Sydney Hutchinson

A new book by an ethnomusicologist in the (A&S) is earning critical acclaim.

, associate professor of music history and cultures, is the author of 鈥溾€� (The University of Chicago Press, 2016). Winner of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM)鈥檚 Marcia Herndon Prize, the book explores the role of gender within traditional Dominican music.

The Marcia Herndon Prize recognizes ethnomusicological work focusing on gender and sexuality. According to SEM, the winning submission displays originality and uncovers theories on gender issues. Hutchinson is a two-time winner, having previously won the award in 2010.

Herndon, the award鈥檚 namesake, was a 20th-century ethnomusicologist who specialized in gender issues, performance ethnography and Native American studies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honor to receive the recognition of my colleagues,鈥� says Hutchinson, who studies music and dance of the Caribbean, as performed in parts of the Dominican Republic and New York City. 鈥淚 am proud to continue in the footsteps of Marcia Herndon, who devoted her career to exploring gender and its relationship with music.鈥�

As part of winning the award, Hutchinson will serve on next year鈥檚 Marcia Herndon Award Committee.

Hutchinson also was a finalist for the 2017 Central New York Book Awards. Sponsored by the YMCA Arts Branch, the competition recognizes commercially published poetry, fiction and nonfiction by local authors. Hutchinson was one of 12 finalists in the nonfiction category, won by University freelance writer Georgia Popoff.

鈥淸Georgia鈥檚] was a well-deserved win. It鈥檚 a thrill to be recognized outside of academia, as part of a thriving local writers鈥� community, right here in Central New York,鈥� Hutchinson says.

鈥淭igers of a Different Stripe鈥� invites readers into the nature of merengue t铆pico, a traditional genre of music in the Dominican Republic. Merengue t铆pico stands out from most traditional musics for the leading roles women musicians have played.

Ellen Koskoff, professor emerita of ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music, describes 鈥淭igers of a Different Stripe鈥� as 鈥渄elightfully quirky.鈥� 鈥淧ulling together years of study and performance, as well as careful and sophisticated theory, this book will become a staple for courses in ethnomusicology and anthropology,鈥� she writes.

Hutchinson joined 黑料不打烊 as an assistant professor in 2010, teaching courses on Caribbean and Latin American music, Mexican music and social movements, and music and identity, and was promoted to associate professor this year. She has won several awards for her work, including a special citation of the De La Torre Bueno prize for best book on dance in 2007.