ETSU alumnus Franklin Acosta is a Fulbright semifinalist seeking to preserve klezmer music through a new teaching document for clarinetists.
Developing and publishing a teaching document to help educate and preserve a vernacular style of music is the goal of East Tennessee State University alumnus Franklin Acosta.
Acosta, who graduated in December with a Bachelor of Music degree in instrumental performance in clarinet, is one of eight semifinalists from ETSU in this year’s competition for Fulbright awards.
A high school discovery sparks a passion for klezmer
The roots of Acosta’s Fulbright research proposal go back to his sophomore year of high school in Elizabethton, when he heard the piece, “Sholem-Alekhem, rov Feidman!”
“I was hearing (clarinet) techniques that I’d never heard before,” said Acosta, who began playing clarinet in the 6th grade and realized early that he wanted to pursue a career in music. “I couldn’t understand and grasp how this performer was playing like this.”
Intrigued, Acosta learned that the style of music he heard was klezmer, which originated in Europe. Using clarinet, violin and other instruments, musicians play this music for bar mitzvahs, holidays and other occasions.
“I looked for materials to learn how to play like this, but I couldn’t find any,” Acosta said. “There was little to no research and a dearth of learning materials that go into depth for the clarinet.”
Overcoming a lack of klezmer learning materials
Since then, Acosta eagerly learned everything he could about it. He indeed learned how to play “Sholem-Alekhem,” which means “Peace be with you,” and played it in a competition, which he won. He has gone on to perform klezmer in various settings, and is excited about an upcoming invited performance at a synagogue.
“It was so fun to learn this style,” he said. “It’s so different from traditional Western music, and it’s so expressive.”
Faculty mentorship and TRIO support at ETSU
Acosta came to ETSU, where, as a first-generation student, he received academic support through Upward Bound and the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.
These are two of ETSU’s five federally funded TRIO Programs that serve and assist underprepared and under-resourced students in their educational endeavors.
Acosta was supported through his research on klezmer by ETSU faculty members Dr. Alison Deadman, a musicologist in the Department of Music, and Dr. Lee Bidgood, an ethnomusicologist in the Department of Appalachian Studies.
And he received support for his Fulbright application through the Office of Prestigious Awards in ETSU’s Center for Global Engagement, as well as the University of Arizona’s Fulbright Bootcamp.
Fulbright proposal focuses on preserving Jewish musical heritage
If he is ultimately chosen to receive a Fulbright award, Acosta plans to go to the University of Szeged, Hungary, where he aims to connect and apprentice with klezmer street performers.
“Through my project, I want to create a document – a didactic learning document – to help students learn the history of the Jewish people in Hungary and learn the Hungarian klezmer style,” he said. “I chose Hungary for its rich background with Jewish people.
“This would really enrich not only the clarinet community, but also the Jewish community, because this is their style – this is something from their culture. There are few teachers of this, and most of the teachers are of the older generation, and slowly they’re fading away. And so this document would not only help share their culture, but preserve it.”
Visit the Office of Prestigious Awards to learn about the support ETSU provides to students in applying for national and global competitive scholarships and awards and the Jordan Center for more on support for first-generation students.