The Bulletin O F T H E S O C I E T Y F O R a M E R I C a N M U S I C F O U N D E D I N H O N O R O F O S C a R G

The Bulletin o f t h e S o c i e t y f o r A m e r i c a n M u s i c f o u n d e d i n h o n o r o f O s c a r G . T. S o n n e c k

Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 Spring 2010 All the Little Birdies Go “Tweet, Tweet, Tweet” Using Digital Resources to Teach American Music

By Carrie Allen ing traditional and online undergraduate tal archives, given our university’s limited music and humanities courses in African- archival holdings. This morning, within the span of eight American music and American sacred Searchable online archives of historical seconds, Twitter informed me of a tragic music at a large urban university. newspapers can also be a helpful tool in plane crash in Poland, reminded me of Librarians and archivists at many uni- building awareness of national or regional Tiger Woods’ indiscretions, and told me versities and museums are leading the historical context. Some of these are that Jesus could save my eternal soul. The charge in selecting, designing, and assem- database accessible only through univer- issues of immortality, death, and redemp- bling excellent digital archival exhibits; sity subscriptions (such as the ProQuest tion had been “tweeted” to me before in some cases, institutions have digi- Historical Newspaper Database, or vari- I had even drunk my morning coffee. tized entire collections of resources relat- ous state newspaper databases such as the This dizzying cognitive ride reminded me ed to American history in general and Texas Historical Newspaper Database). that we inhabit a digital world and that American musical history in particular. Some newspapers, however, such as we as professors are asked increasingly These exhibits and collections of pho- the Chicago Defender, have free, pub- to marshal a dismayingly vast array of tographs, clippings, letters, and other lic searchable online archives stretch- internet resources to enrich our teaching. primary sources can be used to enrich ing back for decades; students in my Most of our current pedagogical philoso- class lectures, posted in online teaching African American Music class sometimes phies about digital resources probably lie software (such as Blackboard) as supple- search black newspapers such as these somewhere on the spectrum between mentary resources for student research for historical data on musical practices Reluctantly Acquiescing to the Inevitable projects, and can form the basis of cre- and artists. A brief written assignment and Enthusiastically Riding the Wave of ative written assignments. Recently, a fac- guiding students to search the ProQuest the Future. Most of us have come to love simile of an early-19th century defense of Historical Newspaper database for 18th- JSTOR; nearly all of us decry student slavery by a Southern Methodist minister reliance on Wikipedia; and a lot of us from the University of North Carolina’s continued on page 18 probably have pulled up a YouTube video “Documenting the American South” dig- “on the fly” during a class lecture. I pro- ital archive proved invaluable for contex- pose that it is possible for those of us who tualizing the spirituals for students during in this issue: teach American music to intentionally a lecture. The Beinecke Rare Book and and intelligently move beyond showing Manuscript Collection at Yale University the occasional YouTube video to harness- is curating a beautiful online exhibit Using Digital Resources 17 ing multiple types of digital resources in entitled “Let It Resound: Sheet Music in to Teach American Music order to strengthen our students’ under- the James Weldon Johnson Collection.” standing of the many musical traditions This focused sampling of sheet music, Ottawa Conference and 20 we love. Here I will briefly explore ways organized by genre with helpful explana- Award Reports of using digital archival exhibits, online tory captions, has allowed students to newspaper archives, online multimedia, engage visually with the uncomfortable and commercial music industry websites iconography of early and mid-20th cen- Cincinnati 2011 26 in undergraduate classes on American tury “race music.” In both cases, this music topics. The following discussion exposure to primary sources would have Reviews 29 is drawn from my experience in teach- been impossible to replicate without digi- continued from page 17 frequently tweets about his appearances organize the sources I find online, I use at cultural landmarks such as Carnegie Delicious, which allows me to “tag” a century newspapers mentioning hymn- Hall, as well as his many government digital resource from any computer as writing and public hymn-singing helped awards and educational endeavors). soon as I see it with self-designed genre or students develop an awareness, based on Another assignment designed to help artist categories such as Delta blues, early primary sources they saw with their own students understand Southern Gospel soul, Chicago gospel, or ragtime. Later, eyes, of the broad popularity of public music as a commercial industry required when searching for a suitable resource for hymn-singing in colonial America. them to visit www.singingnews.com, the a particular unit or topic, I can look up Free audio and video files of interviews genre’s main trade publication, to answer websites organized under my Delicious and performances at web sources such guided questions about industry data, tags and begin sifting through resources as NPR.org and PBS.org, and full docu- musical values, and religious and political to craft a focused assignment or enrich mentaries on music traditions at www. ideology presented on the site. a lecture. folkstreams.net, can immeasurably enrich In experimenting with assignments In conclusion, it has helped me to lectures and, like primary sources, form based on digital resources, I have found see digital resources as a complement the basis of written assignments. The several strategies that seem to yield more to, rather than a replacement of, stan- first lecture I gave in my American sacred useful results, both for students and for dard pedagogical tools such as textbooks music class featured archival footage of professors. When crafting assignments and journal articles. Many of the writ- Martin Luther King, Jr., and a congrega- based on online resources, provide stu- ten assignments my students complete tion singing “Leaning on the Everlasting dents with clear parameters to prevent require them to engage with both older Arms” during the Montgomery bus boy- their being overwhelmed within a website and newer forms of print and audio cott. The grainy black and white clip was or database: restricting the years of the media. The benefits for students in available only through the University of online search, giving them precise search engaging with digital media are manifold. Georgia’s Digital Civil Rights Library. terms and synonyms, specifying a discrete For courses in American music, using Recently, students streamed an audio number of search results to examine, and free online sound media can circumvent documentary produced by Alabama providing detailed written prompts can the paucity of available CD compila- Public Radio on the black gospel quartet help students successfully navigate and tions suitable for college instruction in tradition in Bessemer, Alabama, then coherently organize “raw” digital data. American music traditions. Examining answered a series of written prompts Additionally, stating the purpose(s) of the digital archives allows students to engage about the sound file. In another class, assignment motivates students to take it with primary sources housed far out- students visited Harvard University’s seriously and even enjoy the exercise. A side their home institutions, which may online Hip-Hop Archive last semes- written assignment using digital resources not have strong archival holdings in the ter to stream free audio of recent rap might include a purpose statement such relevant topic areas. Using high-quality songs engaging with social activism, then as “this exercise will familiarize you with resources maintained by academic and answered relevant questions asking them searching an online newspaper archive government arts institutions takes stu- to combine insights from their listening in order to prepare you for your term dents out of Wikipedia territory into with historical data drawn from reading. paper research; it will also help you more reliable and rich intellectual ter- Professors can assemble entire playlists of develop a stronger awareness of the wide- rain and helps them develop the ability free streaming audio at NPR.org using spread nature of revival movements in to critically evaluate the digital media any mode of organization desired (art- the American northeast in the mid-19th with which they will be saturated the ist; historical period; song topic; genre) century.” Warning students about anach- rest of their lives. Providing audio, visual, which can help immensely when teach- ronistic terminology to describe race or video, and print materials appeals to mul- ing courses for which no pre-existing CD gender and explaining unfamiliar typo- tiple learning styles and creates a richer compilation exists. graphical conventions are two more ways learning experience. Most of all, though, A final category of online resources you can facilitate more successful experi- teaching with carefully-selected digital that can be incorporated into teaching ences with primary print sources online. resources sends the message to students include commercial and social network- For the professor, locating and manag- that, far from being dusty nostalgic tra- ing websites. Crafting written assign- ing a potentially-overwhelming mound ditions, nearly every American musical ments based on websites of record labels, of digital resources can be streamlined genre enjoys a vibrant and living presence artists’ promotional websites, and online through a few easy steps. Many ven- in the digital world that has become our music trade journals can help students erable cultural institutions with strong home. gain insight into the marketing, promo- American music sources, such as tion, and production aspects of many Smithsonian Folkways, NPR, and the American musical genres. This semester, Center for the Study of the American successful assignments based on these South at UNC-Chapel Hill maintain sites included a scavenger hunt in which very active Facebook “pages.” By setting students mined several weeks’ worth of up a Facebook account and becoming Wynton Marsalis’ “tweets” on www.twit- a “fan” of these and other organiza- ter.com in order to answer questions tions and institutions, free streaming about the canonization and institutional- audio media and articles are sent to ization of certain jazz subgenres (Marsalis my Facebook account almost daily. To

18 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 “Stephen Foster in American Cultural History”

