معرفی
Jay Arms is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Music at the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. His research bridges ethnomusicology and American experimental music, with particular focus on Indonesian gamelan traditions and their global diffusion. Arms directs the University Gamelan Ensemble specializing in West Javanese salendro and degung styles while maintaining an active performance career in classical and contemporary guitar.
Research interests include the globalization of gamelan music, experimental music traditions, improvisation studies, and American music. His work examines how local experimental practices intersect with global artistic networks through the medium of gamelan, utilizing both ethnographic and archival methodologies. Current projects explore tuning systems through biographical approaches and the social contexts of American gamelan ensembles.
Publications demonstrate sustained focus on cross-cultural musical exchange, particularly examining American composers' engagement with Indonesian traditions. Recent work shows increasing interest in biographical approaches to instrument building and compositional processes. The integration of performance practice within research methodology remains a consistent theme throughout his scholarship.
