Case Studies of Women and Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers
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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2019 Music Technology, Gender, and Sexuality: Case Studies of Women and Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers Justin Thomas Massey West Virginia University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the Musicology Commons, and the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation Massey, Justin Thomas, "Music Technology, Gender, and Sexuality: Case Studies of Women and Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers" (2019). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7460. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7460 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Music Technology, Gender, and Sexuality: Case Studies of Women and Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers Justin T. Massey A Dissertation submitted To the College of Creative Arts At West Virginia University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance Michael Ibrahim, DMA, Chair Evan MacCarthy, PhD, Research Advisor Jared Sims, DMA Matthew Heap, PhD Jonah Katz, PhD School of Music Morgantown, West Virginia 2019 Keywords: Music Technology, Electroacoustic Music, Feminist Studies, Queer Studies, New Music, Elainie Lillios, Jess Rowland, Carolyn Borcherding Copyright © 2019 Justin T. Massey ABSTRACT Music Technology, Gender, and Sexuality: Case Studies of Women and Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers Justin T. Massey This document aims to contribute to the established scholarship that highlights the role gender and sexuality has with one’s fundamental relationship to composition and music technology. The profession of electronic music composition and music production are strongly associated with notions of power and control, as much of this technology was built during the World Wars and Cold War. These aggressive views have created gendered language and metaphors in the field. Metaphors are the primary way in which we accommodate and assimilate information and experience to our conceptual organization of the world. It is at the source of our capacity to learn and at the center of our creative thought. I hope to continue the discussion of language, metaphors, and various approaches to composing and working with music technology through a historical overview of women’s achievements and difficulties in the electroacoustic community. Elainie Lillios, Jess Rowland, and Carolyn Borcherding were selected to be interviewed for this document. Each interview allows them the opportunity to discuss their music, their approach to composition and their use of technology as part of their artistic process, and to discuss their roles of educators and their approach to pedagogy to further contribute to the scholarship and history of electroacoustic composers. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the many individuals whose efforts went into the making of this document. Thank you to Evan MacCarthy, my research advisor for his mentorship and dedication to this project. His guidance, encouragement, and questions were incredibly valuable as I worked on navigating my topic for this project. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Michael Ibrahim for his guidance and pedagogy in saxophone and administration. I would also like to thank the remaining members of my committee, Matthew Heap, Jared Sims, and Jonah Katz, for their time and dedication to me and my projects. I would like to acknowledge Elainie Lillios, Carolyn Borcherding, and Jess Rowland for their willingness to correspond with me. Their interviews, careers, and music have enriched this document, which would not have been possible without them. I appreciate their care and passion in all their artistic endeavors. After nearly four years, there are countless people to thank. For everyone who I have had the pleasure to perform and work with throughout all of my degrees, the numerous saxophone quartet and mixed chamber music ensembles, composers, sound engineers, and saxophone studio members, I thank you for constantly inspiring and encouraging me to become a better musician. My dear friends Gavin Goodwin, Allison Balcetis, Laura Kerslake, Emily Shultz, Dustin Grue, and Mary Charbonneau. We have become the closest friends since my undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta and I cannot imagine life without the many gifs we send each other through our group chats. iii As I look back on the last three and a half years, I would never have thought that my work with the Graduate Student and Professional Senate would be some of the most rewarding throughout my degree. I am so grateful for the trusted friendship and dedication from Lindsey McNellis. Without Lindsey’s support, GPSS would not have been effective in its mission to advocate and promote graduate student life. It has been so rewarding to have a colleague and friend outside of music with whom to discuss my research. Her input has been extremely valuable and her dedication to questioning the effectiveness of our teaching and communication methods inspire me to be a better teacher every day. Lastly, I would like to give a special thanks to Britt Trotter for her friendship throughout my entire degree. Her willingness to engage in topics of discrimination, sexism, and racism in music have helped me to navigate and acknowledge the great privileges that I bring with me and has helped encourage me to make a true difference in my approach to diversity, equality, and inclusivity within the arts. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE – A Brief History of Female Electroacoustic Composers ............................ 9 Institutions of Research ................................................................................................................. 11 Pioneers, Establishment of Electroacoustic Centers, Developments in Hardware and Software . 16 Academics, Performers, Outspoken Feminists ............................................................................. 22 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER TWO – Language and Stereotypes, a Feminist View of Electroacoustic Composition ................................................................................................................................. 30 Gendered Language and Metaphors ............................................................................................. 31 Mentors and Role Models ............................................................................................................. 37 Music Technology in the Classroom ............................................................................................ 39 A Unique Technological Viewpoint ............................................................................................. 43 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER THREE – Finding the Queer in Electroacoustic Music ...................................... 49 Pauline Oliveros ............................................................................................................................ 54 Wendy Carlos ................................................................................................................................ 59 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER FOUR – Case Studies of Women and Queer Composers ................................... 67 Role Models and Mentors ............................................................................................................. 70 Being Queer, Queering Music ...................................................................................................... 74 Inclusivity, Diversity, and the Need for Social Change ................................................................ 76 Language and Metaphors, Navigating the Gendered Aspects of Electroacoustic Music ............. 81 Relationship to Music