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Larry Stockton, professor and head of music, is wrapping up his participation today in the ninth annual Fall Fellowship in Korean Studies Program, a learning experience in Korea that began Oct. 3.
No more than ten American educators are chosen to receive the fellowship, which is funded by the Freeman Foundation and the Korea Information Service.
The program provides a general overview of Korea, past and present, through a series of lectures and field trips beginning in Seoul and including a seven-day, docent-led tour to major points of interest throughout the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Lectures by prominent scholars on topics such as the history, art, language, architecture, economy, literature, and culture of Korea are accompanied by visits to various points of special historical and cultural significance.
According to program organizers, past participants have found that it offers “an unparalleled learning experience as well as a unique opportunity for extensive travel within Korea.”
Before departing for his trip, Stockton, who visited South Korea briefly in 1989, noted that the Fall Fellowship experience would be very beneficial to his own work and to students and his fellow faculty. The required introductory course in College’s Asian Studies program will be enhanced immediately.
“As a former director of Lafayette’s East Asian Studies Program (1988-2003), I am very interested in adding more depth to the Korea component (of the renamed Asian studies program),” he said. “Our current strengths lie primarily in Japan and China, and we are committed to expanding elements of Korean studies directly into the program.I [hope] to infuse a sense of excitement among our Asian studies faculty to expand their own research areas and to further develop other related course offerings.”
Knowledge gained on the trip will help Stockton incorporate a unit on traditional Korean culture into his World Music Traditions course. His similar intensive experiences in Japan (1986), Indonesia (1991), and Ghana (2000) have all resulted in either new courses or significant additions to courses.
“The direct educational benefits of these experiences have been fantastic,” he said, citing as an example the establishment of programs bringing native scholars and musicians to campus.
Stockton is a specialist in Japanese traditional music, specifically music of the Kabuki theater. He has participated in intensive Japanese language study at Cornell University, attended a National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar on Japanese theater music and another on Shamisen history and techniques, and undertaken private study of Kabuki theater and Nagauta performance.
He and William E. Melin, professor of music at Lafayette, delivered a multimedia presentation at the International Conference of the College Music Society at the University of Limerick, Ireland, on a course they developed, The New York Jazz Experience, which has been featured by The New York Times. In 2000, Stockton received a Fullbright-Hayes Fellowship for study of percussion in Ghana. In 1990, he studied gamelan music in Bali, Java, and Sumatra.
An experienced performer, conductor, and clinician, Stockton has published numerous articles and conducted workshops in Japanese music. In 1992-93, he produced a four-volume set of band music for Toshiba-EMI, Ltd.
He uses the wide breadth of his knowledge and experience in music and cultures to mentor Lafayette students. Before graduating as a double major in music and psychology, Abigail Frueh ’04 (Havertown, Pa.), for example, conducted a yearlong independent research project under Stockton’s guidance that explored the musical careers of women during the swing era.
“I believe that one of Lafayette’s primary strengths and continuing responsibilities is in fostering the student-faculty relationship beyond the typical classroom setting,” he says.
“I’m very glad to [have worked] with Dr. Stockton; he is approachable and eager to help however he can,” says Frueh. “He’s very committed to the students and to the department, and it shows in the work that he does.”
“One of the true values of independent study projects is that the process redefines the student/professor relationship, often even reversing the traditional roles,” adds Stockton, noting that he, in fact, learned from Frueh.
Rashada Norman ’03 (Bethlehem, Pa.), who earned a degree in computer science, and Ryan Tobin ’03 (Pennsburg, Pa.), who graduated as a double major in computer science and music, worked as EXCEL Scholars under Stockton’s guidance as they computerized the holdings of Lafayette’s music library. In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Stockton supervised a senior project by Nuri Noaz ’03(Ocean, N.J.), who graduated as a double major in music and government & law, in which she investigated chromesthesia, or colored hearing. She used the David L. Burge system to determine whether someone can learn relative pitch and identify pitches by letter name when they are associated with colors.
A member of the faculty since 1977 and chair of music since 1992, Stockton teaches world music courses, jazz, and a number of other offerings, many of which he developed. He has directed World Music Ensembles and is former director of Lafayette’s Marching Band (1977-1989), Concert Band (1977-1988), and Jazz Ensemble (1977-1991).
He has been a member of U.S. Army Bands in the U.S. and Japan, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Emory University Wind Ensemble, Yokohama Symphony, Tokyo “Five” Percussion Ensemble, University of Delaware Percussion Ensemble, Easton Pops Orchestra, and Pennsylvania Pops Orchestra, for which he has played as percussion soloist since 1990. He also has given solo performances in the United States and Japan.
Stockton has given presentations at a World Music Seminar at the University of Ghana in Accra; a College Music Society International Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico; International Symposium: Teaching Musics of the World in Basel, Switzerland; a National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar at the University of Michigan; the Association for Asian Studies at Lockhaven University (Pa.); and other events.
He moderated a panel discussion on “Charlie Parker: A Legacy in Jazz” with jazz giant Phil Woods and Frank Morgan. Since 1979, Stockton has served as adjudicator for high school music festivals in 37 states, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
His honors and grants include:U.S. Army Showcase Award for Best Original Score, 1973; Outstanding Young Men of America, 1980; People to People Delegation to Indonesia, 1990; Instrumental Advisory Board, Shawnee Press, 1986-90; National Advisory Board: Music Maestro Please, 1990 to present; educational consultant, Toshiba-EMI, Ltd., 1991-94; judge for Philadelphia Mummers Parade, 1988-91; Sloan Foundation Workshop, 1984; Lafayette faculty development grant, 1985; Lafayette computer grant, 1994 and 1995.
Stockton is a member of the Society for Ethnomusicology, the College Band Directors National Association, the Percussive Arts Society, the Music Educators National Association, National Association of Jazz Educators, Asia Society, Japan Society, American Federation of Musicians (Local 379), and Association of Asian Studies.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from West Carolina University and a doctorate in musical arts from Temple University.