Bulgarian Chalga: Forming a Post-Communist Identity through Music (original) (raw)

that I have acquired while exposed to the insights of my many wonderful professors at Butler University. For their dedication and enthusiasm, I am very grateful, and my completion of this project is as much of a sign of their success as it is of my own. Several people have been of specific importance in my completion of this thesis, and I would like to thank each of them individually. Most importantly, I would like to thank Dr. Briscoe, my thesis advisor. Dr. Briscoe has been a wonderful source of guidance and wisdom for me as I have attempted to sort through the diverse sources, viewpoints, and historical concepts involved in my thesis research. I have been inspired by his many wonderful courses over the past four years, and without his encouragement, I would likely not have pursued a major in music history or have come to appreciate the field as I do today. I would also like to thank Dr. Eyerly for serving as a reader on my thesis committee. Concepts I learned as a student in her "World Music" class have been quite useful and have informed my approach to this thesis, which incorporates ethnomusicological research techniques I learned from her. Much thanks also goes to Dr. Felice, who is a reader on my thesis committee and has been a composition and electronic music professor of mine during my time at Butler. His support and enthusiasm for all of my musical endeavors is greatly appreciated. Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends and family members from Bulgaria who have been very much in my thoughts as I have tackled this complex topic. From them I have gained cultural insights about their country and my own country that have had a profound effect on my analysis of chalga. Specifically, I would like to thank my husband Nikolay for his efforts in translating lyrics, searching for information in Bulgarian, explaining cultural nuances, and supplying me with an emic viewpoint of the chalga phenomenon.