Mark E. Turner, associate professor of elementary music education for Stephen F. Austin State University, will deliver a lecture, “Rhythm, Language and Meaning: Expanding on the Research of Daniel Levitin,” from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 23, in the Music Recital Hall (Room 160) of the Wright Music Building.
The lecture, which is the fifth of the monthly Robert G. Sidnell Lecture Series in Music Education, will take a closer look at the natural rhythms of the English language and specifically at how early literacy experiences with authors such as Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, and later exposure to poets such as Poe, Longfellow and Whitman, shape the way we are acculturated to rhythm, explained Turner.
“Like learning any other language, these early experiences with poetry and their rhythms prepare all of us to make music, with or without a formal music education,” Turner continued.
The Sidnell lecture series was established by Turner this year and is named for a former dean of the SFA College of Fine Arts.
Admission is free. The Wright Music Building is located at 2210 Alumni Dr. For more information, please call Turner at (936) 468-4051.
