Music Faculty Takes Research on Music in Sports to National Conference

Photo Submitted

Matthew Mihalka

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Matthew Mihalka, an instructor in the department of music in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has been invited to present a paper on the use of music at sporting events at the American Musicological Society’s annual conference. 

In “From Town Hall to Play Ball!: The Origins of the Baseball Organist,” Mihalka explores the early history of the organ and demonstrates how music has historically been used during sporting events. He considers the cultural trends and technological innovations that led to the organ entering the ballpark during the early 1940s. He also examines the approach that early organists used in accompanying baseball games and how they established the basic archetypes that later organists followed.

“The intersection of music and sport has not seen a great deal of academic interest, so I am looking forward to sharing my findings and contributing to this growing area of study,” said Mihalka. “My research generally focuses on music and everyday life, and I have found that the ballpark provides a good case study on how production and consumption patterns have evolved during the past hundred years.” 

Mihalka’s paper originated from his doctoral dissertation on the historical use of music during baseball games titled, From the Hammond Organ to “Sweet Caroline”: The Historical Evolution of Baseball’s Sonic Environment.

Mihalka joined the music faculty at the University of Arkansas in 2011. He received a bachelor of music education from the University of Central Missouri and a doctorate and master of arts in musicology and ethnomusicology from the University of Minnesota.

The American Musicological Society’s 2012 annual conference will be held jointly with the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Society for Music Theory November 1-4, in New Orleans at the Sheraton New Orleans and Astor Crown Plaza hotels. For more information about the conference visit, www.ams-net.org/neworleans/.