Country South Africa Established 1954 Website ilam.ru.ac.za | Scope African music Director Dr Lee Watkins | |
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Location Grahamstown, Eastern Cape | ||
The International Library of African Music (ILAM) is an organization dedicated to the preservation and study of African music. Seated in Grahamstown, South Africa, ILAM is attached to the Music Department at Rhodes University and coordinates its Ethnomusicology Programme which offers undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Ethnomusicology that include training in performance of African music.
Contents
ILAM is particularly known for its study of the lamellophone mbira of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, as well as the Chopi people's Timbila, a variant of the marimba from southern Mozambique.
Publications and recordings
History
ILAM was founded by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey in 1954, made possible through grants received from the Nuffield Foundation and the South African Department of Education.
ILAM published the African Music Society Journal, now known as the Journal of the International Library of African Music. ILAM was initially located in Msaho (near Roodepoort, Gauteng). When Hugh Tracey died in 1977, his son Andrew took over as director. Private funding had dried up, but Rhodes University agreed to host ILAM, and both ILAM and AMI moved to Grahamstown in 1978. Andrew Tracey served as director until 2005. The current director is Diane Thram.
Notable collections
The following collections are available online: