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. XXXV, No. 2 Spring 2009 Researching Southern Gospel Music in Kentucky and Tennessee
By Kevin Kehrberg The Southern Appalachian 1940s and ‘50s, Lair’s Renfro Valley pro- Archives duced some of the most successful coun- In the early twentieth century, “con- try music radio programming in America. vention” gospel singing was a widespread The Southern Appalachian Archives The gospel singing groups captured on pastime in America. Spread through resides within the Special Collections and the archive’s numerous non-commercial singing schools and songbooks utilizing Archives Department at Berea College’s recordings of Renfro Valley radio programs a seven shape-note system, convention Hutchins Library. It houses organiza- were the main foci of my research. gospel music (also called “southern gos- tional records, personal papers, oral his- The bulk of audio material I examined pel”) became the most popular form of tories, and photographs that document had been converted from its original for- amateur musical engagement in many the history and culture of the Southern mat (transcription discs, reel tapes, etc.) areas, particularly in rural regions of the Appalachian region. These archives also to high-resolution digital files and stored southern and southeastern United States.1 include Berea’s massive and unparalleled on Berea’s dedicated server. The sound Participants gathered regularly to sing Appalachian Sound Archives, largely archive’s contents are fully searchable at community “singings” and singing consisting of non-commercial material via an online database available through conventions, and certain localities could and profuse in such areas as fiddle and Hutchins Library’s Sound Archives web- often boast several well-polished church banjo field recordings; ballad singing; page. In addition, many selected audio choirs, singing groups, and/or gospel folktales and legends; and Old Regular continued on page 18 quartets that used convention songbooks Baptist services. Specific collections (issued each year with new songs) as the include the Appalachian Ballad and Folk basis for their singing. Thanks to their Music Collection, 1911-1975; John C. wide use among early radio and record- Campbell Folk School Collection, 1909- in this issue: ing artists (e.g., string bands, professional 1981; John Harrod Kentucky Fiddle Music quartets, country singers), many conven- Collection; Reuben Powell Early Country Researching Southern | 17 tion songs became extremely popular Music Collection, 1910-1982; and the among the national populace as well. William H. Tallmadge Baptist Hymnody Gospel Music in Kentucky Despite its former popularity and con- Collection, 1968-1980. and Tennessee tinued practice, convention singing—a In 2005, Berea College began its major component of America’s lesser- Appalachian Music Fellowship Program, Report on American | 19 known white gospel tradition—remains an initiative that supports graduate stu- largely untouched by scholarly scrutiny. dents, faculty, public school teachers, Music from the Music There are, however, a handful of insti- and/or performers in one to three month Library Association meeting tutional collections devoted to American residencies for the purpose of conduct- vernacular and popular music that con- ing research in the Appalachian Sound Denver 2009 Conference | 22 tain holdings connected to this tradition. Archives and to promote the preserva- Reports and Photos Two such collections have been particu- tion of and access to its contents. For larly useful in my recent research on this my fellowship project during the sum- topic: the Southern Appalachian Archives mer of 2007, I worked primarily with Adrienne Fried Block | 26 at Berea College (Berea, Kentucky) and the John Lair Papers, 1930-1984. Lair Remembered the Center for Popular Music at Middle was the famous impresario behind the Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, Renfro Valley radio barn dance programs Reviews | 30 Tennessee). broadcast from Renfro Valley, Kentucky, that began in the late-1930s. During the continued from page 17 trade catalogs; the reading room col- gressed in our documentation and rec- lection (reference works, discographies, ognition of America’s diverse musical recordings from the more than 90,000 and other published books); periodi- legacy, some areas have been left behind. entries in the Appalachian Sound Archives cals; performance documents; archives/ Only by examining the complete spec- can be downloaded online through the manuscript collections; and photographs. trum of American music can we more Digital Library of Appalachia (www. Most of these subgroups are conveniently fully understand its profound impact on aca-dla.org). The DLA is a remarkable searchable online via the Center’s special shaping our society. Thankfully, Berea web resource that gives online access to collections databases. Areas of particular College’s Hutchins Library and Middle archival and historical materials (record- depth include rock and roll and its musi- Tennessee State University’s Center for ings, documents, photographs) related to cal roots, the music of Tennessee and Popular Music have taken a leading role the Appalachian region and its culture. the southeast United States, and vari- in preserving some of America’s more Its contents come from the special col- ous forms of vernacular religious music. overlooked musical traditions, and they lections of twelve Appalachian College It also deserves mention that the large are doing an exemplary job. Association member libraries joined in private collection of the late Charles K. a mutual effort to make such materials Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, is grad- Notes more available for public use. Through ually being processed and catalogued into 1 See, for example, William Lynwood the DLA, rare and unique performing arts the CPM’s holdings. A longtime MTSU Montell, Singing the Glory Down: Amateur media from Berea’s Southern Appalachian faculty member, Wolfe was a prolific Gospel Music in South Central Kentucky, Archives is now available from any com- author, scholar, and one of the foremost 1900-1990 (Lexington: University Press of puter with online capabilities. authorities on American music, especially Kentucky, 1991). In addition to its meticulously country and gospel music. 2 http://popmusic.mtsu.edu organized collections, the Southern I visited the CPM to conduct research Appalachian Archives possesses an in its strong collection of vernacular reli- extremely knowledgeable staff. Thanks gious music. My dissertation’s main focus This article previously appeared in a to their help, my completed residency is the twentieth-century gospel song slightly different format in the Spring- work included adding new oral histories composer Albert E. Brumley (“I’ll Fly Summer 2008 issue of Performance! the of former performers who had worked at Away,” “I’ll Meet You in the Morning,” Society of American Archivists performing Renfro Valley and uncovering some 1950s “Turn Your Radio On”). Without ques- arts newsletter. radio broadcasts in need of preservation tion, Brumley was the most recognizable Kevin Kehrberg is a Ph.D. candidate in (portions of which are now accessible composer to emerge from the conven- musicology at the University of Kentucky. He via the DLA). Information on Berea tion singing tradition. However, most of is currently completing a dissertation titled College’s Southern Appalachian Archives, his five hundred-plus published works “‘I’ll Fly Away’: The Music and Career of the Appalachian Music Fellowship appeared only one or two times, and Albert E. Brumley and the Cultural Impact Program, and the Appalachian Sound Brumley himself kept poor record of his of his Most Famous Composition.” A web- Archives can all be found at www.berea. compositions. Thus, the annual con- page for the Appalachian Music Fellowship edu/hutchinslibrary/specialcollections. vention songbooks from the 1920s to the 1970s—published by such firms as project that he completed at Berea College the Stamp-Baxter Music Co., the James exists at http://www.berea.edu/hutchinsli- The Center for Popular Music D. Vaughan Music Publishing Co., and brary/specialcollections/amfpkehrberg2007. the Hartford Music Co.—remain the asp. Established in 1985, the Center for best resource in which to find Brumley’s Popular Music at Middle Tennessee music. The CPM is one of the few insti- State University (headed by Paul Wells, tutions realizing the importance of this SAM’s president from 2001-2003) is a greatly understudied area of American research library and archive dedicated to music. As a result, they currently own the the study and preservation of American largest collection of convention shape- popular music from the colonial era to note songbooks amassed by any public the present. The CPM’s mission, as stated entity. Moreover, all of these songbooks on its website, is to “promote research have been catalogued in their rare books and scholarship in American vernacular database and are searchable online. As music, and to foster an understanding with Berea, the staff at the CPM was very and appreciation of American’s diverse helpful and willing to assist my research musical culture.”2 In addition to being in any way possible. For more informa- a research center, the CPM also presents tion on the Center for Popular Music and public concerts and events and sponsors to browse its collections, please visit their research projects of its own for publica- website at http://popmusic.mtsu.edu. tion. American music history is becoming The CPM’s collection is divided into increasingly effective as a lens through nine subgroups: sheet music and broad- which to view and interpret our com- sides; rare books; sound recordings; music plex culture. However, as we have pro-
