Explore Beyond Collections with Music in the Stacks

Music in the Stacks grew out of my desire to host informal concerts more inclusive of students and diverse musical styles and genres, with the goal to bring performance energy to the library in proximity to the scores students are performing with and studying. The series sprang from an earlier successful pilot: we hosted an undergraduate student string quartet in 2018 at the opening of an exhibit in the music library of materials from the archival collection devoted to the Marlboro Music Festival.

In 2019, after contemplation, and a great naming suggestion from the former director of Penn Chamber Ensemble, Music in the Stacks launched with semesterly calls for performers to contact us to book dates. The first few years of events happened in Van Pelt Library, and then Covid intervened. We resumed in-person events in 2022 and branched out to more locations, including Holman Biotech Commons and the Penn Museum Library. Penn Flutes and Penn Chamber Ensemble have appeared with regularity, featuring different seasonal themes and repertoire, and Collegium Musicum has also appeared. The music department’s director of performance studies, Michael Ketner, and his staff provide informal programs.  

The series typically features two to three performances per semester and recently expanded to include occasional summer dates and performances from Penn Libraries staff. We post signage in the concert seating area to let patrons know that the space will not be quiet (albeit temporarily) and to welcome them to join the event. We also advertise through posters and social media. Attendance has ranged from 20 to 80 audience members, including family and friends of performers, library staff, and patrons. Surprisingly, we have not had noise complaints! These events create a vibrant sense of communal arts activity in our spaces.

In 2019, Music in the Stacks hosted a performance in tandem with the online exhibit Re-Covering the Ney Collection. The graduate student exhibit and concert featured Persian Ney flutes from the Penn Museum, explanatory material from our collections, and the scholarship of curator Juan Castrillón, who at the time was earning a PhD in Music Studies from Penn. The exhibit was entitled: Re-covering the Ney Collection and the performance took place in December 2019, with Juan playing ney flute and percussion, accompanied by Sufi dancer Ibrahim Miari (shown in featured photo).

In spring of 2023, we hosted the Penn Arab Ensemble, directed by Hanna Khuri. The program featured student vocal performances, and strings and percussion, including active audience participation led by Khuri, who was an engaging advocate for Arab music, elucidating lyrics and rhythmic modes. The ensemble — based on traditional ensembles in Egypt — is open to Penn students, who sing in both classical Arabic and colloquial dialects with intricate melodic patterns.  

Spring 2024 brought our first Music in the Stacks featuring library staff: Nikitas Tampakis, in A Musical Journey to Cyprus: Traditional Songs of Love, Sorrow, and Hope. Nikitas performed with colleagues Roger Mgrdichian (oud) and Nicoletta Demetriou (voice). Demetriou, an ethnomusicologist, elucidated the lyrics of songs in Greek and articulated themes foregrounding the importance of sorrow and longing in Cypriot culture. She was born and raised in Cyprus and founded/directs the Cyprus Music Archive. The trio performed as part of a tour in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  

Are you a student interested in performing in this series? Just drop me a line at lizavick@upenn.edu and share information about yourself and your music.