On April 23rd and 24th, the University particular attention to the tropes in of Pittsburgh Department of Music and Foster publications over the last two Center for American Music co-hosted decades. Japanese Foster scholar, Kazuko a Symposium on Stephen Foster and Miyashita, considered the impact that American Cultural History. The program Foster’s songs have had internationally brought together national and interna- as she outlined how Foster came to be so tional speakers for the first-ever scholarly popular in Japan. Recordings of Foster gathering on Foster, timed to coincide sung in Japanese and her recent publica- with the premiere of a theater work using tion “Cross-Cultural Communications” his music, produced by the Pittsburgh enhanced her presentation. Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) and Ken Emerson, the author of Doo Dah! Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh (OTP). The Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Symposium, held in the Charity Randall Popular Culture (1997) and of the PBS Theater in the historic Stephen Foster documentary Stephen Foster (2001), Memorial, examined the songs’ meanings recounted experiences and challenges and role in culture of the United States in his research as an introduction to and as an American export abroad, from the afternoon session, which considered the composer’s lifetime (1826-64) to the Foster in 20th and 21st century popular present. culture. Joanna Smolko examined the The new play, Beautiful Dreamers: An use of Foster’s songs in the production of American Odyssey, by Martin Giles, is Looney Tunes cartoons, particularly their a drama set in the United States just portrayal of the South. Kathryn Miller Image Courtesy of the Foster Hall Collection, Center before the Civil War. The story incorpo- Haines described the myriad of ways for American Music, University of Pittsburgh Library rates some of Foster’s lesser-known songs Foster’s songs have been used in recent System. including “No One to Love,” “Don’t feature films and television. erated the most regional press attention Bet Your Money on the Shanghai,” and The last two presentations were by to Foster in at least the past thirty years. “Comrades, Fill No Glass For Me,” recent Foster record producers, David Newspaper articles added to the interest in addition to the more famous “Oh! Macias of Thirty Tigers, and Joe Weed of in the Symposium and museum atten- Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and the Highland Publishing. David described dance increased dramatically. As the title hit, “Beautiful Dreamer.” his experiences surrounding the pro- sole repository for the original manu- After remarks by Mr. Giles, the sym- duction of his Grammy-winning CD, scripts and materials of Stephen Foster, posium began with a broad historical Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen the Center is an international destination overview of Pittsburgh’s landscape and Foster (2005), including how and why for visitors to Pittsburgh. demographics during Foster’s lifetime, many of the performers came to be presented by Mariana Whitmer. This chosen. Joe demonstrated how some of was followed by presentations highlight- Foster’s songs have entered the realm of ing particular aspects of Foster’s songs traditional music as popular fiddle tunes. during his lifetime. Susan Key’s presen- Foster’s “Angelina Baker,” for example, tation, “Voices and Virtues: The Parlor transformed into “Angeline the Baker,” Songs in Foster’s Lifetime,” was a refresh- and “Gentle Annie” became “Little ing reminder of “parlor values” and the Annie.” Joe ended the Symposium by need to understand the role of sentimen- speculating on the future of Foster, par- tality, and Dale Cockrell talked about the ticularly as seen through the recordings. social commentary of minstrel shows and The University of Pittsburgh Arts and the music’s roles in working-class life. Sciences Faculty Research and Scholarship Deane Root reviewed how “Foster’s Music Program funded the symposium. Reached Its Public,” with an emphasis on As the first-ever Foster Symposium, ambient uses of Foster’s songs in daily life. this event will contribute towards estab- Saturday morning began with lishing a focus and direction for future American baritone Thomas Hampson scholarly activities of the Foster collec- (via Skype) discussing his experiences tion. The unique opportunity afford- with Foster’s songs in the repertory of ed by the new production of Beautiful classically trained vocalists, and his grow- Dreamers brought high visibility to ing appreciation for Foster’s handling of the Center’s Foster Museum, not only controversial material in his own time. amongst scholars, but also the dramatic Steve Saunders questioned our preva- community and the general public. The lent notions about Foster’s songs, with production and symposium together gen-

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 19 Ottawa Conference Report another local resource, the musical talent of Carleton students, whether at the reception on Wednesday night (a small student jazz combo) or the banquet on Saturday night (a graduate of the program led us in dancing to the strains of Cape Breton etc. fiddle music). In conjunc- tion with SAM and Carleton University, Ottawa New Music Creators co-hosted the well-attended Friday evening tribute to R. Murray Schafer, which featured an ear-opening concert of his and other contemporary Canadian music – a highlight of the concert was the bestowal of honorary membership on Schafer, with the citation read by President Tom Riis. Finally, I understand that many delegates took advantage of the good weather to explore the historic Byward Market, to follow the paths along the World Heritage Rideau SAM Members at the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Photo courtesy of James Deaville. Canal, and to take walks to other near- by attractions including the Houses of Your local hosts were quite gratified to from the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Parliament, the National Arts Centre and observe how many members of SAM Social Sciences John Osborne, Carleton the Ottawa River. Of course, I could (over 300) braved the recession, the colleague James Wright and department not close this report without recogniz- high Canadian dollar (even higher in friend Dianne Parsonage, as well as the ing the invaluable contributions of SAM the meantime), and our intemperate (in student volunteers. Each of the Friday Executive Director Mariana Whitmer this case, unusually warm) weather to afternoon outings sold old, with 30 par- and Conference Manager Joice Gibson to attend the conference in Ottawa. While ticipants for the SoundWalk with Murray the success of the whole. it may seem disingenuous for the Local Schafer, 25 for the tour of Parliament Arrangements Chair to point out the suc- and the Dominion Carillon, 15 for the James Deaville cesses of the conference, I have to admit Museum of Civilization, and 12 for the Local Arrangements Chair that even I was surprised over how well National Gallery of Art. The confer- everything went, with no small assistance ence gave us the opportunity to show off

Sacred Harp Singing at Ottawa BUSINESS MEETING REPORT I am pleased and delighted to announce By Carol Hess bership rose for a moment of silence in that the “SAM SING”—the 2010 version memory of Adrienne Fried Block, Horace of the annual Sacred Harp Singing, was The Annual Business and Awards Boyer, Mike Seeger, and Catherine a grand success. Despite the daunting Meeting of the Society for American Parsons Smith. obstacles posed by singing over the border Music was called to order by President President Riis described some recent without being buttressed by a gathering Tom Riis at the Ottawa Westin Hotel on projects undertaken by the Board, includ- of local community singers, and without 20 March 2010 at 4:04 p.m. Reminding ing a long-range planning commission, a enough loaner copies of the book to go the membership that the Ottawa meeting newly formed Development Committee around, the assembled host of “throats” was the Society’s thirty-sixth annual con- (which looks forward to launching a raised a grand and glorious sound. The ference, President Riis commented on the capital campaign), and the revitalized sixty singers, both callow novices and “passion for American music on either Membership Committee. In addition, the grizzled veterans, joined in social and side of the [Canadian-US] border.” He Executive Director Mariana Whitmer has musical harmony on the following tunes: also thanked Local Arrangements Chair worked hard to streamline the Society’s 45, 155, 47, 312b, 107, 159, 163, 178, James Deaville and Program Committee financial reporting system with greater 186, 268, 209, 133, 208, 324, 203, 38, Chair Michael Pisani for contributing to transparency as a goal. President Riis 64, 146, 47a, and 361. Closing with the success of the Ottawa meeting. also announced that the History of the “Parting Friends” (267), the nomadic The minutes of the 2009 Annual Society Project is now complete and that annual singing adjourned until March Business Meeting (Denver, Colorado) the Society’s records and other materials 2011 in Cincinnati, OH. were approved without correction. are housed at the Library of Congress. President Riis noted that the Society The membership applauded Denise Von Ron Pen lost several members in 2009. The mem- continued on page 21

