TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- University of Alabama student Jason E. Roberts of Tupelo, Miss., has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Romania for the 2005-2006 school year.

Roberts is a master’s of music student at UA with a specific interest in piano performance. While in Romania for his Fulbright, Roberts will study musicology. He will focus on the influence of Romanian folk music on Romanian art music in the 20th century through the piano works of George Enescu, Mihai Jora and Liana Alexandra Moraru.

“If my research is successful, it will give non-Romanians -- specifically Americans and other Westerners -- insight into how to treat folk elements in modern art music and what they mean within their musical context,” Roberts said.

After studying under Dr. Linda Cummins, UA visiting assistant professor of musicology, Roberts became interested in Romanian music. “I think it’s important to study abroad because there is so much to be learned about the rest of the world that can only be learned by living in it. There’s also a great deal that we can learn about ourselves from a removed perspective,” he commented.

The Fulbright Program is an international exchange program which was created in 1946 to build mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the rest of the world. Students are chosen on their academic or professional achievements and leadership in their specific fields of interest.

Students interested in Fulbright opportunities can go online to http://www.iie.org and see Dr. Marilyn Emplaincourt, Fulbright representative at UA, in the Capstone International Center, 135 B.B. Comer, for more information.