18 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 A Note from the 2009 Program Chair Mark Tucker Award On behalf of the Society for American others covered a huge geographic and for Outstanding Music, I would like to thank a number thematic territory, from the far north in Conference Paper of individuals whose wonderful work Canada, to areas throughout the United The Mark Tucker Award committee and assistance helped assure the success States, and indigenous music in northern received seventeen submissions, nearly of the 2009 Denver conference. First are Mexico. They represented the very wide double the amount from the previous the members of the program commit- range of peoples, repertories, and tradi- year. Given the uniformly high quality of tee, Michael Pisani, Ann Sears, Patricia tions that constitute Native American the papers, it was not easy to determine a Woodard, Mina Yang, and Cecilia Sun. music and society, and underscore the winner. In the end, however, the commit- We were very pleased at the high qual- fact that we as American music scholars tee agreed that the most deserving paper ity in general of the approximately 270 need to understand much more about was Christine Fena’s “The ‘Piano Techni- proposals received, and because of this this important aspect of musical life. cian’ and his ‘Unfortunate Piano’: Henry level of excellence were glad to be able I would also like to thank Mariana Cowell in the Machine Age.” to accept a large number of them. We Whitmer, Executive Director of SAM, The committee found Fena’s paper to scheduled 126 papers in 45 regular ses- and Larry Worster, Local Arrangements be strikingly original, blending solid re- sions on an incredibly wide range of Chair, and his fine committee, for their ception history with nuanced cultural topics. 12 scholars shared their research excellent work in making this conference analyses and musical observations. Fena in poster form in two poster sessions. a success. Mariana and Larry did a won- brings a new perspective to a well-doc- We had four lecture-performance ses- derful job in seeing to all of the hundreds umented chapter of Cowell’s career: his sions, which featured New Mexican tra- of small details that go into conference notorious piano experiments of the late ditional song, American piano music, a planning. And they did this cheerfully 1910s/early 1920s. In particular, she ex- Siegmeister centennial celebration, and a and without fuss. amines the critical invective that was fre- session in honor of Sylvia Glickman and I am especially gratified that our quently leveled at Cowell’s piano recitals, Hildegard Publishing. Our three spe- international members, from Canada, and how this reflected societal fears of the cial concerts featured Native American Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, machine age and the uncertainties about music, choral music of Colorado com- Germany, and other countries contin- artistic creativity in this new milieu. Ad- posers, and Buffalo Bill’s Cowboy Band ue to support the goals of the society dressing the complex intertwining of per- Wild West Show, all of which related through their attendance at our annual former and instrument, “man” and “ma- closely to our main theme for the con- meetings. This represented a signifi- chine,” Fena reveals how the piano came ference, namely Native American music cant financial and time commitment for to be viewed metaphorically and sympa- and music of and in the West. We also them, as it did for all conference attend- thetically as a battered and bruised human had numerous Interest Group and several ees. And, finally, I am very grateful to body, subject to Cowell’s abusive mechan- other special organizational meetings, all my fellow SAM members, especially the ical impulses. Well written and clearly ar- of which enriched our proceedings. more than 330 who attended the confer- gued, Fena’s paper adds new insight to our We were particularly pleased to be able ence. Many thanks! Please come next understanding of early twentieth-century to offer 7 sessions on Native American/ year to our meeting in Ottawa. American musical modernism. First Nations/indigenous musical life and The committee members were Theo traditions. This is a first for the society, Cateforis, chair; Dale Chapman, Tammy and it bodes well for the future. The John Koegel Kernodle, Peter Mercer-Taylor and Annie papers in these seven sessions and several Randall.
Report on American Music from the Music Library Association meeting The 2009 Annual Meeting of the Mu- other roundtables, “American Women: A particularly prescient 9 a.m. plenary sic Library Association in Chicago pro- Composing, Conducting and Singing session, “Copyright: Is There a Chance grammed a variety of papers, roundtables, the Blues,” “Preserving America’s Black for Change?” opened some bleary eyes in keynote addresses and workshops perti- Gospel Heritage,” and “Music and Social the large, but standing room-only Chica- nent to the study and understanding of Change: Settlement Music Schools to go Ballroom of the Downtown Marriott. American music. Two sessions engaged Songs of Protest” yielded lively discussions One of the three panelists, Tim Brooks, elements of the host city’s rich musical and were strongly attended. The panels, discussed the copyright reform efforts, heritage; the plenary session, “Music in “New Jewish Music: Composition, the spearheaded in part by the Association Chicago” featured papers on Jazz, Blues Downtown Scene, and New Directions,” of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), and Gospel, Folk Music, and House Mu- which featured the music of Steven aimed at making more available record- sic while a stimulating roundtable discus- Danker and John Zorn, and “”Music of ed works before 1972, which as many sion about the Association for the Ad- Changes, Music of Challenges: The John scholars of American music have unhap- vancement of Creative Musicians closed Cage Collection at Northwestern Univer- pily discovered, rarely achieve the Public with an exceptional performance by two sity” drew attention to specific streams of Domain status enjoyed by other types of active members of the AACM. Three more recent American music. continued on page 20
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 19 continued from page 19
intellectual property. Those members of SAM who attended the Denver meeting will recall Mr. Brook’s brief and positive update on the issue at the Annual Busi- ness Meeting, but copyright issues clearly The Society for American Music remain formidable obstacles to the careful preservation and interrogation of the his- The Society for American Music promotes research, educational projects, and the dissemination of infor- mation concerning all subjects and periods embraced by the field of music in American life. Individual tory of American music. and institutional members receive the quarterly Journal of the Society for American Music (JSAM), the Bulletin, As the Chicago meeting demonstrated, and the annotated Membership Directory. Direct all inquiries to The Society for American Music, the MLA maintains a strong interest in Stephen Foster Memorial, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; (412) 624-3031; SAM@ and commitment to preserving, cultivat- american-music.org. ing, and investigating all facets of Ameri- Officers of the Society can music. I encourage the SAM mem- President ...... Thomas Riis bership to explore those resources that the Vice-president...... Denise Von Glahn MLA provides to scholars of American Past President...... John Graziano Secretary...... Carol Hess Music by visiting their website, http:// Treasurer...... Doug Bomberger www.musiclibraryassoc.org, where the Members-at-large ...... Sandra Graham, Charles Garrett, Tammy full program of the 2009 Annual Meeting Kernodle, Beth Levy, Michael Pisani, Daniel Goldmark can also be found. Editor, Journal of the Society for American Music...... Leta Miller Editor, SAM Website...... Patrick Warfield Jonathan Hiam Executive Director ...... Mariana Whitmer Head, American Music Collection Standing Committee Chairs: New York Public Library Finance: Paul Laird; Long-Range Planning: John Graziano; Honors and Awards: Mary Wallace Davidson; for the Performing Arts 2007 Lowens Award (Book): Neil Lerner; 2007 Lowens Award (Article): Bonny Miller; Housewright Dissertation 2007: Jane Riegel Ferencz; Mark Tucker Award: Theo Cateforis; Membership: Karen Bryan; Conference Site Selection: Joice Waterhouse Gibson; Nominating: Judith Tick; Public Relations: Vacant; Book Publications Subvention (Johnson Bequest): James Lovensheimer; Sight and Sound: Kip Lornell; Silent Auction: Student Forum; Publications Council: Michael Broyles; Cultural Diversity: Steven student forum Swayne. Silent Auction Report Appointments and Ad Hoc Committees: ACLS Delegate: Michael Broyles; Archivist: Susan Koutsky; Committee on Publication of American from Denver Music: Judith McCulloh; SAM History Project: Denise Von Glahn; US-RILM Representative: Denise I am pleased to announce that the Von Glahn; Registered Agent for the District of Columbia: Samuel Brylawski. 2009 SAM Silent Auction netted $2,401 Interest Groups: this year, a 30% gain over last year’s to- American Band History: Susan Koutsky; American Music in American Schools and Colleges: Christine tal. This addition will certainly allow the de Catanzaro and James V. Worman; Connecting Outside the Academy: Joseph Horowitz; Dance: Renee Student Travel Fund to remain healthy Camus; Early American Music: Nicholas Butler; Folk and Traditional Music: Ron Pen; Gay/Lesbian/ Bisexual/Transgendered: David Patterson; Gospel and Church Music: Roxanne Reed; Historiography: in 2010. Given the backdrop of an un- Michael Pisani; Music of Latin America and the Caribbean: Paul Laird; Musical Theatre: James certain economy, the support shown by Lovensheimer; Popular Music: Philip A. Todd; Research on Gender and American Music: Melissa de this year’s donors and bidders was truly Graaf; Research Resources: Alisa Rata; Twentieth-Century Music: David Patterson overwhelming. On behalf of outgoing Student Forum co-chair Vilde Aaslid and Electronic Resources all of the travel award recipients, I would Listserv: [email protected] like to extend a hearty thank you to Lo- Website: http://www.american-music.org cal Arrangements Chair Larry Worster for organizing the auction space and offering his home as a storage site for the dona- Annual Conferences tions; Joice Gibson for coordinating the 36th Annual Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada workers and offering support; Mariana Michael Pisani, Program Committee Chair Whitmer and Kendra Leonard for act- James Deaville, Local Arrangements Chair ing as cashiers; all of the donors, includ- ing exhibitors, who unselfishly gave away many treasures; and finally the bidders, who graciously contributed their hard- earned dollars to this worthy cause. I’m looking forward to next year’s auction!