20 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 continued from page 20 agogy and works-in-progress. Leonard expressed gratitude to this year’s Program thanked Brian Moon, who has served Committee and to previous Program Glahn for her sustained work on this as Review Editor for several years, and Chairs for their helpful advice. bruce project. President Riis also acknowledged welcomed his successor Patrick Warfield. mcclung, Local Arrangements Chair long-time member and former president Drew Massey read the report for the for the 2011 meeting (9-13 March), (of the Sonneck Society) Raoul Camus, Website Committee on behalf of Chair described to the membership the entice- and asked that he help reorganize the Patrick Warfield, encouraging any “geeks” ments of Cincinnati, site of the 2011 Early American Music interest group, a in the membership to become involved meeting, jointly with the U.S. chapter foundational area of interest for many with the committee. Online renewal, pro- of IASPM (International Association for members. jected for fall, will enable members both the Study of Popular Music). Gillian Treasurer Douglas Bomberger then to renew their memberships and identify Rodger, Program Committee Chair for gave his report for the year ending 31 scholars with similar research interests. 2011, reminded members that the dead- December 2009. He indicated several Massey encouraged members to contact line for submission is 15 June. She also positive developments. First, the Society either Patrick or him with questions or indicated that the seminar themes will be has recouped losses incurred in the recent suggestions. “Revivals, Revisions, and Reinventions: downturn of the stock market, news that Student Forum co-chairs Doug Shadle Adaptations in Musical Theater and was greeted with applause. In addition, and Monica Ambalal reported next. Film” and “Music and Geographies of the the Adrienne Fried Block behest has Shadle (who will be succeeded by Jen Americas.” President Riis announced that increased the Society’s endowments; also, Myers) thanked all involved with the the 2012 and 2013 meetings will be held the Denver meeting (2009) was quite Student Forum, including the Student in Charlotte (North Carolina) and Little profitable. As a result, total assets are at Travel workers and donors to the student Rock (Arkansas) respectively. record levels. Nonetheless, Bomberger travel fund. Ambalal also thanked mem- Next was the presentation of awards. cautioned that income and expenses vary bers who brought items across the border Since Jim Lovensheimer, Chair of considerably from year to year, and that for the Silent Auction, noting that New the Johnson Publication Subvention this year, expenses have outpaced income. York Philharmonic tickets and nine titles Award Committee, could not be pres- Leta Miller, editor of the Journal for from W. W. Norton (donated by Music ent, President Riis read the recipients’ the Society of American Music (JSAM), Editor Maribeth Payne) were among the names: Steve Swayne for Orpheus in reported that the journal is in excellent items being auctioned this year. The Manhattan: William Schuman and the shape. Turnaround time for articles, all Student Forum continues to seek ways to Shaping of America’s Musical Life (Oxford of which are externally reviewed, is six increase participation among students, as University Press) and John Koegel, edi- weeks. In the past year the number of well as recent graduates not yet employed. tor, for Music, American Made: Essays in submissions has almost doubled. Because Tim Brooks, Chair of the Sight and Honor of John Graziano (Harmonie Park approximately 25% of submissions are Sound Committee, gave an update on Press). President Riis also read the names accepted and 25% are rejected, the larg- the copyright initiative introduced at the of the winners of the Sight and Sound est category is “revise and resubmit.” 2009 Business and Awards Meeting. He Subvention: Anna Beresin (University Miller also stated that the royalty figure explained that Congress has passed a bill of the Arts) for the website “Urban for JSAM is $10,000, which is pro- directing the copyright office to find a American Gamestories and Songs” and jected to increase to $12,000 for the means for bringing pre-1972 recordings Julie Throckmorton-Meunier (Rivers of coming year. She encouraged members under federal law. A study must be com- Steel National Heritage Area) for the to make sure their home institutions pleted within the next twelve months, audio tour “Western Pennsylvania’s subscribe to JSAM and, if necessary, to during which time public comment will Place in America’s Musical History.” The inform their librarians that JSAM and be possible via a government website. remainder of awards and prizes followed American Music are two different publi- Brooks urged members to participate. (see the full citations in this issue). cations. Miller praised Assistant Editor With this new proposal, US copyright President Riis acknowledged retiring Mark Davidson and Editorial Associate terms would be brought in line with Board members (Michael Pisani, Beth David Anderson as well as Sally Hoffman international standards and that there Levy, Carol Hess) and outgoing com- from Cambridge University Press. The would be no blockage of public domain. mittee chairs (Jim Lovensheimer, Judith outgoing Book Review, Recording, and A motion was made (and passed) that Tick, Beth Levy, Doug Shadle, Michael Multimedia Editors (Amy Beal, Daniel the Society reiterate its support for these Pisani, James Deaville, and Joice Gibson). Goldmark, and Jason Stanyek respec- principles. As always, Executive Director Mariana tively) were thanked and their successors Taking full credit for the unseasonably Whitmer was recognized. New Board (John Koegel, Nita Karpf, and Jessica mild Ottawa weather, Local Arrangements members were introduced as well: Scott Sternfeld) welcomed. Miller concluded chair James Deaville reported that three Deveaux and Guy Ramsey (Members-at- with the customary words of encourage- of four tours organized for the con- Large), Neil Lerner (Secretary), and Kitty ment to the membership: “Send me your ference had sold out. He thanked the Preston (President Elect). Carol Hess was best work.” rest of the Local Arrangements com- given a lovely pen set for her service as Kendra Preston Leonard, editor of the mittee, expressing particular gratitude Secretary, which was much appreciated. Bulletin, then gave her report. She invited to James Wright and Diane Parsonage. President Riis adjourned the meeting members to submit short articles and He also looks forward to increased at 5:16. reviews, including those involving ped- Canadian membership. Michael Pisani

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 21 SAM HONORS & AWARDS, OTTAWA, 2010

The Adrienne Fried Block Award celebrate creative and collaborative inter- and his deftness at moving from close Winner: Patrick Warfield national exchanges of ideas in the area textual analysis to broader cultural cri- The Adrienne Fried Block Award com- of American music. Further, the paper is tique,” while another summed up the mittee, consisting of Karen Ahlquist, John based on impressive historical and ana- large-scale significance of Greenberg’s Koegel, and John Graziano (chair), are lytical work on this modern classical com- work on topics such as crooning, Louis most pleased to announce the recipient poser during a particularly fertile time in Armstrong’s scat singing, and the politics of the first award. From the many high the development of new forms of musical of Ethel Waters’s pronunciation, saying, quality proposals we received, we have theater and cross-fertilization between “The study has significance for analyzing chosen Patrick Warfield’s study of musical the arts. Following the composer from and understanding performers’ messages life in Washington, D.C., between 1854 Tanglewood to Mills College to Juilliard to audiences about such things as class, and 1893, which exemplifies the type of to Harvard between 1960 and 1971, di race, ethnicity, and region—what could project Adrienne wished to support. In Luzio elucidates Luciano Berio’s absorp- be more fundamental to our field than his proposed book, Sousa’s Washington, tion of experimental currents in American understanding the markers of aural com- Warfield intends to document and illu- theater culture, as well as conceptions of munication?” minate the interconnectedness between gesture and linguistics. Having mined black and white, highbrow and lowbrow, the Luciano Berio Papers at the Paul Lowens Article Award Winner: Brian professional and amateur, and military Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland, she Harker and civilian musicians, through a detailed provides a clear yet impressively detailed The Committee unanimously rec- investigation of the early career of John discussion of compositional sketches, per- ommends the following article as the Philip Sousa. formance histories, and the composer’s recipient for the 2008 Lowens Article extra-musical explorations such as the use award: Brian Harker, “Louis Armstrong, Cambridge University Press Award of theatrical space. Closing with a focused Eccentric Dance, and the Evolution of Winner: Claudia di Luzio discussion of Berio’s large stage work Jazz on the Eve of Swing,” Journal of The Cambridge University Press Award Opera of 1970, di Luzio elegantly ties the American Musicological Society 61/1: is intended to draw attention to the many together the many strands of creativity 67-122. In this study Brian Harker doc- international scholars working in the field examined in her paper. Congratulations! uments the transformative influence of of American music. The award honors eccentric dance on Louis Armstrong dur- a paper of excellence read at the annu- Wiley Housewright Dissertation ing the year 1926-27, and how that influ- al conference. For the purposes of this Award Winner: Jonathan Greenberg ence helped him craft a new rhythmic award, international scholars are defined This year the committee, which was flexibility. While playing at the Sunset as presenters who are non-U.S. citizens comprised of David Patterson, Steven Café in Chicago, Armstrong entered into and who hold an institutional affilia- Baur, Deane Root, and Leonora Saavedra, a partnership with a husband-and-wife tion and/or principal residence outside and chaired by Glenn Pillsbury, had the dance team called Brown and McGraw. the United States. The recipient of the pleasure of evaluating nineteen submis- Their dancing style was fast, acrobat- award will receive a substantial amount sions encompassing a range of projects ic, and spontaneous, which fundamen- of books, chosen by the winner, from that, in addition to their generally high tally changed Armstrong’s rhythmic the Cambridge University Press catalog. quality (regularly remarked upon by the approach, resulting in a more free, The committee is currently chaired by committee), demonstrated the continued flexible, and endlessly inventive trum- Amy Beal, and includes Paul Attinello, vitality and breadth of American music pet style. The article is a meticulously Christopher Shultis, and Judith Tick. studies. After a challenging process of documented, nuanced, and lucidly writ- At the annual business meeting in narrowing the field first to three and then ten study that illuminates this previ- Ottawa the committee was pleased to expanding to four finalists we decided, ously neglected corner of jazz history. announce that the 2010—and first unanimously and with no argumentation Harker threads together a painstakingly ever!—Cambridge University Press for any other candidate, to award the researched study of the 1920s Chicago Award would be awarded to Claudia di 2009 Wiley Housewright Dissertation jazz scene, eccentric dance—especially Luzio, of the Humboldt University of Award to Jonathan Greenberg (UCLA) as practiced by the team of Brown and Berlin, for her paper titled “Open Tasks for his dissertation, “Singing Up Close: McGraw—standard ragtime jazz trumpet in Opera: Luciano Berio’s Experimental Voice, Language, and Race in American stylings, and Louis Amstrong’s changing Music Theater and His American Years.” Popular Music, 1925-1935”. About the rhythmic practices. Harker demonstrates Dr. di Luzio’s paper focuses on an impor- winning dissertation one committee how the fast, spontaneous dance styles tant and influential European composer member remarked, “I was particularly inspired Armstrong to move beyond and educator who played a large role impressed with Greenberg’s original and the fixed rhythmic modules of ragtime. in the concert life and academies of highly profitable application of linguis- By carefully tracing the transformation twentieth-century American music. This tics to musical analysis, his sustained in Armstrong’s rhythms from recorded reason (among many others) makes her discussion on the nuances of vocal pro- performances, Harker shows how these work a particularly apt selection for the duction, his compelling interpretive and new rhythms emulate the flashy character CUP award, which aims to spotlight and critical readings of particular recordings, of a vibrant new style of tap dancing.

