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JUNE 5, 2001--Stefan Kamola '01 has won a Watson Fellowship for the 2001-02 academic year. He will travel to Tuva, an autonomous Russian republic, to research Tuvan throat singing.

"The people of Tuva have come to understand their environment though the sounds it makes," says Kamola. "I plan to travel to Tuva to examine the sonic relationship between Tuvan society and its environment by studying throat singing."

Throat-singing--also known as overtone singing, harmonic singing, or harmonic chant--is a technique in which a single vocalist produces two distinct tones simultaneously. One tone is a low, sustained fundamental pitch, similar to the drone of a bagpipe. The second is a series of flutelike harmonics, which resonate high above the drone and may be musically stylized to represent natural sounds including the whistle of a bird, the rhythms of a mountain stream, or the steps of a cantering horse.

Kamola will leave the U.S. in September and travel to Kyzyl, Tuva's capital. From Kyzyl, he will travel to outlying villages and record sounds of Tuvan nature, capturing the essence of the differing sources. He then will move to one of the villages and live with the people who make music mimicking nature. While familiarizing himself with Tuvan language and society, Kamola will learn Tuvan songs, comparing their sonic mimesis to nature and examining their importance in Tuvan life.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is awarded to 60 college seniors to pursue independent research projects while traveling outside the United States for one year after their graduation. More than 1000 students from 50 selective private liberal arts colleges and universities applied for this year's awards. Watson Fellows receive $22,000 in funding to expand their horizons and develop a more informed sense of international concerns.

Media Contact: Sue Kropp