Alumna Takes Charge at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Maureen Loughran discusses her path to this musical dream job 

Maureen Loughran ’95 manages the sounds of the world for a living. She believes her experiences in the music program and encouragement to explore new things during her time at Saint Mary’s College were essential for her academic and professional growth.

Loughran grew up in Washington, D.C., going to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival every summer, eventually becoming a volunteer and working at the festival. During her time volunteering, Loughran gained great insight into her future. “You could really do this,” she told herself. ‘This could be a job—could be a career—and maybe something that I want to think about.” 

Little did Loughran know, she would go from festival volunteer to being the first woman hired as director and curator of the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “This is one of those jobs that is kind of unbelievable when it becomes available, even more unbelievable when it becomes something that you're able to do,” Loughran says. “I'm really honored to have the opportunity to work here.”

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increasing understanding through the documentation, preservation and dissemination of sound. Loughran serves as an advocate for the label and tries to find ways to collaborate with partners from around the world. 

“The dynamic catalog has been compared to a ‘museum of sound’ in some ways,” Loughran explains. “Moses Asch, who started the label in 1948, really thought of his label as documenting all the sounds of the world. It tells us something about who we are at a certain moment in time. Sounds that to us may seem natural and understandable, but to future generations may seem unknown, having a capture of them is really important.”

During her time at Saint Mary’s, Loughran was encouraged to explore and try things outside her department and even took graduate level classes in the music department at the University of Notre Dame. “I think that one of the best things about Saint Mary’s was that you were really encouraged to participate in lots of different departments,” says Loughran. “It was kind of an oasis, a safe place to learn, think about things and explore. And that’s really important, especially in performance and music.”

These experiences led Loughran to continue her education and obtain her masters and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Brown University. Loughran stresses that one of the most important things students can do while in college is use their time to explore all types of opportunities through internships, talking to professionals in the field of study and furthering their education.

“If you love music and want to be around music, there are ways to find a space for yourself in that world that doesn't require you to be the performer.” Loughran says. “When you are supporting musicians. You don't have to be the star on the stage.”

To learn more about the incredible work of the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the legacy of Moses Asch, and to access the museum’s massive library of recordings, visit folkways.si.edu.

September 1, 2023