22 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 SAM HONORS & AWARDS, OTTAWA, 2010

Armstrong’s rhythmic innovations would Mark Tucker Award Winner: William ing sixteen positions on the Society’s board later become commonplace among jazz Cheng and its committees, beginning in 1981 as trumpet and saxophone players. Along The Mark Tucker Award committee a member of our site selection committee the way, Harker clarifies the importance had the pleasure of reading a diverse (1981-83, 1983-86), and most recently of eccentric dance ideals in jazz history. range of projects this year, each one of serving on the program committee for an We laud Brian Harker for his remarkable high caliber. However, out of the fifteen annual conference (2008). As Secretary scholarship and fascinating study. submissions, one was decisively singled for two terms (1987-89, 1989-91), this Brian Harker is Associate Professor out, ranking in the top three selections visionary not only recorded our leaders’ of Music at Brigham Young University. of every committee member. The Mark decisions, but took an active role in set- He is the recipient of the Irving Lowens Tucker Award winner for 2010 is William ting an agenda for the Society’s future, Article Award (1999) and a fellowship Cheng, for his groundbreaking paper, “A including introducing the motion to call from the National Endowment for the Question of Co-Hobbitation: Towards a ourselves a Society for American Music. Humanities (2005-6). Musical Democracy in The Lord of the As a member (1988-89, 1997-99) and The committee considered nearly thir- Rings Online.” Cheng takes up the ques- chair (1991-93) of the Nominating ty well-written articles covering a diverse tion of how musical expression and per- Committee, this individual identified number of topics from cowboy yodel- formativity work within the virtual realm, and nurtured new and diverse leader- ing to the regendering of nineteenth- as he considers sites of music-making ship for the Society. This scholar, who century audiences in New York City. The within a multiplayer online role-playing also won a Lowens Book Award, chaired level of excellence we encountered in the game based upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy the Lowens Article Award committee nominations speaks well for the strong trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Cheng’s (1992) and served on the Housewright scholarship among the society’s mem- paper constitutes a vital contribution to Dissertation Award committee (1998), bers. The committee members were: N. the growing body of work that extends helping us recognize the best new con- Lee Orr (chair), Daniel Goldmark, Sarah the methodologies of musical ethnogra- tributions to our field. Besides a term as Schmalenberger, Gregory Reish, Marta phy into digital contexts. His discussion President (1995-97), two terms as chair Robertson, and Tom Owens. provokes us to explore the complicated of the Publications Council (1997-99, role of real-time music making in an 2003-5), and one as an activist delegate Lowens Book Award Winner: Charles environment that allows players, work- to the American Council of Learned Hiroshi Garrett ing with their avatars, to forge alternate Societies (2004-6), our honoree served The Lowens Book Award went to strategies of self-expression outside of live on (2001-3) and later chaired (2003-5) Charles Hiroshi Garrett (University of performance. Cheng is especially astute the Honors and Awards committee, and Michigan) for Struggling to Define a in his assessment of the ethical stakes so is intimately familiar with the rituals Nation: American Music and the Twentieth of music-making in online communi- surrounding our Distinguished Service Century (University of California Press). ties: drawing upon current scholarship Citation, which is kept secret from the The committee—Karen Bryant, Dale that addresses the coercive and punative winner until this very moment. Cockrell, Larry Hamberlin (chair), Jack uses of music, he takes up the troubling And so by now our recipient has Sheinbaum, and Jeffrey Taylor—reviewed online practice of griefing, where music undoubtedly recognized his own résumé thirty-eight submissions from nineteen is harnessed as a means of aggressively and squirmed in his seat. But let me publishers. Altogether, the nominated territorializing virtual space. In this way, tell you that as amazing as his record of books covered a full range of North Cheng’s lucid, eloquent discussion moves service may be for its quality, quantity, American and Caribbean musical genres, beyond the nuances of online gaming to and diversity of roles, as the Jazz Singer over a chronological span extending from provide a powerful commentary on the said, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you the colonial period to the present, and moral valence of music in contemporary ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” That dry list of exhibited an impressive array of method- culture. responsibilities doesn’t begin to express ologies, from historical and biographical Committee members were David Ake, the qualities that make him so deserving approaches to ethnography and cultural Dale Chapman (chair), Petra Meyer- of this award. As a product of America’s criticism. Among a field of several exem- Frazier, Gayle Murchison, and James heartland who grew up in Paradise—or plary works, which together reflect the Wierzbicki. Paducah, whichever name you wish to call healthy state of American music studies, it—this motorcycle aficionado developed Garrett’s book stood out as one that, in Distinguished Service Award Honoree: a talent and passion for fly fishing, built the words of the committee members, Dale Cockrell his own cabin in the woods, and rounded “manifests a rich, scholarly imagination The Society’s Distinguished Service up the stray cattle from his neighbor’s at work,” filled with “logical yet surpris- Citation this year celebrates a dear col- pasture. Through his publications, he’s ing analytic twists” and sentences that league who has brought distinction not done as much for scholarship, pioneer- “are not so much for reading as they are only to our organization but to all of ing in research on the music of society’s for savoring, to be rolled around on the American music studies through ceaseless underclasses in their daily lives, bursting tongue until all the intellectual flavors are and distinguished volunteer contribu- the barriers between music research and extracted and enjoyed.” tions. Our honoree has held an astonish- the collective disciplines within American

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 23 SAM HONORS & AWARDS, OTTAWA, 2010

Studies, and recognizing the distinctive of scholarly editions, including one vol- contributions of the American Music ume co-edited by himself; and recently, studies to the humanities disciplines. As for the Estates of George Gershwin, Ira a teacher and administrator at William & Gershwin, and DuBose Heyward, as edi- Mary and at Vanderbilt, he has developed tor of the folk opera Porgy and Bess. If programs and nurtured students and “edit” and “editor” are key elements in his colleagues who contribute to our field. pedigree as a scholar, they imply a basic And with entrepreneurial enterprise, he’s tenet of the musicological trade: that launched a new record label, Pa’s Fiddle proper performance and serious study Records, applying scholarly research to of musical works depend on establishing musical performance and publishing, versions of those works faithful to the getting historic American music into creator’s intent. At the same time, he has schools, on National Public Radio, and also published valuable writings on such into the ears of audiences as far away as American composers as George Antheil, Slovenia, where he’s headed next month. Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, George His contributions to American music and Gershwin, Victor Herbert, Charles Ives, Numerous works by R. Murray Schafer were to our society are worthy of the highest and William Grant Still. performed at the concert tribute for him at the honor. We all join in celebrating the dis- Two things in particular have made conference. tinguished service of “Pa” Dale Cockrell. Mr. Shirley—not Doctor Shirley, mind you, or Professor Shirley—a unique kind RECOGNITION OF YOUR WIDE Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree: of contributor to the cause for which AND DEEP LOVE FOR AMERICAN Wayne Shirley this society was founded. The first is his MUSIC, UNPARALLELED Less than fourscore years ago, Wayne D. knowledge and appreciation of the vast KNOWLEDGE OF IT, AND Shirley was born in Brooklyn, New York. scope of American music, embodied in LIFELONG DETERMINATION TO As well as an unrestrained lover of music, the holdings of his longtime workplace. SHARE THAT KNOWLEDGE AND he grew up to be a consequential writer The second—a perpetual readiness to LOVE WITH OTHERS, the Society on the subject, an editor, and a music advise and assist other scholars in projects for American Music confers upon you its librarian. At Harvard College, where he they have hatched—is grounded in an Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010. studied with Allen Sapp, he received a attitude toward music and learning that bachelor of arts degree in 1957. After reaches to the limits of generosity, and Honorary Member: R. Murray Schafer earning a master of arts from Stanford in maybe beyond. To talk to Wayne Shirley For more than half a century, R. 1960, he moved to Brandeis University about a musical question that you have Murray Schafer has set us a marvelous where, until 1963, he studied with Paul posed is to engage with a person who model as a contemporary creator. A Brainard. He then worked with John assumes that you care as much about the Renaissance man in our own time, he Vinton as American co-editor of RISM, subject as he does—which is sure to be a has enjoyed a productive and indeed pro- the International Inventory of Musical lot. Thus Wayne’s presence at gatherings vocative career as composer, performer, Sources, before being hired in 1965 as like these raises everybody’s game. educator, writer, social critic, artist, and a reference librarian and music specialist Historical parallels can be exaggerated, journalist. After directing the concert in the music division of the Library of but this award has the feel of a return series “Ten Centuries” in the 1960s, he Congress—whose card catalogue con- to SAM’s origins. Founded in the mid- explored new acoustical frontiers through tained entries typed by Oscar G. Sonneck 1970s, when the nation’s bicentennial his World Soundscape Project, for the himself. Yet long before his retirement in created a demand for true information study of the relationships of people and 2002, the Internet had replaced that cata- about America’s musical past, a group of their acoustic environments. His research logue, giving rise to such wonders as the scholars, librarians, and hobbyists joined resulted in several “natural environment” Library’s “American Memory” website, together, in a tribute to the country’s first works, some of them spatially conceived, which Mr. Shirley helped to develop. distinguished musicologist, to form the including Music for Wilderness Lake for While working for a government insti- Sonneck Society for American Music. (In twelve trombones, and Apocalypsis, which tution devoted to serving the general those days, the group’s rallying cry was requires 500 performers. During the public, Mr. Shirley has made substan- “bibliography is the backbone of histo- 1980s he continued the twelve-work tial contributions to American music ry.”) Now, some three-and-a-half decades cycle Patria, which combines music with research: as editor of the quarterly journal later, the same organization celebrates theater—his “theater of confluence”—to American Music (1990-93); as an editor another extraordinary career, also cen- explore the relationship between these and board member of the Charles Ives tered in the music division of the Library arts and the transformation of the audi- Society, for which he prepared two critical of Congress, and emphasizing editorial, ence from spectators to participants. His editions; as a planner and editorial board textual, and bibliographic study of the gentle manner with children and adults member of Music of the United States music of the United States of America. alike, with amateurs and professionals, of America (MUSA), a national series Therefore, Wayne D. Shirley, IN has encouraged an atmosphere in which a

24 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 SAM HONORS & AWARDS, OTTAWA, 2010 whole array of new audiences could come to appreciate music and the nature of the sounds around them. His other scholarly activities include the first book-length study of Ezra Pound and music and a performing edition of Pound’s opera Le Testament, which the BBC broadcast in 1961. Dr. Schafer has received many honors and awards, including several honorary degrees, the Canadian Music Council’s first Composer of the Year award (1977), the first Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music (1978), the Prix International Arthur-Honegger (1980), the Banff National Award in the Arts (1985), and the first Glenn Gould Award (1987). Tonight, in recognition of his many innovative and humane contributions to our musical present and future, we are truly pleased to add our voices to this extraordinary acclaim by naming R. Murray Schafer the Society for American Performers and R. Murray Schafer at the concert in his honor. Photos courtesy of James Park. Music’s Honorary Member for 2010.

from the president and his remarkable assistants on the The unseasonably warm winter weather Local Arrangements Committee, James enjoyed in the north this year was main- Wright and Dianne Parsonage, who tained into the first days of spring, so made my visit almost worry free. This that not even a lack of ice (and therefore dynamic trio smoothed the way for our ice-skating) on the Rideau Canal could Honorary Member, R. Murray Schafer, lower our spirits. My only personal regret to become better acquainted with our was missing the opportunity to spend Society, booked a winning group, the more time in the Canadian Museum Sarah Burnell Band, for the banquet, of Civilization—where I was told that and attended to a thousand and one a remarkable folk singer dwelled (never other tasks that are essential to running found him)—and exploring the large a smooth conference. Kudos all around! assortment of shops, bookstores, and eat- Chair Michael Pisani, joined by Drew eries more removed from the city center. Davies, Robin Elliott, Larry Hamberlin, As I announced in the business meet- Mary Ingraham, Felicia Miyakawa, and ing, plans are afoot on the development Gillian Rodger, formed the Program front, and the board of trustees will be Committee, which came through with asking a cross-section of the membership Dear Friends and Colleagues, a stream of fascinating papers, attrac- to join us in some long-range visioning Thank you all for the tremendous tive poster sessions, and lively discus- next September just prior to our fall enthusiasm we shared at Ottawa! Getting sions nested in our new seminar format. board meeting in Pittsburgh. There are a to know this charming city was a real Any suggestions that you may have for variety of ways to become more involved treat for me. It was especially moving improving this novel element in our pro- in the operations of SAM. I am most to see such a dynamic Canadian schol- ceedings should be passed on to me or, grateful that so many of you stepped arly contingent, including so many new more importantly, to the chief organizer forward to volunteer when we put out members and eager students. I hope this for next year’s program, Gillian Rodger. the call. Thank you again! See you in is only the beginning of a long association In Cincinnati we will again have two Cincinnati next March. with SAM of everyone who attended for seminars (but this time not scheduled the first time. back to back). bruce mcclung will be our Warm regards, My deep appreciation goes out to host in this remarkable music center of Tom Riis, President Jim Deaville of Carleton University the Midwest.

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 25 Are you ready for Cincinnati 2011? The Society for American Music Music in the Heartland. they wish, but acceptance or rejection invites proposals for papers, panels of Research Poster Sessions of these proposals will be at the discre- 2-3 papers, concerts, lecture-performanc- The poster format provides an oppor- tion of the Program Committee. All es, and scholarly posters for its 37th tunity for SAM members to meet infor- Interest Group submissions should use Annual Conference, 9-13 March 2011, mally with authors and discuss research. the “Panel” option below. in Cincinnati Ohio. The online and post- Each author attends her/his respective mark submission deadline for all propos- 90-minute session, distributes abstracts, Concerts and Lecture-Performances als is June 15, 2010. and answers questions. Supporting sound Proposals for concerts and lecture-per- We welcome proposals involving all and/or video examples (on personal com- formances of music from anywhere in the facets of musical life throughout the puters and utilizing battery, rather than Americas are particularly welcome. Americas, and American music and A/C power) will be coordinated with aspects of its cultures anywhere in the other presenters once sessions have been New Seminar Format world. We especially welcome proposals formed by the Program Committee. Of the proposals submitted in January, addressing the following themes: 2010, the two selected by the program The Musical Imagination and Urban Interest Groups committee for the 2011 conference in Spaces Interest Groups with a guaranteed slot Cincinnati will be: for 2011 are requested to convey a brief 1) “Revivals, Revisions, and Musical Crossroads and intersections description of their plans to the Program Reinventions: Adaptation in (between North and South, ethnic, Committee using the online submission Musical Theatre & Film” This racial, religious communities, or system not later than August 5 to ensure seminar would explore how dramat- between cities along transportation proper scheduling and room assignments. ic musical works have been revived, routes). Interest Groups without a guaranteed revised, and reinvented by subse- Civic Symphonies and Civil slot for 2011 may submit panel propos- quent generations of creative artists. Behaviors als via the online submission system if continued on page 27

The Society for American Music is pleased to welcome these new members Emerson Aargaard, Richland Center, Dana Gorzelany-Mostak, Montreal, Hilary Poriss, Jamaica Plain, MA WI QC Allison Portnow, Chapel Hill, NC Michael Accinno, Iowa City, IA Andrew Hanson-Dvoracek, Iowa City, Colleen Renihan, Toronto, ON Paul Aitken, Hamilton, ON CANADA IA Lynne Rogers, Jersey City, NJ Carrie Allen, Houston, TX Elissa Harbert, Evanston, IL Valerie Rogotzke, New Haven, CT L. Dyann Arthur, Mill Creek, WA Kassandra Hartford, Centereach, NY Susanne Scheiblhofer, Eugene, OR Katherine Axtell, McGaheysville, VA Keith Hatschek, Stockton, CA Matthew Scrivner, Topeka, KS Emma Banfield, Guelph, ON Michael Heller, Cambridge, MA Jonathan de Souza, Chicago, IL Kevin Bartig, East Lansing, MI Eric Hermann, Bloomington, IN Elissa Stroman, Sweetwater, TX Graham Blair, St. John’s, NF, Jason Hibbard, Jacksonville, FL Eric Smialek, Montreal, QC CANADA Sharon Hochhauser, Fairlawn, OH Gordon E. Smith, Kingston, Ontario Michelle Boyd, North York, ON Anna Hoefnagels, Ottatwa, ON Corinne Stillwell, Tallahassee, FL Martin Brody, Cambridge, MA Sandra Johnson, Mason, OH Sarah Suhadolnik, Ann Arbor, MI Carolyn Brunelle, East Greenwich, RI Craig Jennex, Dartmouth, NS Jocelyn Swigger, Gettysburg, PA Joshua Busman, Chapel Hill, NC Robert Lawson-Peebles, Devon, UK Jennifer Talley, Tallahassee, FL Sarah Caissie, Waltham, MA Alan Lessoff, Bloomington, IL Kristen Turner, Cary, NC Faye Chiao, Baltimore, MD Christa Lorenz, Pasadena, CA Sean Twomey, Kitchener, ON Neil Crimes, Philadelphia, PA Martin Lussier, Montreal, QC Jess Tyre, Potsdam, NY Jacqueline Danzig, Bainbridge Island, Claudia di Luzio, Bologna, ITALY Glenn Utsch, Grove City, PA WA John MacInnis, Tallahassee, FL Margaret Walker, Kingston, ON Robin Desmeules, Ottawa, ON Maria Mack, Colorado Springs, CO Victoria Waxman, Stony Brook, NY Sarah Dietsche, Memphis, TN Charity Marsh, Regina, SK Jamie Webster, Portland, OR Liliana Ferrer, Murray, KY Liam McGranahan, Portland, OR Christopher Wells, Carrboro, NC Michelle Fillion, Victoria, BC Gordon Mumma, Victoria, BC Chelsea Williams, Berryville, AR Meghan Forsyth, Toronto, ON Maria Murphy, Saint John, NB Melissa Wong, Cambridge, UK Gene Fowler, Austin, TX James O’Leary, New Haven, CT Alyssa Woods, Ottawa, ON Ellen George, DuPont, WA Melissa Parkhurst, Portland, OR Martha Young, Haslett, MI Nancy Graham, Monmouth Junction, Jessica Payette, Rochester, MI Lee University, Cleveland, TN NJ Stephan Pennington, Medford, MA Richard Greene, Milledgeville, GA Elizabeth Perten, Waltham, MA

