2023 Symposium on the Music of the Sea
For over 40 years, international academics, independent scholars, and performer researchers have gathered in Mystic and Essex to share their passion for and original research into the music of the sea. Presentations will be videotaped and archived online. The Symposium links university scholars and practitioners with knowledgeable and enthusiastic audiences, providing scholarship that is entertaining and enlightening. Q&A will follow each presentation.
The 2023 Symposium on the Music of the Sea, directed for the third year in a row by Faye Ringel, will be held at the Essex Town Hall at 29 West Ave, Essex, CT from 9AM-4:30PM on Friday, June 9th, with a break for lunch. The Symposium is free to attend, and will be uploaded to our YouTube channel following the festival for those who are unable to attend in-person.
Schedule
9 a.m.
A Black Fiddler on Massachusetts Bay: the Sound-Worlds
of Joseph Brown (1749-1834)
Dr. Christopher Smith
10 a.m.
Old Salem at Sea in Ballad and Song
Robert Strom
11 a.m.
‘Fishermen’s Ballads and Songs of the Sea’ 150 Years On
Michael O’Leary
12 p.m. lunch break
1:30 p.m.
‘Mother & Her Sailor-Boy’: Songs & Poems of ‘Mother’ in Sag Harbor & Greenport Whaling Hands’ Journals, 1836 – 1854
Dr. Stephen Sanfilippo
2:30 p.m.
Joanna Colcord: A Sailor’s Life, a Collector’s Legacy
Lynn Noel
3:30 p.m.
The Life and Legacy of The Last Shantyman
Dr. Mollie Carlyle
Symposium Staff
Coordinator
Dr. Faye Ringel
Master of Ceremonies
Craig Edwards
Reading Committee
Craig Edwards, Eric Ingmundson, Dan Lanier, Dr. Faye Ringel
Technical Director, Video, and Sound
Ben Parker
Refreshments
Kitsie Reeves
Thanks to Essex Tea & Coffee for their generous donation of coffee for the second year in a row!