Stony Brook University Announces Undergraduate Research And Creative Activities (Ureca) Researcher For The Month Of October
STONY BROOK, N.Y., October 28, 2010 — Stony Brook University has announced its Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Researcher for the month of October is Nicole Calma. She is a linguistics major/music minor in the class of 2011.
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| Nicole Calma |
This past summer, Calma participated in the URECA program and worked with mentor Dr. Daniel Finer of the Department of Linguistics, investigating Optimality Theory, a theory in linguistics that accounts for how linguistic differences in grammatical structure can be applied to music.
With her background in music theory and as a vocal performer, Calma was inspired to pursue the parallels between linguistics and music theory after attending a Linguistics Department talk on text-setting folk music by Professor Bruce Hayes of UCLA.
“There were two parts to my research — a reinterpretation part and a listening part. In the first part, I gave jazz musicians/composers a classical piece and had them reinterpret it. Then I gave classical musicians/composers a jazz piece and they reinterpreted that. I gathered data, looking across and between the styles at the similarities of what they did. In the second part of the research I played musical selections for participants who listened to music samples and rated and answered questions. They analyzed music in terms of sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, and growth.”
Prior to transferring to Stony Brook, Calma had studied music at C.W. Post and completed courses in ear training and harmony through Berklee College of Music. She has participated in many local and campus theatrical/musical productions and is a member of the Pocket Theater, the Pipettes, and the Stony Brook University Chorale.
Calma plans to apply to graduate programs in music theory and history. She resides in Hicksville.
