropology with Richard Schaedel, folklore with Américo Paredes and Richard Bauman, and Quechua with Louisa Stark and Guillermo Delgado-P. He pursued ethnomusicological fieldwork in the Andes of Ecuador (l979-l980; l990), focusing on Quechua harp, vocal, and ritual traditions.
Since l985 John Schechter has taught ethnomusicology and music theory, and has directed the TAKI ÑAN and VOCES Latin American Ensembles, at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he is now Professor of Music and Provost of Merrill College. With Guillermo Delgado-P., Schechter is the co-editor of the volume, Quechua Verbal Artistry: The Inscription of Andean Voices / Arte Expresivo Quechua: La Inscripción de Voces Andinas (Bonn Americanist Studies/BAS Volume 38, 2004), an international, interdisciplinary anthology of nineteen scholarly papers addressing Quechua and Aymara verbal artistry, as evidenced in colonial manuscript and myth, and in contemporary song text, riddle, personal narrative, poetry, market-dialogue, and children's stories, emanating from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Schechter is the editor of, and a contributing author to, Music in Latin American Culture: Regional Traditions (Schirmer Books, 1999), an examination of selected music cultures of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America,
Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the Southern Cone, with regional chapters composed by ethnomusicologist-specialists in those regions. He is the author of The Indispensable Harp: Historical Development, Modern Roles, Configurations, and Performance Practices in Ecuador and Latin America (Kent State U. Press, 1992), of the "Latin America / Ecuador" chapter in Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 4th ed. (Schirmer Books, 2002), of the "Latin America / Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru" chapter in Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Shorter Version, 2nd ed. (Schirmer/Thomson Learning, 2005), and of the "Ecuador" article in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music,Volume 2: South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (Garland, 1998). His other publications have explored the evolution of the UC Santa Cruz TAKI ÑAN Latin American ensemble; formulaic expression, improvisation, and metaphor in Ecuadorian Quechua sanjuán; conceptual issues behind the Andean Corpus Christi celebration; the issues of ensemble self-image and construction of symbolic value with respect to the bomba, a focal African-Ecuadorian musical genre of the Chota Valley; the ethnography, visual semiotics, culture history, and religious philosophy of the Latin American/Iberian child's wake; Incaic music-culture; and, Latin American musical instruments. As Provost of Merrill College, John Schechter bears the responsibility of academic leadership for this college, one of ten on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Books
| Articles
and Chapters | Book
Reviews and Review Essays |
Record
Reviews | Film
Reviews
List of Publications 2004
Books
Quechua Verbal Artistry: The Inscription of Andean Voices / Arte Expresivo Quechua: La Inscripción de Voces Andinas. Co-editor, with Guillermo Delgado-P. xxxii, 584 pp. Bonn: Bonner Amerikanistische Studien (BAS, Volume 38); Aachen: Shaker Verlag. Copyright Shaker Verlag, 2004. ISBN #3-8322-1938-2. Published in April 2004.
 Music in Latin American Culture: Regional Traditions. General Editor, and Contributing Author. New York: Schirmer/Thomson Learning/Wadsworth, 1999. 496 pp. ISBN #0-02-864750-5 / AUDIO CD: ISBN #0-02-865330-0
Chapters by eight authors, on selected music cultures of Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Andean Colombia, Andean Peru, Brazil, and the Southern Cone (Chile-Argentina-Uruguay). I served as General Editor of the volume, and, additionally, I wrote the first and final chapters, on "Themes in Latin American Music-Culture," and "Beyond Region: Transnational and Transcultural Traditions," respectively. Reviewed in:
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, 48:2, Spring/Summer 2004, pp.288-290.
FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE 47:1, January-March 2000, pp.74-76.
LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC REVIEW, 21:1, Spring/Summer 2000, pp.69-70
CHOICE [American Library Association], 37:3, November '99, p.419
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The Indispensable Harp: Historical Development, Modern Roles, Configurations, and Performance Practices in Ecuador and Latin America. Kent, Ohio, and London, England: The Kent State University Press, 1992. 296 pp. ISBN #0-87338-439-3
Reviewed in: MLA NOTES, 50:1, September 1993, pp.181-182
LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC REVIEW, 15:1, Spring/Summer 1994, pp.110-119
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, 38:3, Fall 1994, pp.530-532
REVISTA MUSICAL CHILENA, Año XLVIII, no.181, Enero-Junio 1994, pp.142-143
THE WORLD OF MUSIC, 36:3, 1994, pp.100-103
GALPIN SOCIETY JOURNAL, XLVII, 1994, pp.191-194.
Articles and Chapters:
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"LATIN AMERICA/CHILE, BOLIVIA, ECUADOR, PERU." Chapter 8 InWorlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, SHORTER VERSION, 2nd ed., pp.264-309. Jeff Todd Titon, general editor. Belmont, CA: Schirmer/Thomson Learning/Wadsworth; published in August 2004; copyright 2005. Abridged and substantially revised version of Chapter Nine, in Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 4th ed., 2002, pp. 385-446.
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"Takiñan: South American Affinity Interculture in Santa Cruz, California." Chapter 25, In Steven Loza, ed., Musical Cultures of Latin America: Global Effects, Past and Present. UCLA Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology, Volume XI, March 2003, pp.271-284.
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"LATIN AMERICA/ECUADOR." Revised, Updated Chapter Nine, In Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 4th ed., pp.385-446. Jeff Todd Titon, general editor. New York, Schirmer Books/Wadsworth Publishing, 2002.
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"Kunan punlla rimagrinchi...": Wit and Didactics in the Quichua Rhetorical Style of Señor Enrique Andrade Albuja, Husbandman-Ethnographer of Cotacachi, Imbabura [Ecuador]." With Enrique Andrade Albuja. In Quechua Verbal Artistry: The Inscription of Andean Voices / Arte Expresivo Quechua: La Inscripción de Voces Andinas, pp.311-336. Guillermo Delgado-P. and John M. Schechter, co-editors. Bonn: Bonner Amerikanistische Studien (BAS, Volume 38); Aachen: Shaker Verlag. Copyright Shaker Verlag, 2004.
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"LATIN AMERICA/ECUADOR." In Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, SHORTER VERSION, pp.243-276. Jeff Todd Titon, general editor. New York: Schirmer/Wadsworth, 2001. Abridged and revised version of Chapter Nine, in Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 3rd ed., 1996, pp.428-494.
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"ECUADOR. II. Traditional Music." 5,000-word article for the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie; executive editor, John Tyrrell. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 2001, Vol.7, pp.872-879.
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"HARP. V.6 and e.: Latin America." 2,500-word article for the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie; executive editor, John Tyrrell. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 2001, Vol.10, pp.908-911.
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"Themes in Latin American Music Culture." In John M. Schechter, gen. ed., Music in Latin American Culture: Regional Traditions [Chapter One]. New York: Schirmer Books/Macmillan, 1999, pp.1-33.
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"Beyond Region: Transnational and Transcultural Traditions." In John M. Schechter, gen. ed., Music in Latin American Culture: Regional Traditions [Chapter Nine]. New York: Schirmer Books/Macmillan, 1999, pp.424-457.
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"The Music of Ecuador." 7,000-word article for the South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean volume, of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Garland, October 1998, pp.413-433.
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"LATIN AMERICA/ECUADOR." Revised, Expanded, and Updated Chapter Nine, In Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 3rd ed., pp.428-494. Jeff Todd Titon, general editor. New York, Schirmer Books, 1996.
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"Tradition and Dynamism in Ecuadorian Andean Quichua Sanjuán: Macrocosm in Formulaic Expression, Microcosm in Ritual Absorption." In Max Peter Baumann, ed., Cosmología y Música en los Andes, pp.247-267.Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert Verlag; Madrid: Iberoamericana. Part of series: Bibliotheca Ibero-Americana, published by the Ibero-American Institute, Prussian Culture Foundation, series edited by Dietrich Briesemaster, 1996.
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"Divergent Perspectives on the velorio del angelito: Ritual Imagery, Artistic Condemnation, and Ethnographic Value." Journal of Ritual Studies VIII/2, summer 1994, pp.43-84.
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"Corpus Christi and its Octave in Andean Ecuador: Procession and Music, 'Castles' and 'Bulls'." In Margaret J. Kartomi and Stephen Blum, eds., Music-Cultures in Contact: Convergences and Collisions, pp.59-72. Australian Studies in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Music, Vol.2. Sydney, Australia: Currency Press, 1994.
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"Los Hermanos Congo y Milton Tadeo Ten Years Later: Evolution of an African-Ecuadorian Tradition of the Valle del Chota, Highland Ecuador." In Gerard H. Béhague, ed., Music and Black Ethnicity: The Caribbean and South America, pp.285-305. Coral Gables: University of Miami North-South Center; distrib. by Transaction Publishers, 1994.
