INAFA Intern, Jonathan Hull


Biography

Pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in music history with a concentration in ethnomusicology, Jonathan Hull attends Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Virginia.

Beginning as a guitar player at 14-years-old, he had little classical influence until his first semester at CNU performing in the guitar orchestra. Taking The World's Music class with Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl also in his first CNU semester encouraged an understanding of, and appreciation for, global music. This was solidified in his second semester at CNU with the second half of Dr. Grendahl's world music class. Since then, Jonathan has applied the knowledge and influence from those classes to learning instruments from around the world and becoming acquainted with various musical styles.

Jonathan was an actor/banjo player in the Fall 2004 production of Romeo and Juliet and has also been published in the university literary magazine, Currents, with two original poems "Dear Luna" and "Growing Old." He is a member of the national music honor fraternity Pi Kappa Lambda, as well as the national honor fraternity, Alpha Chi.

The world music influence has carried through Jonathan's university career, heavily culminating with two events. The first significant happening was as a member of the premier concert of Kongomana, the CNU World Music Ensemble. The second is being a part of a research project with fellow music history/ethnomusicology major Chau Tran, partially funded by the school and with advising by Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl. The research project aims to uncover musical traditions of Vietnam. The research will be conducted in July as part of ongoing fieldwork with Dr. Phong Ngyuen in Vietnam, the world's expert in Vietnamese musics.

Jonathan has recently taken up the Native American flute, with help from none other than Dr. Kathleen Joyce-Grendahl.




Photos: Ryan Burke
International Native American Flute Association - Copyright © 2006