The Ethiopian Research Council (ERC) was founded in 1934 in Washington, D.C. by a group of Ethiopian and American professionals and scholars. The Council is the brainchild of Dr. Melaku Bayen, a surgeon, one of the twelve founding members & the guiding light of ERC strategies until his death; he was the first Ethiopian to graduate with an Medical Doctorate from an institution in the USA. The distinguished Professor William Leo Hansbury was elected as the first Director of the Ethiopian Research Council in 1934 while the suave William Steen handled the day to day affairs of the ERC as Executive Secretary demonstrating his unusually outstanding skills in administration and public relations as well as his love of Ethiopia and Ethiopian causes. Professor Hansbury's was a distinguished professor of history at Howard University, who received the coveted Haile Selassie I Prize in Literature (then the African equivalent to the European Noble Prize) in 1963. Before he died in 1965, he completed a manuscript on ancient Ethiopian history which was later published by Howard University Press in 1974 under the title Ethiopia: The Pillar of Civilization. Professor Hansbury was the founder of the African Studies Program at Howard, which later became the first Black Studies Department in the United States and the world.
Dr. Wossene Yifru assumed the leadership of the Ethiopian Research Council in 1989 and convened to Conferences in 1990 and 1991 which were well attended by Ethiopians and Ethiopianist scholars all over the world. Dr. Wossene's contributions to ERC include his publication as Editor three informative & beautiful issues of Henok, Journal of ERC both in Amharic and English. During his tenure as Director, Dr. Wossene's was assisted by several outstanding Board Members and Advisors including Dr. Hailu Fullas, Professor Ford, and many others.
ERC: Current Officers & Board Members:
The current members of the Board of Directors include internationally known scholars, administrators and educators including Dr. Mulugeta Agonafer, Professor Molefi Asante, Mr. William B. Davis, Dr. Peter Garretson, , Professor Karenga, Distinguished Professor Harold G. Marcus, Ato Fasil Gebre Mariam, Ato Aberra Moltot, Ms. Imani Nyah, Professor Richard Pankhurst, Dr. Fikre Tolossa, and Dr. Wosene Yefru.
The Director/Coordinator of the Ethiopian Research Council is internationally known scholar/ethnomusicologist Professor Ashenafi Kebede, who also serves as Director of the Center for African American Culture and Professor of Ethnomusicology, African & Afro-American Studies, both at The Florida State University. Though renowned in Ethiopia as the Founder/Director of the National (Yared) School of Music, which has graduated practically all the living performing musical and music educators of Ethiopia, he is internationally known as an ethnomusicological scholar, the first person to receive the Ph.D. degree in his field from the famed Wesleyan University (1971, Middletown, Connecticut); the first African to conduct the famous Hungarian State Orchestra (1967). He has also served in several prestigious positions at the international level serving as the UNESCO Expert to The Government of Sudan where he founded the Sudanese Institute of Music, Dance and Drama, and Chairman of the Teheran International Conference on Music Education in the Countries of Africa & Asia organized by UNESCO. Summery of ERC Objectives and Purposes
The Ethiopian Research Council has the unique purpose of disseminating information on the history, culture, civilization, and diplomatic relations of Ethiopia in ancient and modern times. Ethiopia is the seat of one of the oldest living civilizations in the world. It possessed civil and social institutions of a high order of development long before Europe had emerged as a nation state, and in the heyday of the Classical Age it was universally regarded as one of the greatest and most powerful nations of the earth. Believing that the culture of this ancient and long-lived nation deserves a wider currency than contemporary thought and scholarship have accorded it, the Ethiopian Research Council (ERC) has set itself to the performance of the following important task:
(a) An annual convention.
(b) Publication of the journal Ethiopia's Morning Star.
(c) Etheiopian Research Council Awards & Honors.
(d) Working with educational institutions in Ethiopia and abroad,
ERC encourages and assists talented Ethiopian youths to get access to
higher education abroad.
For Additional information, write or contact :
Professor
Ashenafi Kebede, Director,
Ethiopian Research Council
c/o Center
for African American Culture,
The Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 32306.
Telephone: 904-644-3252.
Fax:
904-644-6041.
