Arts at Noon lecture to explore links between prostitution and music

The 38th season of the Arts at Noon series will break from its traditional concert format to present a lecture examining the nexus between prostitution, music, dance, sexuality and an underground cultural economy during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Dale Cockrell, specialist in 19th century American music and Professor Emeritus of musicology at Vanderbilt University, will present “Blood on Fire: Sex, Music and Dance from Minstrelsy to Jazz,” Wednesday, October 7, at noon in the Cook-DeWitt Center on the Allendale Campus.

Cockrell’s presentation will focus on the time period of 1840-1917 when thousands of brothels, concert saloons and dance halls across the U.S. — all common sites for prostitution — provided well-paying livelihoods for working musicians who composed energetic music for dancing. Cockrell explained that the development of the musical foundations in this time period led to the vibrant music of the 20th century in America.

Cockrell also serves as a research associate at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is the author of 13 books and musical editions, as well as more than 70 articles, papers and monographs. Cockrell is the founder and president of The Pa’s Fiddle Project, an educational music program dedicated to recording the music of the Little House books and reconnecting the nation’s children with the rich music legacies embedded within them.

All concerts will take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center on the Allendale Campus, begin at noon, and last approximately one hour. Each concert is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the Music and Dance Department at (616) 331-3484.