Douglas Shadle 2009 Silent Auction Coordinator
20 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 from the president
tirelessly pursued multiple strands of in- by high quality and a staggering range of stitutional music-making in 19th-century topics, times, places, and perspectives. (I Chicago and New York, and she coached counted no fewer than five separate ses- the Music in Gotham team to the end. sions taking up, in part or in whole, the I can still see the twinkle in her eye that neglected realm of Native American mu- typically accompanied the sharing of sic, to cite only one example of this di- fresh insights, rare sources, edgy critiques, versity.) Throughout the weekend, the or newly uncovered facts. She seemed to vigor and youthful spirit of the Society have an interest in every project. It came was everpresent, even as we honored and as no surprise to me when Adrienne was remembered veteran members and those presented with SAM’s Lifetime Achieve- who have passed on. We were especially ment Award in 2004. It was perfectly fit- blessed by the presence of James Boyer ting. to accept SAM’s Lifetime Achievement Thanks to Adrienne and her family’s award on behalf of brother Horace Boyer, generosity SAM will continue to grow gospel musician extraordinaire. and support American musical research Joice Gibson, our new Conference through the Adrienne Fried Block Fellow- Coordinator, worked hand in glove with ship, which John Graziano announced in Executive Director Mariana Whitmer March. If you wish to make a gift to SAM to guarantee a smooth production all in Adrienne’s honor, I strongly suggest around. I am especially grateful to have that you do so through this fund. Fellow- Joice serving in this vital role. Thank you ships will be granted, on application, to one and all for a tremendous effort. publication projects devoted to studying Inspired by hard-working board mem- the “musical life in large urban communi- bers, volunteers, colleagues, an experi- Dear Friends and SAM members, ties,” concerned with the various persons enced executive director, and enthusiastic and organizations that fostered our great members, I look forward to serving as I write this letter amidst challenging cities’ cultural growth and development. your president for the next two years. I circumstances that we are all too famil- And speaking of growing SAM, I am think Oscar Sonneck (with whom I share iar with. Our activities are up, but our most pleased to note that we chalked up a birthday) would have been proud of us finances are down. Fortunately pleasant the largest attendance ever at a national all. See you in Ottawa! memories of our recent excellent meeting meeting, with some 330 registrants tal- in Denver linger. Hearing the eloquence lied. Because of the exceptional turn- of Tony Isaacs, our newest Honorary out, together with a impressive number Best Regards, Member, and the wonderful gathering of of contributed books, CDs, and music Tom Riis shape-note singers at Trinity Church were sheets, and the hard work of the Student Boulder, Colorado personal highlights for me. But the string Committee chairs Vilde Aaslid and Doug of stimulating papers, poster sessions, in- Shadle, the Silent Auction brought in a terest-group discussions, and social activi- record total of $2400 (35% higher than ties that filled the time are colored with last year). It is gratifying to know that deep sadness at the recent passing of Adri- forbidding costs and travel distances ap- enne Fried Block. Many things seem un- pear not to have deterred our dedicated certain, including employment prospects membership from coming out to a Rocky for our newest American music scholars. Mountain Western venue. Fortunately, Still, I remain hopeful for the future of the fair weather gods cooperated beauti- our vibrant organization. fully. As I reflect back on nearly three decades We are already planning for 2010 in of involvement with the Sonneck Society Canada (and exchange rates are looking and American music scholarship in gen- good). But I want to express again my eral, I recall many special--and sometimes appreciation for the dedicated and pro- startling--encounters with Adrienne that fessional preparation that went into the may strike a chord with some of you. In Denver conference. Larry Worster and the 1980s, she always seemed to have an his Local Arrangements team were nearly encouraging word for first-time confer- faultless in tech support--not to mention ence speakers (like me). In the 1990s she friendly and cheerful throughout. John became the go-to person for information Koegel’s Program Committee, having about the incomparable Amy Beach and sifted through an unprecedented number an inspiration for budding biographers of abstracts, produced a program marked of all stripes. During the last decade, she
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 21 images from the conference
22 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 images from the conference
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 23 Society for American Music Annual Business Meeting Report The Annual Business Meeting of the cost-saving and environmentally friendly Larry Worster, chair of the Local Society for American Music was called measure, submissions, referees’ reports, Arrangements Committee for the Denver to order by President John Graziano at copyediting, and the other day-to-day meeting, reflected on the tremendous the Marriott City Center in Denver, business of the journal are now complete- satisfaction of coordinating the confer- Colorado on 21 March 2009 at 4:03 p.m. ly electronic. Thanks to Sally Hoffman of ence and thanked the rest of the commit- Observing that “conferences don’t hap- Cambridge University Press, subscribers tee: Joice Gibson, Peter Schimpf, Trudi pen by themselves,” President Graziano can now enjoy audio and video stream- Wright, Petra Meyer-Frasier, and Leslie welcomed Stephen M. Jordan, President ing. Miller urged members to make sure Warren. One especially welcome addi- of Denver Metropolitan State College of their institutions subscribe. tion at the Denver meeting was the Denver, and presented him with a plaque Kendra Leonard, the new editor of the student monitor in every session; like- of appreciation for hosting the confer- Bulletin, thanked former editor Sandra wise, the flow charts Gibson designed ence. Graham for leaving the publication in to coordinate staff activities proved most The minutes of the 2008 Annual excellent condition. Reviews are available effective. Worster expressed gratitude to Business Meeting (San Antonio, Texas) both in the print and online versions. Mariana Whitmer and Graziano pre- were approved without correction. Leonard suggested that members inter- sented Worster with a plaque. Program In his opening remarks, President ested in serving as reviewers contact her. Committee Chair John Koegel reported Graziano referred to the challenges of the This year’s comic element was provided that of the 270 proposals received, 126 current economic downturn. Noting that by Larry Starr and Denise Von Glahn, papers were heard in 45 regular sessions; the Society has faced challenges in the who interrupted the meeting several seven of these were devoted to Native past, he reminded members that we have times to promote the Silent Auction with American music, a first for the Society. grown over 800 percent in our thirty-five inspired numbers such as “Fascinatin’ The Denver meeting also featured two years, recalling the efforts of founding Auction” and “Oh! What a Beautiful poster sessions, four lecture-performance member Irving Lowens (whose widow Auction.” Their talents were greeted with sessions, Interest Groups, meetings, and Margery was at the meeting). Despite laughter and admiration. other attractions such as the Buffalo Bill present conditions, we have reached sev- Patrick Warfield, Chair of the Website show and the Denver Pow-wow. Koegel enty per cent of our $250,000 capi- Committee, reported that online web thanked committee members Michael tal campaign, projected two years ago. reviews are now available on the website. Pisani, Ann Sears, Patricia Woodard, Graziano encouraged individual contri- An RSS feed is also available (instruc- Mina Yang, and Cecilia Sun. butions and urged members to attend the tions on the website). The committee is In impeccable French, Local Ottawa meeting in 2010. also developing a members only section. Arrangements Chair James Deaville For Memorial Tributes please see box Online proposal submission for the 2010 invited members to the Ottawa meeting on page 27. meeting will be available shortly, for (2010). Canadian composer R. Murray Treasurer Paul Laird also urged contin- which Warfield thanked Glenn Pillsbury. Schafer will be honored, perhaps through ued support. As his report shows, endow- A section of the website is devoted to an installation or soundscape. Another ments have suffered in recent months but American Music research centers, syl- feature in Ottawa will be the new semi- royalties from JSAM totaled over $3,000 labi on American music, and links to the nar format, which Program Committee and membership remains stable; also, Library of Congress. Warfield welcomed Chair Michael Pisani explained. Details thanks to Executive Director Mariana suggestions on future developments for on the seminars to be offered, “The Art Whitmer, office expenses have been kept the website. of Association: Exploring Institutions as down. Denise Von Glahn reported on the Agents of American Music in Theory Judith Tick, Chair of the Nominating History of the Society Project. Inviting and Practice” and “Nineteenth-Century Committee, thanked committee mem- contributions, she mentioned that the American Music Studies: The State of bers Elizabeth Bergman, John Koegel, project will eventually be given to Robin the Field in 2010,” will be accessible on Ray Knapp, and Tom Owens. A slate Rausch of the Library of Congress. the website. Pisani urged members to of candidates for President, Secretary, Doug Shadle and Vilde Aaslid of submit proposals on some of the confer- and two board members will soon be the Student Forum thanked Mariana ence’s main themes, including the role provided. Whitmer and Michael Pisani, Board liai- of French culture in North American Leta Miller, editor of the Journal for the son to the Student Forum, for their sup- musical life, and “the Idea of North.” Society of American Music, reported on port. Also mentioned were Phil Gentry, Joice Gibson, Chair of the Site Selection the diversity of submissions, comment- who will leave his post as moderator, and Committee, reported that the 2011 meet- ing that twenty-five to thirty percent Judy Brady, who organized the student ing would be held jointly with IASPM of articles are accepted, almost always dinner for two consecutive years. The (International Association for the Study after revision. (The news that edito- Student Forum continues to grow as of Popular Music) in Cincinnati, with rial decisions are reached in six to seven students become an evermore significant bruce mcclung (College Conservatory of weeks was greeted with applause.) As a force in the Society. continued on page 25
