ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the process of musical acculturation and synthesis (the borrowing, adaptation, and/or merging of different musical and social elements) as they have occurred in various contexts within the United States as disparate peoples have moved and settled close to each other, and have shared their lives and musics. Constructed identity takes on another dimension when the people consider the border crossings of North American classical composers. The rock guitarist and composer Frank Zappa combined forces with classical musicians for a number of his projects, even collaborating with the celebrated conductor and composer Pierre Boulez. From the discussion of song lyrics that demean the Hawaiian language to the analysis of movies that promote an orientalizing Hawaiian eroticism, this example, perhaps more than any other in this chapter, most directly points to economic gain as the motivating factor in colonialism and cultural appropriation.
