Building Community and International Scope at the Méra World Music Festival (Accepted)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The Méra World Music Festival grows out of a spirit of community awareness and activism that has marked this part of Transylvania for centuries. Through interviews with founder/managers of this festival, an examination of the program and layout, and discussions with participants and townspeople this study explores the development of this festival, choices behind its offerings, and its relationship to community activism throughout the area. I will also evaluate the festival’s support of its stakeholder participants--performers, musicians, dancers, artisans, local businesses and households, pulling apart local and global elements of the organizers’ moniker “glocal.” Méra is a central community of the Kalotaszeg region, a prosperous farming area known for its traditional dance. The festival itself is a grassroots effort inspired by the dance group Kalotaszeg Néptáncegyüttes as part of the Kalotaszeg NTE. It is a generational triumph with organizers near thirty. From its start in 2016, Méra has offered a stage to top musicians, singers, and dancers of the Hungarian folk music revival (this year Csik Zenekar, Romano Drom, Ferenczi György, legényes competition finalists) and folk groups from other parts of the world (Sirani Guevara from Mexico, Dikanda from Poland). Performances are followed every night by jam sessions and dance parties (táncház) featuring local masters from Kalotaszeg’s neighboring regions and revival band members. It draws participants from traditional music/dance camps all over Transylvania, who party into the night with locals. As the festival grows it includes multi-lingual interviews, museum shows, lectures, and film screenings and a regional market.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Judith E. Olson (M.Phil, NYU, M.M. University of Colorado) historical musicologist working with traditional Hungarian music/dance in Romania, Hungary, and among Hungarians in the United States/Canada. She combines research in traditional settings, Hungarian dance camps, and revival groups with analysis of dance structure, process, and improvisation. She presents frequently at International Council for Traditional Music, International Musicological Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, and AHEA. She performs research and organizes táncház (dance parties) in New York City for the American Hungarian Folklore Centrum. Secondary research areas include International Folk Dancing in the US, Balkan brass bands, and 19th century German music/culture.