John M. Schechter is Professor of Music (ethnomusicology and music theory) at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He received his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied ethnomusicology with Gerard Behague, folklore with Americo Paredes, Andean anthropology with Richard Schaedel, and Quechua with Louisa Stark and Guillermo Delgado-P. From 1986 to 2000, he directed the UC Santa Cruz Taki Ñan and Voces Latin American Ensembles. With Guillermo Delgado-P., Schechter is co-editor of QUECHUA VERBAL ARTISTRY: THE INSCRIPTION OF ANDEAN VOICES/ARTE EXPRESIVO QUECHUA: LA INSCRIPCIÓN DE VOCES ANDINAS (2004), a volume dedicated to Quechua song text, narrative, poetry, dialogue, myth, and riddle. His article in this anthology, co-authored with Enrique Andrade Albuja, examines the Quechua-language rhetorical style of this gifted northern Ecuadorian highland raconteur. Schechter is general editor of, and contributing author to, MUSIC IN LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE: REGIONAL TRADITIONS (1999), a volume examining music-cultural traditions in distinct regions of Latin America. He authored THE INDISPENSABLE HARP: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT, MODERN ROLES, CONFIGURATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICES IN ECUADOR AND LATIN AMERICA (1992). In 2005, he penned a tribute to Gerard Behague at the scholar's untimely passing that year. Schechter's other publications have explored, among other topics, formulaic expression in Ecuadorian Quechua sanjuán, and the ethnography, cultural history, and artistic depictions of the Latin American/Iberian child's wake music-ritual. In January 2007, he was interviewed by John Summa and John Travers, co-directors of the planned documentary film, "The Power of Their Song: The Untold Story of Latin America's New Song Movement," where he addressed the songs of Victor Jara and general characteristics of the Nueva Cancion Movement. The film is scheduled for airing and distribution in fall 2007.
