When Music/Philosophy major Christopher Boveroux '08 (Appleton, WI) traveled to Estonia with his high-school choir, he most likely assumed that the trip was only a chorus concert, albeit an interesting one. It was in the massive amphitheatre where once nearly a third of the population of Estonia gathered for a three-day music festival that the idea for a summer proposal was born. Several years later, Boveroux applied for and was offered an Emerson Grant to research, with Heather Buchman, assistant professor of music, the key role of music in the Baltic Independence Movement.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980's loosened its hold over the satellite states, which immediately began working towards independence. The first to declare their freedom were the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. What was unusual about this movement was that it was accomplished with very little violence. While on the road to a new government, the citizens attended large two- or three-day music festivals as a show of solidarity; as contemporary journalists proclaimed, they "sang their way to freedom." In his paper, Boveroux plans to discuss the general history and chronology of the independence movement in the Baltics in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the events and the situations which lead up to them.
He will also concentrate on the music from the song festivals, asking where it came from, who wrote it, why it was chosen for a given festival, and why the music was so important, both to the people and their movement. He wants to "find out what made this music especially meaningful and significant to the people of these satellite states." Finally, he hopes to move outward and examine the lasting effects of both the revolutions and the music; how much the music from that time has affected the music written today.
Boveroux is new to summer research and expresses a positive opinion despite the frustrations of the project. Since the events occurred only a decade ago and are overshadowed by the better-publicized (and more violent) independence movements of the other Eastern-Bloc countries, there is little available literature, especially regarding the music. Boveroux has a few resources and hopes to find recordings and scores of the festival music. He is also in contact with and plans to interview several Estonian expatriates who are now living in Toronto. But these sources are rare and the whole project made more difficult by Boveroux's lack of familiarity with the Baltic languages.
But the student who chose a summer research topic because he wanted "something I can do on my own" remains optimistic and busy with his reading. The topic is large, he explains, and it is easy to be distracted by other issues in the Baltic independence movement. At Hamilton, however, Boveroux is more likely to be distracted by the musical side of his two majors. He plays several instruments and is a member of the choir and the College Hill Singers, as well as a technical manager in Wellin Hall.
As for whether this project will be done after this summer, Boveroux is not sure. He will travel for pleasure this summer once his research is done this summer and is considering going to the Baltics next year to do more research.
His research is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which allows students to work closely with a faculty member researching an area in depth.
-Lisbeth Redfield
