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Lecture Abstract:

Black music and music from other diverse cultures deserve preservation and recognition equal to their Eurocentric counterparts. To truly understand the classical guitar, we must comprehend its complete history, which spans the globe. Composers like Brouwer (Cuba), Villa-Lobos (Brazil), Takemitsu (Japan), and Bogdanović (Yugoslavia) provide some insight into the guitar’s diverse origins. However, until recently, many cultural traditions and musical contributions to our instrument have remained unrecognized.

This lecture, which introduces Damian Goggans’ research on AfroClassical Guitar music, aims to highlight the contributions of Black composers to the classical guitar tradition. It will discuss the connectedness of Black classical guitar music throughout the diaspora and invite audiences to analyze this musical soundscape. One that has been shaped by resilience, innovation, and global exchange. Through performances and analyses of works such as Petro from Franz Casseus’ Haitian Suite and Jesus, Won’t You Come By and By from Thomas Flippin’s 14 Etudes on the Music of Black Americans, audiences will deepen their understanding of the musical structures, cultural contexts, and interpretive questions essential to this repertoire.