Graduate Seminars in Musicology/Ethnomusicology at James Madison University

Seminars cover specific topics within the following framework, organized by historical period: • Seminar I (MUS 750) Music through the Baroque • Seminar II (MUS 752) Classical and early Romantic • Seminar III (MUS 754) Late Romantic to Present • Seminar IV (MUS 756) Ethnomusicology, Popular Music, and Jazz

Topics: Fall 2017 – Spring 2019 While we will make every effort to adhere to what appears below, topics may occasionally change

Fall 2017 Seminar IV (MUS 756): Improvisation in World Cultures Instructor: Connell An examination of musical improvisation within various global traditions, including (but not limited to) jazz, Indian ragas, Arabic maqam, Brazilian embolada, Baroque performance practice, the blues, and aleatoric music. In addition to readings and discussions on select musical cultures, students will create and participate in a variety of improvisational games and compositions.

Spring 2018 Seminar II (MUS 752): Wagner’s Ring Instructor: Speare This seminar will focus on Richard Wagner’s “Ring” Cycle, which was first staged in its entirety in 1876 and which had a lasting impact on composers of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Students will study such elements as the use of orchestration, leitmotifs and through-composed procedures, as well as the historical context of this monumental work.

Fall 2018 Seminar III (MUS 754): 20th-Century Art Music in Latin America Instructor: Aponte This seminar will deal with Latin-American Art Music in the twentieth century. The focus will be on music and musical life in the context of politics, national formation, and modernization. Case studies will be drawn from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Venezuela.

Spring 2019 Seminar I (MUS 750): Introduction to Historical Performance Practice Instructor: Gibson An exploration of issues in the historically-informed performance of music. While many of our case studies will be drawn from Baroque repertoire, students will select project topics according to their own interests. We will focus on 1) specific techniques and practices drawn from primary sources and recent research (for example, vocal and instrumental ornamentation, tuning/temperament, instrumentation, etc.); and 2) the idea of authenticity and the aesthetics of historically-informed performance.

• Address any questions to Profs. Aponte, Connell, Gibson, or Speare, and feel free to suggest seminar topics you would like to see offered in the future