26 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 continued from page 26

In addition to considering musical, Journal of the Society for American Music dramatic, and visual changes made Volume 4, Number 3 (August 2010) to the original work, participants Contributor may wish to focus on reception for Articles these modified pieces, the artistic In Pursuit of Authenticity: The New Lost City Ramblers and the Post-War Folk Music Revival significance of revisiting a work, Ray Allen the relationship between two or Henry Ford’s Dance Revival and Fiddle Contests: Myth and Reality more reinterpretations of the same Paul M. Gifford source material, or the underlying Liberal Religion, Artistic Autonomy, and the Culture of Secular Choral Societies social and historical reasons these Duncan Vinson techniques have become increasingly Reviews common in the twentieth century. Panelists could address various Books approaches to this process, including Steve Waksman, This Ain’t the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk Rob Walser but not limited to: Tim Brooks, Lost Sounds: Blacks and The Birth of the Recording Industry (1890–1919) Film adaptations of musicals, Kip Lornell operas, or operettas Tara Browner, ed. Music of the First Nations: Tradition and Innovation in Native North America Musical adaptations of plays Beverley Diamond Musical adaptations of films Recordings Broadway revivals Eric Chasalow, Left to His Own Devices Anthony Cornicello Regional and touring productions Mark O’Connor, Americana Symphony “Variations on Appalachia Waltz” Revisionist productions Andy Carlson Lewis Nielson, Écritures Parodies and pastiches David Reminick New musical works for stage or Fred Lerdahl and Music of Fred Lerdahl, Vol. 2 screen built around existing music Bruce Quaglia

This seminar aims to yield a better Multimedia understanding of the re-creative pro- John Adams, Doctor Atomic, Peter Sellars, director. Wonders Are Many, Jon Else, direc- cess in musical theatre and film and tor to facilitate dialogue on an increas- Tim Munro ingly important yet still underde- Brian Eno: Music for Airports & In The Ocean (Featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars), Frank veloped area of musicological study Scheffer, director and to bring to light a new body of Eric Tamm scholarly work. Words for the Dying, Rob Nilsson, director. John Cale, James Marsh, director 2) “Music and Geographies of the Dai Griffiths Americas” This seminar will explore the many ways in which music, space, and place interact in American musi- The Bulletin of the Society for American Music cal culture. From Adam Krims’s discussion of hip-hop music in Los The Bulletin is published in the Winter (January), Spring (May), and Summer (September) Angeles, to Denise von Glahn’s by the Society for American Music. Copyright 2008 by the Society for American Music, analysis of emplaced American art ISSN 0196-7967. music, the role of geography in Editorial Board shaping American music has come under increasing academic scrutiny Editor...... Kendra Leonard ([email protected]) over the past decade. Studies of Reviews Editor...... Patrick Warfield ([email protected]) soundscapes, sound worlds, and Design and Layout ...... Allison Gallant ([email protected]) auditory cultures have been joined by work combining historical, Indexer...... Laura Pruett ([email protected]) musicological, and ethnographic Items for submission should be addressed to Kendra Leonard, 5216 Oleander Road, Drexel analyses informed by a resolutely Hill, PA 19026, or, preferably, submitted as an attachment to e-mail. Photographs or other spatial perspective. Yet, there is still graphic materials should be accompanied by captions and desired location in the text. much to study about the often- Deadlines for submission of materials are 15 December, 15 April, and 15 August.

continued on page 28

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 27 continued from page 27 topic should be clearly specified. Unless 2. 250-word proposal the author specifies otherwise, abstracts 3. 100-word version of your pro- dialectical relationship between not accepted for either of the two semi- posal suitable for publication in American music and geography. nars will be considered by the program the conference program (.txt or How have modern and historical committee for one of the regular sessions. .rtf format). Include proposer’s understandings of landscape shaped Although papers for the seminars will name and email, and the pro- musical form, and how has music not be “read” in the traditional sense, posal title in this file. shaped our ideas about landscape? the act of participating in the seminar 4. Audio and visual needs selected How have recent changes in urban as a presenter and defending the ideas from the following list only: America affected how we make and of one’s paper constitutes the same level CD player, overhead projector, listen to music? Why is music such a of participation in an academic confer- DVD player, digital projector. dynamic force in the creation of per- ence as would a normal paper. For this Due to logistics and the high sonal, regional, and national identi- reason, those submitting abstracts toward cost of renting this equipment, ties? How might a composer’s inter- a seminar cannot also submit toward a we cannot accommodate AV est in environmentalism and the regular session. changes once a proposal is natural world influence her compo- accepted. sitional practices? How have changes Guidelines 5. Specify whether you are a stu- in technology across history, from Presenters must be members of the dent (and therefore eligible the industrial revolution to recent Society and are required to register for for certain student grants or changes in telecommunications the entire conference. The committee awards) or are eligible for the technologies, affected the American encourages proposals from those who did Cambridge Award world of sound? This seminar would not present at the 2010 Ottawa meeting, For concerts and lecture-performances explore these and many other ques- but all proposals will be judged primarily please include the above-mentioned tions about the connection between on merit. With the exception of concerts materials, plus: American music, space, and place and lecture-performances, all proposals 6. Seven copies of a recording Unlike regular SAM sessions, in which should be submitted through the online related to the proposed concert papers are read, papers for the conference electronic submission process. or lecture-recital (CD, or DVD) seminars will be posted at a password- Proposers for all except concerts or lec- 7. An addressed, stamped mailer protected location in advance of the ture-performances must specify whether if you would like the recordings conference, where they may be read by the proposal is for 1) paper, 2) poster, or 3) returned all interested SAM members. The bulk either presentation format, the latter to be 8. A list of special needs (e.g., of the conference session will be devoted determined by the Program Committee piano, music stand, space for to discussion of the papers as they relate as it builds sessions. Individual or joint dance demonstration, choral to the general theme. Since papers will papers should be no longer than twenty risers) be posted electronically on the web, we minutes. Concerts and lecture-perfor- All materials must be electronically date- would like to encourage materials that mances should be no longer than thirty stamped by June 15, 2010. Postal sub- are recently published or “in press” as minutes. For complete session proposals, missions for concerts and lecture-perfor- one kind of submission that would be the organizer should include an addi- mance materials only should be addressed appropriate for the seminar structure. tional statement explaining the rationale to: Gillian Rodger, Chair, SAM 2011 These papers may be full articles, up for the session, in addition to proposals Program Committee, Music Department, to 20 pages, and should include notes, and abstracts for each paper. Peck School of the Arts, University of examples (where relevant), and bibliogra- Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, phy. All proposals should be submitted Include the following for all submissions: Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413. Questions in the usual way by the regular SAM 1. Proposer’s name, e-mail address, about the submission process may be sent deadline, except that the specific seminar and institutional affiliation or to: [email protected]. city of residence

bulletin board Patrick D. Hennessey has been award- Music,’ The Life And Legacy Of Hawai’i’s 2010. The Harrison Festival is at George ed the 2010 Fritz Thelen Prize of the Bandmaster.” The award will be pre- Washington University, March 3 to 5, International Society for the Promotion sented at the 19th IGEB conference in 2011. A Stravinsky Festival is at the and Research of Wind Music (IGEB). Oberschützen, Austria, July 23, 2010. Strathmore Performing Arts Center, The award, which commemorates Fritz Georgetown University, and the National Joseph Horowitz’s Post-Classical Thelen, one of IGEB’s co-founders, is Gallery, April 8 to 10, 2011. Ensemble will present a Gershwin Festival, given for the best dissertation accepted in a Lou Harrison Festival, and a Stravinsky Sondra Wieland Howe published “A the field of wind music research in 2007- Festival in 2010-2011. The Gershwin Historical View of Women in Music 9. Dr. Hennessey’s 2007 dissertation is Festival is at the Clarice Smith Center Education Careers,” in Philosophy of entitled “Henry Berger: From Prussian for the Performing Arts (University of Music Education Review 17, no. 2 (Fall Army Musician to ‘Father of Hawaiian Maryland at College Park), Sept. 20-24, 2009): 162-83; and presented “Women

