Bio:
Kay Stonefelt, Professor of Music, Percussion, joined the Fredonia
School of Music faculty in 1993 while she was concurrently the recipient
of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Grant to Ghana, West Africa.
During her year in Ghana Kay worked with the Ghana Dance Ensemble at the
National Theatre where she studied xylophone styles of the Dagara people
with Bernard Woma, and various indigenous drumming patterns of Ghana
with Francis Kofi. In return, Kay was able to share her knowledge of
contemporary music through a course that she taught at the University of
Ghana at Legon on music of the Twentieth Century.
Kay completed a Doctor of Music in Percussion Performance degree at
Indiana University (1992), with additional study areas cf
Ethnomusicology and Jazz History. During the pursuit of the degree she
also held teaching positions as an Associate Instructor of Percussion at
Indiana University, and as Lecturer in Percussion at the State
University of New York College at Fredonia. During this time Kay also
performed in Germany, France, and the former USSR with the Stuttgart
(Germany) Opera Orchestra, and presented solo percussion concerts in
Munich and Konstanz, Germany.
Immediately following her undergraduate studies, Kay participated in
many orchestral ensembles throughout the USA and was a member of the
Baltimore Symphony percussion section. After moving to New York City,
Kay performed in over 20 Broadway and off-Broadway shows. As a
free-lance player in New York City, she recorded TV and radio
commercials and was a founding member of various chamber, jazz, and
percussion ensembles. Kay also participates in many women's music
events, from the First National Congress on Women and Music at New York
University to performances at the Bloomington (IN) Women's Music
Festival.
As a participant in Renaissance and Medieval ensembles, where many
ethnic percussion instruments are used, Kay developed an interest in
performance of ethnic percussion instruments. This interest led her to
study ethnomusicology at Indiana University, concentrating on various
aspects of musics of the Middle East and Africa, i.e. frame-drumming,
amadinda (log xylophone from Uganda), gyil (xylophone of the Dagara
people), and West African drumming styles.
At Fredonia, as a part of our multicultural awareness, and in an attempt
to include world music performance in our program, African xylophone and
drumming ensemble classes are offered through participation in
percussion ensemble.
In addition to Western European percussion performance, Kay produces and
performs concerts in the U.S. with Ghanaian xylophonist Bernard Woma.
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