I was very pleased to participate in the 2016 NASA Conference hosted by Texas Tech University in scenic West Texas.

Lubbock … so flat that you can actually see the earth’s curvature.

It is also the ancestral home of 50s rocker Buddy Holly…

…countrified Mac Davis…

…and some incredible Bar-B-Q!

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My playing and composition partner Glen Gillis and I performed four original electro-acoustic pieces and the NASA conference including “Beached Whale” and “Pilgrim Monumental,” both of which were debuted at the Jay Critchley Inc. exhibition opening in Boca Raton, in early February.

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We also premiered two new compositions… “Fanfare, for Alto Saxophone and Arnold Palmer Slide Didgeridoo”

And a new live electro-acoustic version of an old classic “Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)”

I really enjoyed the sojourn to Lubbock (I guess I’m a closet sax geek). However, owing to my propensity for flying with 1 1/2 inch plastic pipe and fittings, I found the obligatory personal message from TSA when I opened my bag upon my return home.

“BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY” I always say.

March 3, 2016, on a Jet Blue flight from Ft. Lauderdale [upper left corner] to Port of Spain, Trinidad [lower right] for the 2016 Society for Ethnomusicology Southeastern and Caribbean Chapter Meeting in San Fernando, Trinidad-Tobago [barely off the coast of Venezuela].

Mid-flight, the eastern edge of Hispanola just visible over the right wing

We were greeted at the airport by an esteemed chauffeur and his trusty sidekick. 

And narrowly escaped certain death on an hour-long ride to the hotel on the “Fun Bus.”

Our conference residence was the beautiful Royal Hotel in San Fernando, on the Southwestern tip of Trinidad.

First order of business, beer and food.

Apparently, in Trinidad, beer is gender-specific, and the food is an eclectic mix of Caribbean, Indian, and Chinese–spicy and delicious!

and some potent rum.

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The first night in we were invited to a rehearsal of the Skiffle Steel Orchestra just down the road from the hotel.

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The SEMSEC conference began in ernest the morning of Friday, March 4th. Many interesting panels and papers were presented.

The overall theme of the conference was the role of the percussive engine room of the steel pan orchestra, which provides its energy, forward momentum, and driving force.” 

My own presentation explored the potential of acoustic space as a sonic engine room.

“Pilgrim Monumental” © 2016 (Gillis, Cunningham)

…my profound conclusions!!!

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The keynote speech of the conference was presented by Dr. Hollis Urban Lester Liverpool aka calypsodian Mighty Chalkdust, who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan, and is the eight-time winner of Trinidad’s Calypso Monarch competition.

“Chalkie” presented a dynamic keynote which included historical and contemporary perspectives on Trinidad’s calypso tradition.

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A stimulating Saturday morning session was followed by an epic journey to Maracas Bay on the north shore of island. A harrowing bus ride over the mountains, led us first to the scenic overlook…

…and then down a winding road to Maracas Beach, where waves were body surfed, glasses lost, and shark bake consumed.

all in all, a perfect conference!