Current Project
Greek Music in America Translation 

Projected Completion Date: Fall 2024

The Greek diaspora brought with them the many permutations of music in Greece. During the early 20th century, a flood of immigration combined with commercial record production to generate unparalleled documentation of ethnic music. From 1896 to 1942, over 1000 analog discs with Greek recordings appeared in the U.S. on labels large and small—and thousands more have since appeared. Encompassing not only traditional music from all regions, but also emerging urban genres, stylistic changes, new songs of social commentary in traditional music forms, and reflections of the daily lives of Greek immigrants, they are invaluable documents of community practices and preferences. Music was one of the most prized and enduring creations of the diaspora, and an important element for most social occasions. Greek music generated in the US continues to have an enduring influence on the musical culture of Greece and other diaspora communities.

Despite such a substantial artistic legacy, Greek Music in America (2019) is the only comprehensive work devoted to the topic. As such, it provides a singular platform for understanding the scope, practice, and development of Greek music in America through essays and profiles written by the principal scholars in the field. The book includes essays by Tina Bucuvalas, Anna Caraveli, Aydin Chaloupka, Sotirios (Sam) Chianis, Frank Desby, Stavros K. Frangos, Stathis Gauntlett, Joseph G. Graziosi, Gail Holst-Warhaft, Michael G. Kaloyanides, Panayotis League, Roderick Conway Morris, National Endowment for the Arts, Nick Pappas, Meletios Pouliopoulos, Anthony Shay, David Soffa, Dick Spottswood, Jim Stoynoff, and Anna Lomax Wood. It received the 2019 prize for best edited volume from the Modern Greek Studies Association.