Kayıttayız (Now Recording): Reflections on Researching Musical Labor in Türkiye as a Musician

INVITATION to a LECTURE

In the Musicology Lecture Series (Fall/Winter 2024/25)

Dr. Audrey Wozniak

(Independent Researcher, Orient-Institut Istanbul)

Kayıttayız (Now Recording): Reflections on Researching Musical Labor in Türkiye as a Musician

Wednesday, 2 October 2024

19:00 (Turkish time; GMT +3)

Audrey Wozniak recently completed her Ph.D. thesis, which examined the phenomenon of Turkish classical music koro-s (choirs) in historical and contemporary perspective. This research tells the story of how the koro – a radical transformation of a musical tradition – came to represent the primary presentation format for Turkish classical music. Specifically, this work demonstrates how new state disciplinary regimes and technologies of transmission shaped discourses around musical labor, laying the foundation for an amateur-professional dichotomy in music-making. Her research relies not only on multimedia archival materials but also her extensive ethnographic fieldwork since 2015 engaging with hundreds of musicians in the thousands of koro-s operating across Türkiye and Turkish diasporic communities.

Wozniak conducted much of this fieldwork as a violinist, taking lessons in Turkish classical and makam-based musical traditions with master musicians, playing along side both professional musicians at state ensembles and amateur musicians in koro rehearsals, and eventually engaging with the music industry as an active performer (building up a bit of an unlikely social media following in the process). While her dissertation seeks to foreground the voices and perspectives of her interlocutors and therefore does not delve deeply into her own positionality, in this talk, Wozniak will focus on her own observations from conducting this ethnography as a musician, reflecting on how ideas about class, gender, ethnicity, and morality underpin the work of musical labor in Türkiye. Drawing from her firsthand experience, she will illustrate the complicated dynamics and ethics of a performer-researcher positionality as well as how such an approach contributes to her findings.

Audrey M. Wozniak is a researcher and violinist using writing and music to amplify cross-cultural experiences and perspectives. She has been conducting ethnographic and archival fieldwork in Istanbul and Turkish diasporic communities since 2015 and received her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Harvard University in 2024. She also holds a Master’s degree in Politics and Communication from the London School of Economics, a Master’s degree in Music Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music and East Asian Studies from Wellesley College. Her research has been supported by the Fulbright-Hays Grant Program, the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Orient-Institut Istanbul, the British Institute in Ankara, and the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations. She has published academic and journalistic writing in the Journal of the Society for American Music, Music & Politics, Urban People, Applied Linguistics Review, Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs, ABC News, China Dialogue, and Time Out Hong Kong.

Audrey Wozniak is an accomplished performer of Western and Turkish classical music as well as an experienced facilitator of cross-cultural artistic programming. She has performed on stages in over 12 countries and is a regular guest performer on Turkish National Radio and Television. As a 2014–2015 recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, Wozniak explored multiculturalism in local music cultures of China, Indonesia, and Turkey. A longside her research and artistic projects, she runs a social media channel with over 40,0000 followers dedicated to Turkish music and culture, and in 2023 was appointed Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University’s I Tatti Center for Renaissance Studies in Italy.

This event is free of charge, the event language is English. You may attend in person or online. Registration only needed for attending in person.

Photos or videos will be taken during the event. By participating, you agree that these may be used on the OII website, newsletter and social media. The event will not be recorded.

VENUE

Orient-Institut Istanbul

Galip Dede Cad. 65, Şahkulu Mah., TR – 34421 Istanbul

Tel: +90 212 293 60 67 oiist@oiist.org   www.oiist.org

REGISTRATION

To join this invitation IN PERSON, please register here:

To join this invitation ONLINE please use the Zoom Link, NO registration necessary:

https://maxweberstiftung.zoom-x.de/j/64538280937?pwd=hPe0BFlczQkTq2xYcNlsKR9u324R1T.1

Meeting ID: 645 38280937

Passcode: 155990