24 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 continued from page 24 Bonny Miller, Chair of the Lowens Clarence Boyer and was presented by Article Award Committee. The commit- Wayne Shirley to Dr. James Boyer, the Music at the University of Cincinnati) tee, which also included Mary Jane Corry, recipient’s brother. As a young man, as Local Arrangements Chair. Gibson Charles Freeman, and John Howland, Horace Boyer performed with Clara thanked committee members Beth Levy, reviewed over 100 articles, Festschrift Ward and Mahalia Jackson and later Michael Buchler, Charles Freeman, Vilde essays, and chapters. This year’s winner taught at several post-secondary institu- Aaslid, and outgoing members Elizabeth is Nancy Yunhwa Rao, whose “Ruth tions, including the Eastman School of Bergman and Michael Pisani. Crawford’s Imprint on Modernism” Music. President Graziano invited mem- The Honors and Awards portion of the appeared in Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Worlds: bers to take advantage of the video cam- meeting began with the Sight and Sound Innovation and Tradition in Twentieth- era to verbally congratulate Horace Boyer. Subvention. On behalf of Chair Kip Century Music, edited by Ray Allen and Retiring Board members, officers, and Lornell, Glenn Pillsbury announced this Ellie Hisama (University of Rochester committee chairs were acknowledged: year’s recipient: Ben Harbert, a doctoral Press). John Graziano (who now becomes Past candidate in ethnomusicology at UCLA Neil Lerner, Chair of the Lowens Book President); Mary Dupree (Vice President); for a film project “Follow Me Down: The Award Committee, announced that Paul Laird (Treasurer); Gayle Magee New Work of Louisiana Prison Songs,” twenty-one books representing eleven and Howard Pollack (Board Members); which began filming in December 2008. presses were examined in two rounds Mary Wallace Davidson (Chair, Honors On behalf of Jim Lovensheimer, of deliberations by committee mem- and Awards Committee); Bonny Miller Richard Mook thanked the members bers Elizabeth Bergman, Gayle Magee, (Chair, Irving Lowens Article Award of the Johnson Subvention Committee: Larry Hamberlin, and Anne Danielsen. Committee); Neil Lerner (Chair, Irving Alejandro Madrid, Tammy Kernodle, and The award went to Michael Broyles Lowens Book Award Committee); Jane James Randall. The committee nominat- and Denise Von Glahn for their Leo Ferencz (Chair, Wiley Housewright ed two works to be published by Oxford Ornstein: Modernist Dilemmas, Personal Dissertation Ward Committee); and University Press: Larry Hamberlin’s That Choices (Indiana University Press, 2007). Theo Cateforis (Chair, Mark Tucker Opera Rag: Operatic Novelty Songs in Von Glahn thanked the Ornstein family Student Paper Award Committee). Newly the Ragtime Era and Jim Lovensheimer’s for their generosity with materials and elected Board members are Denise Von South Pacific: Paradise Rewritten. Broyles thanked Indiana University Press, Glahn (Vice President); Doug Bomberger Standing in for Theo Cateforis, chair students past and present; both expressed (Treasurer); and Daniel Goldmark and of the Mark Tucker Award for Student deep gratitude to the Society. Tammy Kernodle (Board members). Conference Paper Committee, Tammy Amy Beal, Chair of the Cambridge The new president of the Society, Tom Kernodle thanked Cateforis and com- Award Committee, recognized fellow Riis, made it his first order of business to mittee members Dale Chapman, Peter committee members Judith Tick, Paul recognize John Graziano, calling attention Mercer-Taylor, and Annie Randle. She Attinello, and Christopher Shultis. Beal to his years of service and commitment announced that after considering sev- commented that no prize would be to both the human and musical aspects enteen submissions (double the num- awarded this year but encouraged future of the Society. New business involved ber from 2008), the committee chose submissions. forming an ad hoc committee, chaired Christina Fena, of SUNY Stony Brook, President Graziano then announced by Stephanie Jensen-Moulton, to investi- for her paper, “The ‘Piano Technician’ a new award, endowed in honor of gate accessibility issues. Jensen-Moulton and His ‘Unfortunate Piano:’ Henry Adrienne Fried Block. It will be given to invited members to join the committee Cowell in the Machine Age” for the 2009 support research leading to publication and/or send her their concerns. Riis also award. on topics that explore musical life in large announced that the Board had recently Jane Riegel Ferencz, Chair of the urban communities. (Further details are agreed to financially support an effort to Wiley Housewright Dissertation Award forthcoming.) It is hoped that the first change copyright law as it applies to his- Committee, thanked committee mem- Adrienne Fried Block Award can be made torical recordings and copyright permis- bers Alejandro Madrid, Felicia Miyakawa, at the 2010 meeting. sions. Tim Brooks then announced that Glenn Pillsbury, and Gillian Rodger, who Kay Norton presented the the MLA and the Historical Recording read twenty-eight entries. This year’s win- Distinguished Service Award to Ronald and Access Coalition (HRPAC) thanks ner is Ayden Adler (Eastman School of A. Pen. Having chaired numerous com- the Board for this action, which will Music), whose dissertation is entitled mittees and served as member of the require the copyright office to hold a “‘Classical Music for People Who Hate Board of Trustees and Review Editor for public inquiry into issues related to access Classical Music’: Arthur Fiedler and the American Music, Pen has also received to and preservation of pre-1972 record- Boston Pops, 1930-1950.” Adler, pres- teaching awards and directed the John ings, which must then be followed up by ently the Education Director for the Jacob Niles Center for American Music a report to Congress. For more informa- Philadelphia Orchestra, thanked her advi- Folk and the Appalachian Studies pro- tion members can visit www.recording- sor Kim Kowalke, her family, teachers, gram at the University of Kentucky. Pen copyright.org. colleagues, the award committee, and the thanked the Society and received a plaque With no further new business, President Society itself, which, she observed, knows of appreciation. Riis adjourned the meeting at 5:44 p.m.. how to reach beyond its core audience— The Lifetime Achievement Award like Fiedler himself. went to singer, scholar, pianist, theorist, Respectfully submitted, Sarah Schmalenberger reported for teacher, arranger, and preacher Horace Carol A. Hess
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 25 remembrances Adrienne Fried Block fused in her many contributions. that appeared over the following decade and – Judith Tick One of the last pieces of advice Adrienne a half. (Liz Wood interviewed me personally Northeastern University gave me was the suggestion that I reread for the book -- I was amazed that the edi- tors were so attuned to what was brewing Barbara Tuchman’s article, “Biography in the profession that they’d even include Adrienne Fried Block , born on March as a Prism of History” (1986). In many someone early in her career. -That’s a mark 11, 1921, died peacefully in her beloved ways Block’s own life can function as a of how current their horizon was.) Though New York City apartment on April 5th, prism of women’s history in American a scholar-to-the-bone (and therefore some- surrounded by family and friends. Filled higher education. She knew the contin- one whose judgments were arrived at after with plants, paintings, and books, the gent nature of welcome for women in the a time of sifting, reflection and thought), academy during the 1970s: just barely Adrienne was unlike other scholars who living room has a fine grand piano at its prefer the safer road of dealing solely with core, an instrument that was the center of good enough to train, rarely good enough creative figures of the past. She was on- music making in her life. Stacked in piles to hire or tenure. But a door was opening. the-mark in her assessments of music then on the left shelf near the keyboard were She pushed. She pushed others to push. current, and was not altogether reluctant to volumes of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, And she soared into exemplary achieve- express these opinions (!). Brahms’s intermezzi, Bernstein’s sheet ment, becoming a major feminist scholar In the mid 1970s, simply knowing music from On The Town, and of course, and leader for three decades. During her that such a project was being underwrit- songs and piano music by Amy Cheney lifetime the number of women awarded ten by the NEH helped the newly emerg- Beach. doctorates in musicology increased from ing field of women’s history in music. Block had a career as a practicing ca. 14% to about 46%. Block followed that with sociological pro- conductor before she trained as a musi- We met at the Music Division of the files of the field. First came “The Status cologist. In 1958 she received her New York Public Library in 1971, by of Women in College Music, 1976-77: B.A. from Hunter College in Music chance sitting on opposite sides of a long A Statistical Study” compiled by Barbara Theory and Music Education. Then fol- wooden table with our call slips scattered Hampton Renton; it was edited and lowed a Certificate from the Dalcroze around us. I was just discovering a lost introduced by Adrienne (College Music School of Music, which proved to be literature about the “new woman” in Society, 1980). Then Adrienne continued her professional base for the next three American music around 1900. Who was the project by publishing statistics about decades. Beginning as a teacher in the this woman reading what I was reading? women’s status in academic music as of Dalcroze Method in 1957, she served as And why? In the early 1970s Adrienne 1986-87 (published in Women’s Studies/ the School’s Choral Director from 1964 founded and chaired a newly formed Women’s Status (CMS, 1989). through 1985. From 1960 to 1969 she Committee on the Status of Women for Zaimont was also paying tribute to also served as the Assistant Choir Director the College Music Society and the next the sense of cultural responsibility that at St. George’s Episcopal Church, in New week not only was I on the committee, led Adrienne to support the activities