28 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 bulletin board conference calendar CFP: Supervisors of Music in Public Schools, Do You Bowles? The University utes duration. Deadline for submission: 1900-1950” at the research poster session of Lisbon Centre for English Studies May 30, 2010. MacDowell Symposium, of the Biennial Music Educators National - Faculty of Letters is accepting propos- Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Conference, Anaheim, March 2010. als for the Paul Bowles’s Centennial— Elizabethtown College, One Alpha Drive, International Conference, October 21 Elizabethtown, PA 17022. For informa- Ralph P. Locke gave an interview about – 23, 2010 – Portugal. Paul Bowles tion contact Douglas Bomberger, (717) exoticism in opera aired by Radio-Canada is widely acknowledged as one of the 361-1212, MacDowellSymposium@ (the French-language network of the twentieth century’s most skillful storytell- etown.edu. CBC) on April 3, 2010. This took place ers and imaginative composers of mod- Conference: The 44th annual Association during the first intermission of the Met’s ern American music. By examining the for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) live performance of Aida. interplay between literary, musical, visual Conference will be held at the Chateau and cultural texts, the conference aims Alejandro L. Madrid has been named Bourbon, 800 Iberville Street, New at stimulating discussion on Bowlesian the winner of the 2009 Woody Guthrie Orleans, Louisiana, May 19-22, 2010. musical and literary themes, as well as Award of the International Association For more information about the 2010 cultural and anthropological issues and for the Study of Popular Music-U.S. conference, visit: http://www.arsc-audio. on the relationship between the art- Branch for Nor-Tec Rifa! Electronic Dance org/conference/. Questions regarding the ist’s challenging work and current inner Music from Tijuana to the World (Oxford conference should be directed to Brenda and outer geographies. We encourage University Press). According to the chair Nelson-Strauss, ARSC Conference contributions from scholars and artists of the award committee, “Madrid’s book Manager, [email protected]. impressed the committee for its sophis- of different fields and welcome sugges- Conference: ticated blend of ethnographic research tions for papers, panels and sessions, Music and the Moving and theoretical analysis. [The book] is an and also multimedia proposals. 250-word Image V will take place May 21-23, 2010 excellent work of scholarship that inter- abstracts, or any queries, should be sent at NYU Steinhardt.Two keynote addresses venes in a number of important critical by May 15. Contact the department at will be presented by Karen Collins (From conversations.” [email protected] or visit www. Pac-Man to Pop Music; Game Sound: doyoubowles.com. An Introduction to the History, Theory, Anne Dhu McLucas’s new book, The and Practice of Video Game Music and CFP: In celebration of the 150th birth- Musical Ear: Oral Tradition in the USA, Sound Design) and video game compos- day of Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), has been published by Ashgate Publishing er Tom Salta (Tom Clancy’s: H.A.W.X, the Department of Fine and Performing as part of its SEMPRE Studies in the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 & Arts at Elizabethtown College will host a Psychology of Music 2, Red Steel). http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/ MacDowell Symposium, December 3–5, music/scoring/conference/ Steven Richman and the Harmonie 2010. The Symposium invites paper pro- Ensemble/New York’s new Gershwin by posals on any topic in American music Correction: The caption of the photograph Grofe Symphonic Jazz CD (Harmonia between the Civil War and World War I, included in “A Songbook and a Sea Voyage: The Mundi 907492), partially supported by with priority to proposals relating to the Legacy of Louisa Wells Aikman” was inadver- a SAM Sight and Sound Subvention, will tently omitted. The correct caption is “Photo life and works of Edward MacDowell. by Bonny H. Miller. Reproduced with permis- be released on April 13. The CD includes: Scholars are invited to submit a one- sion of the Music Division of the Library of “I Got Rhythm” Variations (original rare page proposal for papers of 20 min- Congress.” Gershwin orchestration); Rhapsody in Blue (original “jazz band” version); and songs arranged by Ferde Grofe for the book review Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the 1920’s. Pianist and musicologist Cesar Reyes Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake: A Social and Popular Dance Reader Ed. By presented a lecture-recital on the Piano Julie Malnig. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008. 392pp. ISBN-13: 978- Music of Mexico at the Yale University 0252075650. Paper. Taft Library on April 15. Mr. Reyes is the president of the committee Mexico on social dance, beneficial for use in class- 2010: Two Hundred Years of Music, a – Renée Camus rooms. This is unfortunate, as these dance year-long celebration of Mexican Music styles greatly affect and reflect the social, in the United States commemorating the In dance history classes, as in music political, economic, and cultural climates Bicentennial of Mexican Independence classes, popular and social forms tend to of their periods, giving a greater overall and the Centennial of the Revolution. be marginalized and emphasis is gener- sense of a particular society. Popular The celebrations will include a gala recital ally on concert or performance dance. dance, perhaps more than concert dance, at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in Despite an increase in social dance schol- is a form of self-expression because of its New York on October 8, 2010. arship over recent years, there are not roots in everyday life, and should be given many critical, non-instructional surveys continued on page 30

The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 29 continued from page 29 that some modern researchers are trying perspective of how independent or single to “erase” African Americans from the club dances like the Twist, often vilified as its proper weight in the study of history, development of ragtime dance (67-68). the “death” of couple dancing or touching whether general or specific. Specifically she cites two current perform- on the dance floor, in practice, emphasize This is one aim of Ballroom, Boogie, ing groups as examples, making general community and unity, more than indi- Shimmy Sham, Shake: A Social and accusations and ignoring other possible viduality. Popular Dance Reader. This contributed factors that do not relate to her argument, The book’s third section explores the volume surveys “the secular tradition of such as financial or demographic realities uses and influences of social dance in the- American social dance…from approxi- and performance presentation choices. atrical, concert, and video performances. mately the late 18th century through the The second section, “Evolving Styles,” Barbara Cohen-Stratyner shows the ebb early 21st century” in an effort to “make moves smoothly through mid-twentieth and flow between social dancing and possible more concerted study of the cul- century dances, starting with a fascinating musical comedy in the 1920s, providing tural significance of social and ballroom depiction of American dance marathons some analysis and sketches of long-for- forms within the college dance curri- by Carol Martin. Her excellent overview gotten musicals as illustrations; however, cula” (2). Edited by early-ballroom dance of marathons and the culture at the time, in some cases she could impart more spe- scholar Julie Malnig (Dancing till Dawn), particularly during the Great Depression, cific examples and definitions of terms. who also contributed a chapter, the essays parallels today’s economic situation and Constance Valis Hill and Halifu Osumare are multi-disciplinary, approaching many reality television, as both impart some- both consider popular dance’s impact on facets of scholarship, including anthro- thing of a “celebration of America… modern choreographers. Osumare exam- pological, sociocultural, and intertextual offered to the disinherited [and] jobless” ines hip hop and other African-American analysis, race and gender theory, and (104). Lisa Doolittle investigates social styles in the works of Rennie Harris, theories of popular culture and mass dancing in Alberta, Canada, identifying while Hill proves how adeptly Jack Cole leisure. Malnig encouraged the contribu- commonalities between dance styles of incorporated American and interna- tors—an impressive number of impor- Canada and America, and adeptly reflect- tional dances such as Bharata Natyam, tant scholars in social dance, including similar happenings in other parts of Flamenco, and Lindy Hop into his own ing Sally R. Sommer, Elizabeth Aldrich, the world. Karen Hubbard and Terry style to create what would become called Karen Hubbard, Terry Monaghan, Carol Monaghan, who are clearly insiders in “jazz” (also presenting an attractive dis- Martin, Constance Valis Hill, Yvonne Lindy Hop, provide some “myth-busting” cussion of the meaning of the words Daniel, and Juliet McMains—to “merge within their solid history of dancing at “cool” and “hip”). I particularly enjoyed close, physical descriptions of the dances the Savoy Ballroom, fixing inaccuracies Sherril Dodds’ essay on music videos— with contextual, cultural analysis” (3). about the Lindy legend, and proffering “the desire to sell images” (248)—and This is a difficult order, and the book facts on other dances executed at the how they affected popular dance tra- succeeds overall, though in a few cases it Savoy. Their descriptions of the dances ditions. She draws together the seem- could benefit from more precise explana- are accurate, though at times non-dancers ingly contrasting ideas of Busby Berkeley tions of what dances look like and how may have difficulty understanding and and Fred Astaire (how they increase or they deviate from other similar styles visualizing the movements. decrease, respectively, the function of (e.g., the identifiable differences between Yvonne Daniel and David F. Garcia the camera) through music video uses, Cajun and Zydeco music and dance in discuss the rumba and mambo respec- and furnishes examples from Michael chapter 18). tively, demonstrating the intertextual Jackson and Madonna of callbacks to The topics are well organized, arranged influences of Latin steps and rhythms classic Hollywood musicals, introducing more or less chronologically in four sec- and American social dance. Both essays young readers—perhaps unknowingly— tions, which highlights the correlations juxtapose the “pure” form of the dance to the worlds of these older innovators. between the various styles and periods. with the adapted or bastardized form. The four chapters in the final sec- Elizabeth Aldrich’s survey of dances from Daniel’s poetic essay intriguingly personi- tion, studying house dancing, salsa danc- the Revolutionary War to 1890 paints an fies the rumba, but could afford addition- ing and DanceSport, Cajun and Zydeco excellent picture of 19th-century dance al definitions of terms and descriptions dance, and Krumping, bring the con- and etiquette, reflecting the social climate of steps, particularly when many readers versation around to the 21st century, and the disparity between the sexes—par- have an idea, whether correct or not, of while still showing correlations with and ticularly interesting contrasted with what what modern ballroom rumba looks like. callbacks to the earlier forms discussed. we might see today. Malnig’s narrative of Tim Wall gives a wonderful account of As with the previous section, these chap- New York nightlife in the 1910s is also teenage dance fads from the late 1950s ters also investigate the blurring lines enjoyable as well as informative, illus- to the mid-60s, particularly the Twist and between social and performance dance, trating the perplexing status of women the Madison, contemplating the chang- and between improvisation and choreog- caught between “New Woman”-hood ing attitudes about racial integration, raphy. Juliet McMains’ essay includes an and 19th-century values. While Nadine and examining the role of television and interesting history of the dance industry George-Graves’ essay starts out well, records in this crossover. Tim Lawrence and its perhaps inadvertent marginalizing introducing the ragtime era and estab- closes out this section with a depiction of of improvisation. lishing the intriguing concept of primitiv- the 1970s club scene and setting up the Despite an omission of the recent pop- ity in terms of the “first” or the “leader” later essays on modern social dance. Both ularity of social dancing in television (66), it uses insufficient evidence to argue Wall and Lawrence offer an alternate continued on page 31

