ABSTRACT
The concept of ‘music’ in Higher Education Institutions in the UK has changed beyond recognition in a comparatively short space of time. Where not so long ago the western classical canon reigned supreme, students can now study and practise a great variety of styles, genres and cultures.
This apparent diversity has not generally been accompanied by a reconsideration of the idea of musical culture as a whole. For instance, in most institutions Twentieth-century Classical Music is taught separately from Popular Music or Jazz. This neat compartmentalisation into different styles, genres, traditions and cultures conflicts with what, in the wake of Petersen and Simkus, one may want to describe as the increasing omnivorousness not only of students but also staff. In my contribution, I will try to think through and beyond traditional boundaries to arrive at a more holistic understanding of musical culture predicated on the co-existence of and interdependence between different musical cultures. The resulting concept of integrative music history will be illustrated with two case studies, the first comparing the responses of jazz and classical musicians to the introduction of recording and broadcasting and the second studying the impact of the student revolts of 1968 on different musical genres, styles and traditions.