York --one of the most famous Episcopal about which I knew nothing, but I was of living female composers. Adrienne churches in the city. A fine pianist in her apartment working on a report for remained active on the board of the as well as conductor, Adrienne relished a newsletter about the CSW’s activities. New York Women Composers, Inc., to opportunities to make music with friends On many occasions I watched her get name one such group. She also organized and family, especially her grandchildren, standing ovations in grass roots meetings various events at the CUNY Graduate throughout her life. of academic women, exercising her politi- Center. One flyer dated May 2, 1980, Adrienne entered the doctoral program cal charisma and ability to inspire others reads “Women in the Arts V: Composers. in musicology at the Graduate Center to action. A concert with Vivian Fine and Meredith of the City University of New York in By the mid 1970s Adrienne had Monk and Amina Claudine Myers.” It 1969, the year it was founded under the achieved a remarkable coup, convincing was followed by the inevitable panel leadership of Barry S. Brook. In 1978 she the NEH to support a documentary proj- where she was joined by myself, Anna finished her dissertation, later published ect to recover a lost history. The com- Burton, and Elizabeth Wood. We were as The Early French Parody Noel by UMI poser Judith Lang Zaimont wrote this charged with discussing “the place of Press (1983). After that, she invested her- tribute to its impact: women composers in music history, the self in the burgeoning field of American As I write this, I have on my desk a copy of creative process, and the experience of music studies. Its anti-authoritarian ethos Women in American Music: A Bibliography of Music and Literature, the big book being a woman composer.” The rhetoric in the 1970s and early 1980s attracted her created, compiled and edited by Adrienne offers yet another prism—this one into kind of intelligence and she found ways to Fried Block and Carol Neuls-Bates dur- the historical energies of second-wave link her passion for social justice with the ing their time together centered at CUNY. cultural feminism. As always Adrienne women’s history movement, especially in It’s copyright 1979, but was worked on all secured the funding, relying on mul- relation to American musical life. Thus through the middle-70s. It’s a foundational tiple sources, among them the Center two significant intellectual revolutions of text which served as springboard for so many of the narrower-focus books/articles/essays the 1970s in American musicology were continued on page 27
26 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 continued from page 26 String Quartet in the series Music of the biography, and gender studies. She knew United States of America (1995). what I was thinking even if this thought for the Study of Women and Sex Roles, In the last several years Block was went unsaid. She told me how important Meet the Composer, The New York State absorbed, indeed fascinated by, the proj- it was to her to support an integrated Council on the Humanities, and the ect Music in Gotham, which focused on view of musical life, not top-down, not Ph.D Program in Music, courtesy of documenting the musical life of New hierarchical, but a vision of collaborative Barry S. Brook. York City in the 1860s. Together with mutuality, of creative expression. And she Block’s biography of the pianist and the co-project leader John Graziano, said, when you look at the roots, women composer Amy Cheney Beach (Oxford they centered their work at the CUNY are there. She is a root of a tree of schol- University Press, 1998) culminated many Graduate Center, winning major grants arship whose welcoming branches will years of scholarship about Beach’s life and to support their vision. Together they [shelter how about “sustain” or “inspire” work. She made a remarkable contribu- mounted important conferences and instead?] innovative work in our field for tion to American Music Studies through published proceedings of this new work decades to come. her impeccable and humane scholarship in 19th-century urban American Studies. about this composer whom few took The Music in the Gotham project turned seriously and whose music they did not into a leadership site for many schol- SAM also notes the passing of know. Mrs. Ha Ha Beach, they called ars working in aspects of 19th-century her. Not any more. Her splendid biog- American music history. raphy of Amy Beach (Oxford University I was surprised that Adrienne chose Ruth Rowen Press, 1998) won numerous awards-- to designate this area--Urban American among them an Irving R. Lowens Award Music Studies--as a focus for the research Hugh McElrath from SAM--and widespread recognition award that she and her family endowed for its significance, originality, method- through SAM. How much more pre- Rosemary Killam ological richness, and literary quality. She dictable it would have been for her to also edited a volume devoted to Beach’s acknowledge the role of women’s history, Resources of American Music History 2 Resources of American Music History 2 ly together. source materials in American music, and will be an interactive, edited online direc- The audience for an electronic version will continue to meet these needs in the tory (search engine) of collected resources (both of RAMH will be international, includ- future. material and electronic) generated by or about musical activity in what is today the United ing students and scholars of American The planning conference focused on States from pre-colonial times to the present. It studies throughout the world. Within four main topics: scope, sources, primary will incorporate resources from all genres, styles, the United States, it will include music users, and searching services. Additional and applications of music without restriction, and public librarians, the growing num- discussion addressed long-term mainte- wherever in the world they may be collected. bers of college students and faculty of nance and ongoing support. American music, as well as K-12 teach- Discussion of scope included whether Musicologists, librarians, archivists, ers and students who work with source to include different types of resources, and information specialists gathered at documents. No other bibliographical what limits to set for chronology and the University of Pittsburgh April 27-28 tool provides descriptions of the source geography (how to define “American”), to plan for a digital, sustainable, and materials for research and study for the and whether to incorporate discrete items vastly expanded version of Resources of full field of American music. or simply describe collections of materi- American Music History: A Directory of Since RAMH appeared three decades als. The consensus was to start with Source Materials from Colonial Times to ago, American musicology has changed core collections, particularly those in the World War II (RAMH), compiled by profoundly. Increasing numbers of grad- original RAMH, but soon expand out D.W. Krummel, Jean Geil, Doris J. uate students and scholars are working through an open-ended process of contri- Dyen, and Deane L. Root (Urbana and in topics related to music in America, bution. Resources would not be limited Chicago: University of Illinois Press, affecting faculty hiring trends, proposals to those on paper but would include arti- 1981), the first reference work designed for conference presentations and doctoral facts (including instruments) and born- to provide access to the primary materi- dissertations on American topics, and the digital resources. Broadly defined, poten- als of American music history. The publication initiatives of scholarly societ- tial resources include anything involved conference, funded by the Institute of ies. The new RAMH2 will help meet the in the creation, publication, distribu- Museum and Library Services, was hosted needs of today’s scholars by providing tion, and reception of American music. by the Center for American Music, part a search engine for primary sources in Private as well as public collections will of Pitt’s University Library System, in col- American music, whether in libraries, be sought, in any location and addressing laboration with the Society for American museums, historical societies, or private any time period. Music, a constituent member of the collections. RAMH2 will engage the RAMH2 will acquire descriptive American Council of Learned Societies. wider scholarly community in building information from collections, linking if The Society maintains its headquarters these resources so that the end result will possible to the collection’s own online at the University of Pittsburgh, and the be available to all online, will incorporate staffs of the two organizations work close- the needs of all who study these primary continued on page 29
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 27 Bulletin of the Journal of the Society for American Music Society for American Music Volume 3, Number 3 (August 2009) Specifications and Rates for Contributors Advertisements Articles Re-Producing Klinghoffer: Opera and Arab Identity Before and After 9/11 The Bulletin of the Society for American Ruth Longobardi Music is the regular conduit for keeping Bernstein’s The Joy of Music as Aesthetic Credo members updated on the state of the Andreas Giger discipline. It contains short articles and open discussions relating to American Eminem’s “My Name Is”: Signifying Whiteness, Rearticulating Race music, and occasional reviews of Loren Kajikawa books, recordings, and web resources. It also includes information regarding Reviews conferences and performances, along Books with news relating to member activities. Ingrid Monson, Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call Out to Jazz and Africa It is sent to members three times per year. George Lewis Circulation: 1,000 copies. About 100 of these go to libraries. Howard Pollack, George Gershwin: His Life and Work Ryan Raul Bañagale SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Marva Griffin Carter, Swing Along: The Musical Life of Will Marion Cook 15 December, 15 April, and 15 August Edward Green To reserve, call Mariana Whitmer at Jack Sullivan, Hitchcock’s Music (412) 624-3031 or e-mail: SAM@ Erica K. Argyropoulos american-music.org Recordings Johanna Beyer, Sticky Melodies Tear sheets will be sent after publication. Susan H. Borwick
SPECIFICATIONS AND PRICES William Bolcom, Songs of Innocence and of Experience Steve Swayne Overall Page size: 11" x 8½" (page height x Kevin Scott, Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra width). PDF format appreciated; images should be in black/white or grayscale. Horace J. Maxile, Jr.