30 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 continued from page 30 book would benefit from additional refer- critically and in detail, yet communicated ences, including a list of visual examples in a way that is accessible and engaging reality shows, Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy that readers could review and compare, for both students and scholars, as well as Sham, Shake imparts a wonderful variety particularly for some of the more recent a general audience. of subjects and interdisciplinary angles, dance forms. That aside, it is pleasing to clearly and primarily jargon-free. The see the subject of social dance addressed

Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music. by David Suisman. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 20009. 356 pp. ISBN 978-0-674-03337-5. Cloth.

Blacks and the Birth of the Recording these national and international entities – Kip Lornell Industry, 1890-1919 (University of Illinois thread across both all types of mediums Press, 2004) and Lawrence Levine, who and political boundaries to control much I am greatly relieved that Dr. Suisman, wrote Highbrow, Lowbrow: The Emergence of what we hear today. who teaches in the History Department at of Cultural Hierarchy in America (Harvard As a decades-long student of the sound the University of Delaware, resists a pure- University Press, 1988). In addition to industries, particularly of recordings ly chronological, fact-based approach to these acknowledged classic books, Selling and radio, I was particularly struck by this fascinating, complicated, important Sounds also learned from the writings of Suisman’s description of the roles played topic. Instead Suisman topical approach journalist and record collector Jim Walsh, by song pluggers found on pages 58-75. embraces a wide range and variety of whose scores of articles on pioneering I knew about the practice, of course, topics, ranging from player-pianos to Tin recording artists appeared in Hobbies mag- but I didn’t understand the extent to Pan Alley to the ever-changing nature azine beginning in 1952 and continuing which song pluggers helped to shape of the music industry. Selling Sounds until 1985. Suisman doesn’t always live popular tastes during the teens and twen- also takes a refreshingly inter-disciplinary in the past as he also cites Mark Katz, ties. I also appreciated the “Epilogue” in approach as the author draws upon the Capturing Sound: How Technology Has which he describes “The Most Wanted writings and documents produced by Changed Music (University of California Song” (an interesting 1996 collaboration attorneys (copyright laws), music histo- Press, 2004) for a more contemporary between two conceptual artists and a rians (Enrico Caruso), and contemporary assessment of the digital age. composer) that serves to close the book cultural critics (the internet). Selling Sounds doesn’t merely explore back near where it begins Tin Pan Alley Not surprisingly, the author has co- the recording industry but also exam- in New York City. edited [with fellow University of Delaware ines the commodification of sounds as The virtues of Selling Sounds are numer- history professor� Susan Strasser] a wide- reproduced on sheet music, mechanically ous: clarity of writing, a multi-faceted ranging collection that nicely comple- reproducing pianos, music publishing. approach to the subject, smart arguments, ments Selling Sounds: The Commercial Suisman study begins during the 1880s and depth of research. Its shortcomings Revolution in American Music. Sound and carries forth into the 21st century. are thankfully very few. Suisman draws in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction In Chapter 5, “Musical Properties,” he upon black American musical culture (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009) writes about the varied issues related to so often (Chapter 7, “Black Swan” for contains an eclectic mix including “’Her intellectual property and copyright laws example) that I sometimes wondered Voice a Bullet’’’: Imaginary Propaganda that first emerged as a national debate why the critical role of the quasi-hillbilly and the Legendary Broadcasters of World around 1900 and continues to the pres- artist Vernon Dahlart played in selling War II” by Ann Elizabeth Pfau and David ent day. Suisman points out that we are sounds across the United States during Hochfelder and “Collectors, Bootleggers, currently obligated to follow laws that the 1920s or a transitional figure such and the Value of Jazz, 1930 1952” by are struggling to deal with the realities as Uncle Dave Macon didn’t figure more Alex Cummings. History departments, of digital sound, downloading, and a sea prominently into this narrative. Indeed it would seem, have changed greatly since change in the recording industry that the role played by country music in par- I bailed out of a history undergradu- have been washing over sonic landscape ticipating and shaping our commercial ate program in the early 1970s because since the early 1990s. sounds is strangely absent. This minor they told me that oral histories, field Throughout his book the author under- complaint aside, Selling Sounds remains research (indeed, anything not written in scores the point that was once a highly an important, multi-layered book that a scholarly book or journal article), and fragmented sound industry that consisted holds great appeal to American music music weren’t elements that constituted of separate entities--radio, record compa- scholars with lowbrow to highbrow inter- the proper study of “real history.” Indeed. nies, films, and television is now utterly ests that extend from Reconstruction to Selling Sounds doesn’t contain much entangled into what is now a far more the present day. original research, per say, but it’s rife with centralized web of closely allied (and interesting comparisons, observations, owned) companies and corporations. The and analysis that draw from a wide range recording industry had strong, very early of previously published sources. Suisman ties to the District of Columbia, while owes a tip of the hat to scholars as diverse the film industry quickly found a home as Tim Brooks for his book, Lost Sounds: in southern California. Today, however,

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awards of the society

Further information is available at the Wiley Housewright Dissertation Mark Tucker Award website (www.american-music.org) or by Award The Mark Tucker Award is presented at contacting the SAM office. This award consists of a plaque and cash the Business Meeting of the annual SAM award given annually for a dissertation conference to a student presenter who has H. Earle Johnson Bequest for Book that makes an outstanding contribution written an outstanding paper for delivery Publication Subvention to American music studies. The Society at that conference. In addition to the for American Music announces its annual recognition the student receives before the This fund is administered by the Book competition for a dissertation on any topic Society, there is also a plaque and a cash Publications Committee and provides relating to American music, written in award. two subventions up to $2,500 annually. English. Adrienne Fried Block Fellowship Sight and Sound Subvention Student Travel Grants This fellowship, endowed in honor This fund is administered by the Sight and Grants are available for student members of Adrienne Fried Block, shall be given Sound Committee and provides annual who wish to attend the annual conference to support scholarly research leading to subventions of approximately $700-$900. of the Society for American Music. These publication on topics that illuminate musical funds are intended to help with the cost life in large urban communities. Preference Irving Lowens Memorial Awards of travel. Students receiving funds must be shall be given to projects that focus on the The Irving Lowens Award is offered by the members of the Society and enrolled at a interconnections among the groups and Society for American Music each year for a college or university (with the exception of organizations present in these metropolitan book and article that, in the judgment of the doctoral students, who need not be formally settings and their participation in the wide awards committee, makes an outstanding enrolled). range of genres that inform the musical life contribution to the study of American music and culture of their cities. or music in America. Self-nominations are accepted.

32 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXVII, No. 2