Mason Gross professor inducted into American Musicological Society for Asian music studies
Nancy Rao, distinguished professor and head of music theory at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, was inducted into the American Musicological Society (AMS) as an honorary member in recognition of her work in music study, according to a press release.
Rao is 1of 5 honorary members from around the world recently inducted into the AMS and was recognized for her work in bridging the gap between English and Chinese music studies, according to an announcement from the AMS.
The AMS is a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting studies in all aspects of music as a branch of education and scholarship with approximately 3,000 members globally, according to their website.
Rao said her research focuses on contemporary music from composers of Asian descent, including Asian-American and East Asian composers. She teaches various courses at Mason Gross, such as music analysis, musical migration, counterpoint, East Asian modernism in contemporary music and cosmopolitanism in music.
She said she decided to pursue her interest in the transpacific history of American music due to her heritage and that there is a lack of knowledge about the transpacific migration and the music associated with it historically.
According to Rao, she wrote about the topic and published a book in 2000 that was well-received by the American Musicological Society. She said she also received was from the Association for Asian-American Studies for her work on how Asian immigrants enjoyed their life through music.
"Music is really about the gathering of people, bodies, legends, magical ... stagecraft," Rao said. "And it is a great way to think about Asian-American history because there's a lot of creative artistry that brings the community together."
According to Rao, she has studied the transpacific history of American music and brought attention to the topic with her upcoming book, "Inside Chinese Theater: Community and Artistry in Nineteenth-Century California and Beyond."
She shared that she was surprised to become an honorary member of the American Musicological Society.
"I have no idea why they picked me, but I'm so glad they did," she said.
Earlier this year, Rao was also one of the three faculty members at Rutgers to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, according to Rao.
"I think it's a really great recognition," she said. "I think both of these lucky awards I received this year made me realize that, yes, this is an important thing, and people (will) start to see it as important."
Rao said she celebrates the designation as a win for the Asian-American community because the whole history of its multiculturalism in music is being recognized. She said that one of her future goals is to write a book for the general public about how her research on Asian-American music can be incorporated into public education.
Rao described her first book, which included her transcription of a piece of early opera performed in New York City's Chinatown that is increasingly being taught in schools. She said she wants to continue creating more educational opportunities by giving lectures in the Library of Congress or in public libraries to continue educating the public about Asian-American history.
"I think at the end of the day, just like New Jersey, they are starting to require Asian-American history to be part of the K-12 courses," she said. "I think making this course content very accessible to people is very important."