$ 125.00 Full page: 10" high x 7½" wide Multimedia Justo Valdez & La Rumba Palenquera: Tribute to Batata. Claude Santiago, director $ 75.00 Half page: 5" x 3¾" $ 50.00 Third page: 3½" x 7½" Michael Birenbaum Quintero $ 40.00 Quarter page: 2½" x 2¼"
All prices are per single issue. A 15% discount will apply for ads placed in all The Bulletin of the Society for American Music three issues of a volume. The Bulletin is published in the Winter (January), Spring (May), and Summer (September) by the Society for American Music. Copyright 2008 by the Society for American Music, ISSN 0196-7967. ELECTRONIC FILES ENCOURAGED Editorial Board Editor...... Kendra Leonard ([email protected]) Submit jpg, gif, or pdf files to: Reviews Editor...... Brian Moon ([email protected]) [email protected] Design and Layout ...... Allison Gallant ([email protected]) Indexer...... Laura Pruett ([email protected]) Items for submission should be addressed to Kendra Leonard, 5216 Oleander Road, Drexel Hill, PA 19026, or, preferably, submitted as an attachment to e-mail. Photographs or other graphic materials should be accompanied by captions and desired location in the text. Deadlines for submission of materials are 15 December, 15 April, and 15 August.
28 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 continued from page 27 RAMH2 could benefit through the elements. As in RAMH, the fundamen- increased use of their materials. These hid- tal structure of entries will be hierarchi- resources. This collection-level approach den treasures would begin to be utilized, cal, organized by institutions, contain- will result in the most efficient manner leading to positive results in the area of ing repositories, which hold collections. of providing access to data concerning donations and financial support. The data elements for collections would sources in American music, and minimize Because the users will encompass a include such fields as title, description, issues related to copyright. variety of age groups, abilities, and forms dates, resource type (sheet music, letters, Discussion about sources imagined the of learning, the user interface will need etc.), form, language, links to fuller infor- primary contributors and modes of par- to accommodate all of these groups. mation or finding aid, and date the entry ticipation in a Web environment, and Conferees recommended conducting a was added. how the project might collaborate with needs-analysis. K-12 teachers and stu- The first phase of the project would ide- existing services. Because many impor- dents, for example, would have different ally reconstitute the original RAMH elec- tant collections today did not exist in the requirements than a performer, a docu- tronically, as a starting point for updating mid-1970s when the directory was first mentary filmmaker, a genealogist, or a the collection descriptions and allowing compiled, RAMH2 will need to identify cultural historian; not all users will be for feedback. Subsequent phases would and contact relevant institutions and col- scholars. The needs analysis process will add collections and user features. While lectors to gain their participation. It will involve archivists and librarians who often the conference did not answer all the seek involvement by scholarly, historical, assist such users and know about their questions, everyone there believed that cultural, archival, and museum organiza- requirements. the project is well worth doing and should tions, as well as state- and ethnic-based Conferees also advised about how to start immediately. societies and centers. organize the online searching mechanism, Institutions that provide entries for and how to determine keywords and data
Berea College Appalachian Sound Archives Fellowships 2010 conference The purpose of the Berea College July through December 2009. December calendar Sound Archives Fellowship Program (for- 1 for January through June 2010. merly Music Archives Fellowship) is to CFP: Kiss Me Again: Mapping the Life encourage scholarly use of Berea’s non- There is no application form. Applicants and Legacy of Arthur Russell, October 10, commercial audio collections that docu- are asked to submit a proposal that 2009, NYU, New York. Suitable themes ment Appalachian history and culture. addresses (1) their interest in the particular for papers include but are by no means These recordings are especially strong subject area, (2) description of the project restricted to Arthur Russell and his col- in the areas of traditional music, religious specifying which Berea collections will be laborators; Arthur Russell and the down- expression, spoken lore and radio pro- made use of, (3) anticipated research out- town scene; Arthur Russell and composi- grams. They include extensive documen- comes (e.g., print publications, audio / tion; Arthur Russell and genre; Arthur tation of fiddle and banjo tunes; ballads video documentaries, tune transcriptions, Russell, sexuality, race and sound; Arthur and songs; Old Regular Baptist singing lesson plans, public performances, web Russell and performance; and Arthur and preaching; folktales and legends; and based resources), (4) the length of time Russell and the contemporary music mar- related interviews with musicians, preach- needed for the project (one month mini- ket. Papers might also consider specific ers, and storytellers, 1950 to the present. mum, three months maximum), and (5) recordings, including “Kiss Me Again” Radio material heard in the region for preferred dates of residence. Also required by Dinosaur, Arthur Russell’s first record the years 1936 to the mid 1950s, docu- are three letters of recommendation from release, which came out on Sire Records in ments a wide range of Kentucky, nation- colleagues familiar with the applicant’s 1978. Papers should last for 20 minutes. al, and world political figures and events. work. For graduate degree candidates, Abstracts of 250 words should Entertainment programs include country the recommendations must include those be submitted to Tim Lawrence music, soap operas, musical variety shows of the professor directing the applicant’s ([email protected]) or and sporting events. research. Applicants are responsible for Peter Gordon (petergordonmusic@mac. Fellowship awards are made for a peri- contacting all persons providing recom- com) by July 15, 2009. Decisions will be od of one to three months in support of mendations. circulated by July 31, 2009. research projects that will contribute to For information about Berea’s Sound Conference: “Popular Music in the the preservation or promotion of these Archives and other traditional music col- Mercer Era, 1910-1970,” Georgia State resources. lections, see www.berea.edu/hutchinsli- University Library’s Popular Music and The fellowships must be taken up brary/specialcollections/specialsound.asp Culture Archives, November 13-14, between July 2009 and June 2010. Proposals or inquires should be sent to 2009. http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/ Fellows are expected to be in residence during the term of the fellowship and are Harry Rice Conference: Drawing on the Musical Past: encouraged to participate in campus and Special Collections & Archives Music Iconology, Instrument Making, and community activities. Stipend: $3000/ Berea College Experimental Playing in Music month. Berea, KY 40404 Deadline for proposals: June 1, 2009 for [email protected] continued on page 30
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 29 continued from page 29 outside the United States. are also provided. The Center locates Archaeology, Third conference of Areas of Special Interest. Most of housing for Fellows in the neighboring the ICTM Study Group for Music the Center’s fellowships are unrestricted. communities. Archaeology and Twelfth conference of the Several, however, are designated for par- Support. Fellowships are supported Research Center for Music Iconography ticular areas of research. These include by the Center’s own endowment, private City University of New York, The environmental studies and history; foundation grants, alumni contributions, Graduate Center, New York, 23–25 English literature; art history; French his- and the National Endowment for the September 2009. http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ tory, literature, or culture; Asian Studies; Humanities. rcmi/12thConferenceInfo.html and theology. Deadline and Application Procedures. Stipends. Fellowships are individually Applicants submit the Center’s form, Fellowships: Purpose and Nature of determined, the amount depending upon supported by a curriculum vitae, a 1000- Fellowships. The National Humanities the needs of the Fellow and the Center’s word project proposal, and three letters Center offers 40 residential fellowships ability to meet them. The Center seeks of recommendation. You may request for advanced study in the humanities to provide at least half salary and also application material from Fellowship during the academic year, September covers travel expenses to and from North Program, National Humanities Center, 2010 through May 2011. Applicants Carolina for Fellows and their depen- Post Office Box 12256, Research Triangle must hold doctorate or equivalent schol- dents. Park, North Carolina 27709-2256, or arly credentials. Young scholars as well as Facilities and Services. Located in the obtain the form and instructions from the senior scholars are encouraged to apply, Research Triangle Park of North Carolina, Center’s website. Applications and letters but they must have a record of publica- near Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, of recommendation must be postmarked tion, and new Ph.D.s should be aware the Center provides an environment for by October 15, 2009. that the Center does not support the individual research and the exchange of http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org revision of a doctoral dissertation. In ideas. Its building includes private studies e-mail
The Never-Ending Revival: Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance. By Michael F. Scully. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008. ISBN – 13: 978-0252033339. Hardcover.