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"The Appearance of European Harps in Ecuador and Latin America." In Martin van Schaik, ed., Aspects of the Historical Harp:Proceedings of theInternational Historical Harp Symposium: Utrecht1992, pp.43-49. Utrecht, The Netherlands: STIMU (Foundation for Historical Performance Practice), 1994.
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"LATIN AMERICA/ECUADOR." Chapter Nine, In Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, 2nd ed., pp.376-428. Jeff Todd Titon, general editor. New York, Schirmer Books, 1992.
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"Velorio de Angelito/Baquiné/Wawa Velorio: The Emblematic Nature of the Transcultural, Yet Local, Latin American Child's Wake." Latin American Studies Working Paper No.3, University of California, Santa Cruz, September, l988.
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"The Current State of Bibliographic Research in Latin American Ethnomusicology." In D. Hazen, ed., Latin American Masses and Minorities: Their Images and Realities: Papers of the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM), held at Princeton University, June l9-23, l985, Madison: SALALM Secretariat, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin, l987; Vol.I:334-345; Vol.II:664-682.
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"The Diatonic Harp in Ecuador: Historical Background and Modern Traditions." Parts l and 2. Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society X, l984, pp.97-ll8; XI, l985, pp.l23-l73.
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"LATIN AMERICA": Review Essay. Ethnomusicology XXIX/2, spring/summer l985, pp.3l7-330; on the treatment of Latin American Ethnomusicology in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (l980); jointly with two other ethnomusicologists, Daniel Sheehy and Ronald Smith.
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"Corona y baile: Music in the Child's Wake of Ecuador and Hispanic South America, Past and Present." Latin American Music Review IV/l, spring/summer l983, pp. l-80.
Book Reviews and Review Essays:
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Mendoza, Zoila S. Shaping Society through Dance: Mestizo Ritual Performance in the Peruvian Andes. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, June 2001, pp.923-925.
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Review Essay. Romero, Raúl, ed. Música, danzas y máscaras en los Andes. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú: Instituto Riva-Agüero, 1993. Yearbook for Traditional Music 27 (1995), pp.151-159.
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Turino, Thomas. Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, 51:4, June 1995, pp.1299-1303.
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Cárdenas Montes, María. Arpa: Ave Fénix de la Música (Historia del arpa). Imprenta Venecia, México, D.F., l978. Latin American Music Review III/2, fall/winter l982, pp.23l-237.
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Rephann, Richard. A Catalogue of the Pedro Traversari Collection of Musical Instruments, Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito, l978. Latin American Music Review I/2, fall/winter l980, pp.265-273.
Record Reviews:
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Música Etnográfica y Folklórica del Ecuador. 2 LP discs. Coordinación General: Carlos Alberto Coba Andrade; Grabaciones por José Peñín, Ronny Velásquez, y Carlos Alberto Coba Andrade; Cuadernillo [8 pp. Notes] por Carlos Alberto Coba Andrade, con "Presentación" escrito por Marcelo Valdospinos Rubio, Presidente del Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología. Otavalo, Ecuador: Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología, 1990. LP 5748A, B; 5750A, B. Latin American Music Review XII/2, fall/winter 1991, pp.204-216.
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Soul Vine Shaman (Ecuadorian Lowland Quechua Shamanic Music), Recorded, produced, and distributed by Neelon Crawford, l979. Notes by Norman E. Whitten, Jr., et al. Latin American Music Review II/2, fall/winter l98l, pp.309-3l6.
Film Reviews:
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American Anthropologist LXXXIX/2, June l987, 9-film review, pp.525-532:
"Juan Félix Sánchez" - Venezuelan folk sculptor-architect-weaver;
"Pedro Linares" - Mexican folk artist in papier-mâché;
"Sabina Sánchez" - Mexican folk artist in embroidery;
"Manuel Jiménez" - Mexican folk artist in woodcarving;
"Marcelo Ramos" - Mexican folk artist in fireworks;
"El Rey del Bandolín" - Venezuelan instrument-maker and folk musician;
"El Diablo de Cumaná" - Venezuelan folk actor;
"Cleto Rojas" - Venezuelan rural painter;
"ñandutí: A Paraguayan Lace" - the art of Paraguayan lace-embroidery.
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