The Bulletin OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERIC A N MU S IC FOUNDED IN HONOR OF OS C A R G. T. SONNECK Vol. XXXIV, No. 1 Winter 2008 San Antonio Conference Update This promises to be a watershed conference for SAM, one that will forever expand our musical and scholarly horizons. – Kay Norton, Program Chair Arizona State University By now everyone should have received the exciting preliminary program for what promises to be our most eclectically American annual conference yet. SAM 2008 will be held 27 Feb.–2 March in San Antonio, Texas, hosted by Trinity University. Not only will there be an unprecedented number of papers and ses- sions devoted to “Spanish-speaking” music, but these will be integrated with topics of longstanding interest to our Society cooperation. Setting the tone of the loca- and Davy Crockett with U.S. reception of – musical authenticity, preservation, and tion and conference is the plenary session, Gustav Mahler! In our poster sessions (a “Music in New Spain,” followed by sessions new conference feature), you’ll be inspired on topics such as “Pan-American Music by new perspectives on topics such as in this issue: Making” and “Transnational Experiences country music, early 20th-century sound- at the U.S.-Mexico Border,” and presenta- scapes, music of the slavery period, and Counterpoint | 03 tions on key figures such as Revueltas, stage music. Finally, we at once acknowl- Ginastera, Xavier Cugat, Bob Wills, and edge SAM’s past, present, and future in Remembrances | 06 Celia Cruz. sessions devoted to MUSA’s 20th birthday, Faced with a plethora of diverse paper “research resources” that reinforce high- Saroni | 09 proposals, the Program Committee assem- lights of last year’s joint meeting with the bled a program that truly reflects SAM’s Music Library Association, and Thursday Brubeck | 12 understanding of “American,” which night’s traditional Sacred Harp sing fol- embraces “all of North America, includ- lowed by the screening of the new docu- Book Reviews | 14 ing Central America and the Caribbean, mentary Awake, My Soul: The Story of the and aspects of its cultures everywhere in Sacred Harp. You can feast your minds FCM Composers | 18 the world.” Look for sessions that pair on old friends – Ives, Varèse, Eisler, Ethel rap with cowboy songs, jazz with hillbilly, Waters, Cowell, Zorn, Wynton Marsalis, highbrow with lowbrow, urban with rural, continued on page 2 San Antonio Conference Update, cont. continued from page 1 and comedic barbs will be sure to titillate look forward to greeting you there. and inspire! And this year, SAM awards For hotel information, conference reg- Libby Larsen, Jimi Hendrix, Eminem, this honor not within the confines of the istration, and the conference program, see Heinrich, Patsy Cline – or perhaps dis- conference walls, but at San Antonio’s the SAM website: http://www.american- cover new fascinations – King Biscuit, Municipal Auditorium in a double-bill music.org/. Registration deadline by mail: Cowboy Troy, Carl Muck, Rene La Roche, with the San Antonio Symphony. Talk 5 Feb. Rudolph Ganz, The Girls of the Golden about taking SAM’s message to the peo- West, Jimmy Scott. ple! Jim Worman, Director of Bands at Local arrangements chair Carl Leafstedt Trinity University, invites us to celebrate has planned a full schedule of activities. our passion for live performance in a terrific Our traditional Friday afternoon tours Thursday night concert at Trinity’s Taylor feature two fantastic options: “Shrines of Concert Hall. Piston’s Incredible Flutist Texas BBQ” for those who want to feed ballet, Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto, and the body, and the beautiful San Antonio works by Dan Welcher, Morton Gould, missions (including the Alamo) for those and Sousa will be featured. In addition, who prefer to feed the mind. And don’t illustrious composer Samuel Adler, whose forget Saturday night’s banquet, which will life and experiences alone qualify him as feature good food and good music: After a walking archive of American concert dinner enjoy an evening of Tejano conjun- music, will be on hand to introduce two to performed by local legends and emceed of his works, The Force of Credulity and by Juan Tejeda, a leading authority (author Southwestern Sketches, in celebration of his of Puro Conjunto!) and veteran accordion- 80th birthday. ist. Remember to sign up for these on the All this excitement awaits you in beau- registration form. tiful San Antonio, whose location is cel- Program committee members Dale ebrated in the work of our Honorary Cockrell, Bill Everett, Sondra Wieland Members, “America’s Favorite Cowboys” Howe, John Koegel, and Leonora Saavedra and Grammy award winners Riders In join me in predicting that this memorable The Sky. Make plans to be in the audience conference will infuse the familiar words Friday evening, when SAM presents the of Bob Wills with a new and lasting sig- award to these first-rate musicians whose nificance: “Deep within my heart lies a faultless harmonies, spectacular yodeling, melody, A song of old San Antone.” We Riders In The Sky FROM THE PRESIDENT pours of rain over much of the country time one could hear a live performance of during the past several weeks. One way to Piston’s Incredible Flutist and Stravinsky’s beat the cold weather is to plan to come Ebony Concerto on the same program? Or to San Antonio during leap-year weekend. Riders In The Sky perform with the San As Kay Norton notes in her invitation, Antonio symphony? And there’s our usual this meeting will open our Society to a great banquet on Saturday evening. All in wider range of American musics than has all, this conference, our 32nd, is one that been heard before at one of our confer- should not be missed. ences. We’ve all been to conferences where If you haven’t already done so, please we were faced with a timeslot of papers remember to renew your dues as soon as that didn’t capture our interest, but in San possible. The Board has expanded mem- Antonio there will be an astonishing diver- bership categories and has reinstituted, for sity of topics that should satisfy everyone 2008, the lifetime membership. You can who attends. In fact, as I read the program, choose to pay it all at once or over a 5-year I am certain that the most frequent com- period. And if you’re out of ideas for a gift, plaint from attendees will be that there are why not send a year’s worth of JSAM to too many conflicts of interesting papers a friend, relative, or even a neighbor. Let occurring at the same time. In addition them know about SAM and our commit- As I write this, the holiday season is just to the papers and poster sessions, there ment to American music. about upon us. Cold weather has envel- are two wonderful events scheduled for I look forward to seeing all of you in oped most of the country and there have Friday afternoon and two imaginatively San Antonio been blizzards, ice storms, and great down- programmed concerts. When is the last — John Graziano 2 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXIV, No. 1 COUNTERPOINT education as to what they can do with The project consisted of weekly classroom Editor’s Note: Susan Key’s Standpoint their training. The idea that students pur- activities that culminated in the students’ article in the Summer 2007 Bulletin has suing higher degrees should have only the creation and production of a series of radio generated some wonderful responses. If academy to turn to for employment is long programs that aired on a local station. you have an idea for a future Standpoint article, please contact the editor! outdated, but from personal experience, I Simply stated, the aim of HI–FI Voices understand that it remains the status quo is to examine the power of one’s voice. of career counseling for scholars across the My weekly classroom component intro- humanities. duced students to female composers and Musicology at the The Society for American Music is full performers from a wide range of musical Center of talented individuals and excellent schol- traditions, and the radio show component ars unaffiliated with colleges and universi- served as a constant reminder to students Susan Key’s Standpoint is a much-needed ties, or professors whose careers extend to think about voice, both the performer’s call to examine our profession and explore beyond the classroom. SAM is fortunate and their own individual ones. Similar to changes in the way we prepare others for to have as members archivists, band direc- Key, I have moments and insights from joining it. Her suggestion for musicologists tors, church musicians, dance instructors, my students’ participation that far exceed – and especially potential musicologists – editors, freelance writers, lawyers, librar- anything that I could have imagined. to examine the opportunities for careers ians, symphony outreach coordinators, For me, one of the greatest joys of outside of academia resonates very strongly program annotators, publicists, publishers, HI–FI Voices is the tangible connection with me: I have chosen to work in publish- and more. The richness of this member- between my musicological work and the ing rather than as a professor. My choice ship puts SAM in an excellent position for “real world.” Or, in the words of Key, has been greeted with both praise (“Good educating both professionals and students “[what I love] is being immersed in an for you, to find something you love, and as to the wealth of opportunities they have environment with people who are deeply you don’t have to deal with this terrible job in choosing a career in musicology.