lusionment. of the book to economics, especially the – Olivia Carter Mather With The Never-Ending Revival: recent changes in the structure of the Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance, record industry. Per the book’s title, the In the field of folk music studies, recent Michael F. Scully devotes an entire author wants us to view the post-boom scholarship has focused almost entirely study to the folk music movement from era as an extension of the revival that on the “the great boom,” when folk 1970 to the present. He tells the story began in the 1950s, not as a wasteland revivalism reached mainstream America of the post-boom through the lens of between the 1960s and the success of the in tandem with Civil Rights and the two organizations: the independent O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. anti-war movement. If scholars venture record label Rounder Records and the Scully chose Rounder Records because out of this period, they do so to trace the North American Folk Music and Dance it was one of the few labels that concen- roots of the revival in earlier musical and Alliance, a trade organization established trated on folk music after the boom while political movements, but they neglect in 1989 to unify local folk music societ- achieving financial success relative to peer events after the 1960s (the “post-boom” ies. Grounding his work in dozens of labels such as Folkways, Elektra, and era). It would seem that the cultural interviews with musicians, label execu- Arhoolie. He describes in great detail the influence of the music lay in the glory tives, and members of the Folk Alliance, history of the label in an effort to show days of Washington Square Park and the Scully has written a cultural history that how it responded to commercial suc- Newport Folk Festival, before the move- shows how the folk music movement has cess, increasing industry consolidation, ment fragmented and fell to various fates. navigated through shifts in the recording and a retail crisis while still valuing local By the 1970s, folk music had apparently industry and changing meanings of “folk and regional music. Founded in 1970 by “sold out,” turned from the communal music.” Because the discourse around the three music fans, Rounder first released to the personal in the form of “soft rock” definition and meaning of this music has new recordings of bluegrass and old-time. singer-songwriters, or, like the anti-war historically been linked to its relationship The label quickly moved into other kinds movement, succumbed to political disil- to commerce, the author dedicates much continued on page 31`
30 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 continued from page 30 ings, labels, movements, or people as the formation and history of the Alliance, either authentic or commercial and more paying special attention to claims about of folk music, broadly defined, including concerned about how Rounder survived the definition of folk music (as stoked by zydeco, singer-songwriter, topical songs, industry-wide restructuring. What mat- the growing presence of “contemporary and feminist music. Rounder’s first “hit” ters to Scully is that through its eclec- folk” artists, otherwise known as singer- album was George Thorogood’s 1977 tic catalog, Rounder “helped shape an songwriters). Scully may intend for his debut, an electric blues record that stylis- expanding definition of folk music in history of the Alliance to serve as a par- tically strayed far from Rounder’s mainly the contemporary world” (89). Critics of allel story to that of Rounder, showing acoustic catalog. By the mid-1990s, when Rounder have accused the label of “selling how anxiety over commercialism in the label darling Alison Krauss re-presented out,” citing what they see as a trajectory post-boom era affected the entire folk bluegrass to a wider country and pop of increasing commercialism and dimin- community. Or perhaps this section is audience, selling one million albums, ishing authenticity. In contrast, Scully a support for Scully’s implicit argument Rounder had established itself as one of a sees an adjustment to new market forces that the folk movement was more ideo- few indie labels with long-term viability. that has allowed the label to keep its com- logically diverse than we have conceived Perhaps the most contentious issue in mitment to vernacular musics. it to be. In reality, participants in the folk the study of folk music and folklore is Aside from his obvious contributions revival, whether during the “boom” or the commercialism. Folk movements typi- to the history of folk music in the United “post-boom,” quarreled over basic issues cally begin as expressly anti-commercial States and his implicit critique of its like politics, commerce, the importance efforts and as such celebrate local styles historiography, Scully also supplements of historical styles (i.e. bluegrass and old- as a critique of mass-marketed popu- the small body of work on the history of time), the place of singer-songwriters, lar music. Of course, the popularity of the recording industry. His description and performance. However, the impor- folk music problematizes a clean division of Rounder Records offers a refreshing tance of the Alliance to the movement between “authentic” music and “com- alternative to narratives of corporate con- is unclear, as is its relevance to his larger mercial” music. Attempting to categorize solidation that focus only on major labels points about Rounder. What is clear is music as belonging to either camp risks and their purchase of independents. As the importance of the post-boom era to overlooking the cultural power of popu- a corrective, Scully highlights a label the history of folk music, whether that larity as well as the diversity of style and that ultimately did not have to choose includes the narratives of record labels, approach inherent to such a wide-ranging between acquisition and obscurity. musicians, or folk alliances. Scully’s com- movement. Conscious of these debates, Scully’s single chapter on the Folk mitment to this story clears a new path Scully avoids their pitfalls. The author Alliance, though illuminating, feels out of of scholarship in an essential sub-field of approaches Rounder as a historian; he place in a book largely about historiogra- American music. is less interested in pronouncing record- phy and Rounder Records. He chronicles
Music and Urban Geography. By Adam Krims. New York: Routledge, 2007. 248 pp. ISBN – 13 978-0-415-97012- 9. Paper.
