Music studies from all over the world converged in Hubbard and Gibson Halls last Saturday, when Bowdoin College hosted the annual meeting of The Northeast Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

Assistant Professor of Music Michael Birenbaum Quintero served as faculty host for the event, which drew about 60 attendees from academic institutions throughout New England. Usually held in Boston, the annual meeting had never before made its way up to Bowdoin.

Dozens of presentations made for a diverse program, including a talk focused on the political impact of the ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’ phenomenon upon Malaysia, a series of talks about the sacred experience in music—with examples ranging from Navajo chants to Puritan psalms to Southern Baptist hymns, not to mention electronic trance music—and a performance by the Bowdoin College Afro-Latin American ensemble.

“The meeting was an absolute success,” Quintero said.  “It was a very valuable opportunity for professors, retired professors, undergraduates, and grad students to exchange ideas.”