From: Ashenafi Kebede akebede@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
Message-Id: 199510312046.AA110174@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
Subject:
Ethiopian Research Council
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 15:46:37 -0500
(EST)
World Music Ensembles at Florida State ETHIOPIAN MUSIC Through the efforts of the late Dr. Ashenafi Kebede (see "InMemoriam" below), world famous scholar of Ethiopian music, founder of theEthiopian Conservatory of Music many decades ago in Addis Ababa, former directorof the Center for African American Culture at FSU, and former Professor ofEthnomusicology in the School of Music, Ethiopian music and other aspects ofEthiopian culture are available for study. Please visit the following sites fora taste of Dr. Kebede's interests in this ancient culture: AHISTORY OF ETHIOPIAN MUSIC IN PICTURES A HISTORY OFMUSIC IN PICTURES ANTHOLOGY OF ART &AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE IN MEMORIAM Ashenafi Kebede (1938--1998) Dr. Ashenafi Kebede, one of Ethiopia's greatest culturaltreasures---composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, historical musicologist,music educator, novelest, and poet,--- passed away on Friday, May 8, 1998. Hewas sixty years old. Dr. Kebede received degrees from the University ofRochester (B.A. from Eastman School of Music in 1962) and Wesleyan University(M.A. in 1969 and Ph.D. in 1971, both degrees in ethnomusicology). Between hisundergraduate and graduate degrees he founded the National Saint Yared School ofMusic in Ethiopia, serving as its first director between 1963 and 1968. In 1967he was designated as a "National Composer" by Ethiopian Emperor HaileSelassie I, and was awarded the Haile Selassie I Foundation Grant forOutstanding Achievement in Cultural Affairs, the youngest artist to ever receivethat award. Shortly thereafter he began his graduate study in the United States,and became a doctoral student of David McAllester at Wesleyan. There he receivedthe distinction of being the first Ph.D. in ethnomusicology to graduate in thatprogram. Ashenafi had always held Dr. McAllester in his highest regard, and wasproud to be counted among a handful of scholars who were part of that importantschool for the history of ethnomusicology. Included as his colleagues in thoseformative years for the discipline were Genchi Tsuge (Japan), Jon Higgins(Canada), Hictor Vega (Puerto Rico), and Vishwanathan (India). It wastruly a multicultural mix of international scholars. After severalyears teaching at Queens College and Graduate School of The City University ofNew York and Brandeis University, Ashenafi Kebede joined The Florida StateUniversity as Director of the Center for Black Culture (later to become theCenter for African American Culture). He also became a tenured professor in theSchool of Music. His accomplishments as Director of the CBC and CAAC were many,ranging from achievements in academia to music and art. He developed theCommuniversity which brought university-level coursework to Tallahasseeresidents. He sponsored a multitude of dramatic presentations, concerts, and artexhibits, all receiving excellent reviews and often characterized bystanding-room only attendance. Some of the most memorable musical events wereconcerts by Sarah Vaughan, Paul Berliner and Ephat Mujuru (music from Zimbabwe),Djimo Kouyate (music from Senegal), Africa Oyi From TheBlues To Broadway Saturday Night/Sunday Morning , and many others. Ashenafi was a prolificwriter, and his works include a novel ( Confession , published in 1964),articles in ethnomusicology journals, a book entitled Roots of Black Music ,and numerous articles in The Chronicler (the magazine of the Center forAfrican American Culture, which he edited). He was also awarded numerous grantswhich enabled the Center to sponsor many events, including the highly successful1993 Ethiopian Research Council Convention. As a composer, AshenafiKebede has received high esteem in international circles. Hailed as "TheBlack Kodaly" in Hungary, after conducting his orchestral piece entitled "TheShepherd Flutist" in 1967, he has also written numerous chamber works thathave an international flavor. One of his favorite techniques was to joinEthiopian and Japanese musical ideas--Koturasia is one of those masterpieces,written for flute, clarinet, violin, and Japanese koto. Born in 1938 in AddisAbeba, Ethiopia, Ashenafi learned about life and its creative potential from hismother, a very compassionate and artistic person. As he explained to hiscolleague, Dr. Fikre Tolossa, in the early 1990s (Ethiopian Review), "[Mymother] wrote beautiful semi-sacred verse and poetry, and recited from memoryseveral of Saint Yared's melodies. She chanted Praises to [the] Virgin Maryevery day, and sang for [me] the Psalms of David playing Begena [astringed instrument] every night. She had a great influence upon [my] soul."His mother died when Ashenafi was nine years old, creating in him a greatsadness, as he explained: "I am now over fifty and I have not yet overcomemy sadness from her death. I am still heart-broken. That is undoubtedly whyeverything that I compose is melancholic." Those of us who knew and worked closely with Ashenafi Kebede aresaddened over his untimely and early death. He was a kind, considerate, andloving person who always had a smile for his friends. He gave much and had muchto offer. You will always be remembered, Ashenafi. Dale A. Olsen CMA Page