Tulane is collaborating with Music Rising, a campaign started after Hurricane Katrina in an effort to revive the Gulf South music scene and culture, to build an interactive website. The website launched on April 23.

Matt Sakakeeny

, a Tulane music professor and contributor to the Music Rising website, said the organization was initially founded to provide direct assistance to musicians affected by Katrina.

Sakakeeny

said that, in the beginning, Music Rising focused on replacing instruments for musicians that were lost during Katrina.

“They have since moved on to education, and they partnered with Tulane to create a curriculum about the music of the Gulf South region,” Sakakeeny

said.

To increase its focus on education, Music Rising has paired with Tulane faculty to design online course content.

“For Tulane students, there is a new coordinate major, Musical Cultures of the Gulf South, as well as jazz artist-in-residence, Donald Harrison, Jr

. and several other campus initiatives,” Sakakeeny said. “For the wider public, the Music Rising office at Tulane has created a web-based curriculum for anyone to learn more about the music of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the entire Gulf Coast region.”

The Music Rising at Tulane website allows visitors to stream performances, listen to interviews and explore a variety of artist biographies. The website also offers the public access to Tulane curriculum.

Part of the website is geared towards helping K-12 teachers introduce their students to the significance of the music and culture from the Gulf South region.

Sakakeeny

said he became involved with Music Rising because his research focuses on the music of New Orleans. He has created content for the website and teaches a class on New Orleans music that is required for the Musical Cultures of the Gulf South major. 

Sakakeeny

said he would like to see the website grow to include videos of performances by regional musicians.