acknowledges that a Marxist perspective Krims discusses have been used for “stag- – Stanley Pelkey is central to his arguments, but he rejects ing” identities through music (21). Some the view (prevalent, he says, in both are positive, some negative, and race, The soundtrack to Boogie Nights and Marxist scholarship and cultural studies) gender, and socio-economic conditions recordings by Anonymous 4 seem worlds that expressive culture simply reacts to in urban spaces are operative in them. apart; nevertheless, Adam Krims brings social contexts and forces. In chapter 3, “Mourning the Impossible together these and many other diverse The book consists of an extended intro- Libidinal City in Boogie Nights,” Krims examples in Music and Urban Geography duction and five wide-ranging chapters in offers a very insightful reading of diegetic as he explores ways that the discipline which Krims works out the implications and nondiegetic musical materials in the of urban geography can illuminate the of his core premises. Representation of titular film, coupled with a broader inves- study of music. Three key premises form urban environments through music is the tigation of the reception of disco during the foundation of this compelling and main concern in chapters 1 and 3. They the 1990s. These support his argument well-written study. First, the character are also the chapters in which music’s that the city has lost its imaginative iden- of cities throughout North America and role as a “spatializing practice” may at tity as “a space of possibility and promise Europe have changed since the 1970s first seem the most apparent. In chapter . . . since roughly the time of disco’s as their economies have shifted from 1, “Defining the Urban Ethos,” Krims demise. . . ” (75). heavy manufacturing to service indus- investigates the “set of representations The remaining chapters foreground tries and “cultural-based regeneration” of who can do what in the city and with relationships between patterns of capital (xvii). Second, cities, modes of produc- what degree of autonomy from the effects accumulation and musical culture, and tion, expressive culture, and listeners exist of space” (20). A surprisingly varied between these and consumers. As such, within networks of “mutual condition- assortment of recordings and music vid- they can be read as case studies of the ing” (153). Third, music functions as a eos from across four decades and multiple mutual conditioning that Krims believes “spatializing practice” because it shapes popular genres provides his evidence. The exists between production and musical how one experiences space (xv). Krims numerous representations of the city that continued on page 32
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 31 continued from page 31 Krims’s argument that flexible accumula- classical music are additional facets in the tion, prevalent in urban economies since economic- and culture-wide fascination culture. These chapters also continue at least the 1970s, fosters the proliferation with interior design and lifestyle packag- to demonstrate how listeners experience of new genres, niche music markets, and ing and marketing. These reflect in their urban spaces through music, although “indie” labels in part through the blurring turn the reconfiguring and recondition- Krims stresses production rather than of the divide between consumption and ing of older urban spaces and the cross representation. For example, in chapter production. But the new technologies, marketing and “totally controlled and 2, “Space, Place, and Popular Music in including the internet, that make that designed environment[s]” of many suc- Curaçao and Elsewhere,” Krims explains blurring possible do little to undermine cessful urban retailers (139). how cities use culture-based regenera- the centralization of ownership within Running parallel to this discussion is tion and the attractiveness of the local the music industry (for example, the Krims’s intensified critique of cultur- (“place”) as ways to accumulate capital. “indies” typically are acquired by the al studies. Especially problematic is its He focuses on Willemstad in Curaçao major labels). Thus centralization of own- inability to “capture the intimacy of aes- and one of its indigenous genres, tumba, ership and diversification of product can thetic and cultural development . . . with but the implications of his argument are coexist. This, Krims asserts, means that the wider world of production and social global. The uniqueness of place occupies the preoccupation with mass production, organization” (152). Krims finally asserts an important position in “the competi- standardization, and cultural imperialism that “when considering how listening tive dynamics of tourism, shopping and in much scholarship on popular music takes place, in the very concrete sense of entertainment” for the world’s cities (29); inspired by Adorno’s theories is misguid- material circumstances, one may discover it has become “one of the crucial corner- ed because capitalism, mass production, culturally significant aspects of music not stones of the economic remaking of cities, and mass consumption are not neces- generally conveyed by a cultural studies conditioned by the movement and repro- sarily linked in the manner that Adorno examination of the music or discourses duction of global capital” (54). Tasted envisioned. Likewise the emphasis in that surround it” (162). This is because through local foods and heard through cultural studies on “resistance” is also daily activities “often shape discourse both live and recorded local music, place irrelevant because hybridity, combina- but are not themselves discursive.” Krims is the “cutting edge of our current global tion, and transgression all turn out to be concludes that those daily activities, usu- economic regime” (55). Much scholar- part of the “dominant cultural patterns of ally overlooked by cultural studies, are ship constructs place as a site of autono- consumption” (103). Production, Krims the product of urban restructuring and mous, liberatory self agency (32), yet concludes, “remain[s] always thoroughly “inscribe themselves in lived experience, place and (coercive) “space” form a single historical” and so requires an evolving that is, the places in the city where one “hegemonic process” (35). In short, “the Marxist theory of music. encounters the jagged edges of discourse pleasures of place have now become uni- The rise of niche markets, the prolif- and the spatial effects of social relations fied with the structuring force of global eration of genres, and the role of place on a daily basis” (162). space in contemporary cities” (54), and in cultural regeneration and tourism—all This chapter will probably elicit the so cultural resistance is itself a form of types of packaging and marketing of sym- most resistance. Many readers will take compliance. bols—are the result of the shift toward offense at the author’s generally negative Krims constructs a nuanced analysis design-intensive production within cities assessment of cultural studies. Some may of the shifting musical characteristics of (36). Chapter 5, “Music for the Design- find the concept of a “design-intensive several genres of rap music in chapter 4, Intensive City,” logically turns to the self” threatening to their sense of per- “Marxist Music Analysis After Adorno.” symbolic packaging of the self, or what sonal agency. Others will take issue with His purpose is to show how flexible accu- Krims calls the “design-intensive produc- his assertion that a gap exists between mulation (a mutation of capitalism) has tion of the self” (139), which he uncov- “the standard objects that music profes- “implanted” itself “in patterns of sound” ers through analysis of modes of musical sors study and the bulk of production (94). Aspects of flexible accumulation recording and listening. Krims persua- and consumption of classical music in include greater design intensity in pro- sively argues that particular vocal timbres the world around them” (132). The book duction, increased consumption of per- among female singers (such as Charlotte nevertheless deserves to be read (and sonal services, and more rapid integration Church and the members of Anonymous widely so) for its fascinating ideas and of consumer preference into design. The 4) and new types of “sound staging” in interdisciplinary methods. heart of this subtly reasoned chapter is recordings of both classical and crossover Ramblin’on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues. Ed. By David Evans. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008. 440 pp. ISBN – 13: 978-0252074486. Paper.
blues scholarship for decades. His books the subtitle of the book suggests, Evans – Charles Gower Price on Tommy Johnson and the transmission objective “is to offer new perspectives of Johnson’s “Big Road Blues” are indis- on the blues by exploring previously This book contains essays on a diverse pensable to any student of the blues. In neglected aspects, reinterpreting familiar set of topics related to blues practice, addition to contributing a chapter, Evans material, conducting broader and more meaning, and history. Editor David introduction assesses the present state of scientific surveys, and exploring specific Evans, professor of music at the University blues scholarship and provides a sum- of Memphis, has been in the forefront of mary of the essays in the collection. As continued on page 33 32 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 continued from page 32 excitement over Handy to the general ticular case” (236). He succeeds in both public” (138). endeavors by showing how House’s per- blues performances in great depth and Chapters four and five are statisti- sonal dilemma between his religious con- detail” (3). The contributors represent a cal studies: Andrew M. Cohen’s “The victions and the blues is reflected in the wide range of disciplines, and the inclu- Hands of Blues Guitarists” and David lyric as well as elucidating the remarkably sion of three European authors suggests Evans’ “From Bumble Bee Slim to Black detailed structure of this unusual blues the international reach of contemporary Boy Shine: Nicknames of Blues Singers.” composition. Benninghof, a professor of blues scholarship. Cohen, a guitarist, has tabulated the right music theory at Baylor University, has The first chapter is “Bourdon, Blue hand position and its effect on the thumb’s provided a penetrating analysis of Robert Notes, and Pentatonism in the Blues: role in finger picking technique by region Johnson’s “Ramblin’ on my Mind” with An Africanist Perspective” by Gerhard and time period through first hand an eye to its aesthetic value. Contrasting Kubik, a scholar of African music and observations, videos, and photographs. musicological methodology in Western author of the book Africa and the Blues. Although Cohen develops a refined defi- art music and the blues, he believes that Kubik believes that scales, “microtonal nition of regions in the south, he admits “a critical analysis [of Johnson’s record- wavering” and “blue” notes of delta blues that well traveled bluesmen can present ing] should somehow address the music’s vocalists are the result of an inherently exceptions to his categories. Citing Texas often mentioned emotional intensity and West African way of hearing. Offering a bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, Cohen visceral appeal, and it should interpret corrective to the idea of blues melody as writes: “On his records it sounds as if he aesthetic qualities in the context of cul- a blend of Western fixed diatonic scales availed himself of a range of techniques tural, stylistic, and technical circumstanc- and African practice, Kubik postulates so broad as to encompass most of what es” (259). Cartwright, an assistant profes- that “the excessive use of melisma has is found elsewhere” (160). Unfortunately, sor of music at Northwest Vista College often been misunderstood as ‘instabil- his sample was limited to ninety-seven in Texas, aptly demonstrates how a great ity’ in intonation or purposeful off-pitch players, leading Evans to conclude in the jazz vocalist not closely associated with phrasing, and the rough timbre qualities introduction that “Cohen’s visual and the blues reveals a deep understanding of of the declamatory west-central Sudanic aural judgments need to be confirmed or the meaning of a great blues composition. voice style misunderstood as an aesthetics revised by other scholars, and the sample She also catalogs the subtle ways in which of ‘dirty tones’” (21). With a convincing needs to be enlarged” (6). On the other Fitzgerald’s encyclopedic knowledge of hypothesis and a clear argument, Kubik hand, Evans survey of nicknames of blues past jazz instrumental improvisations demonstrates how tonic riffs and penta- singers is a sample of over three thousand informs her performance. tonic scales in blues are consistent with artists active between 1920 and 1970. He The final two chapters are histori- West African concepts of pitch vocaliza- carefully sets the parameters of his study, cal studies: Bob Groom’s “ Beyond tion. He concludes with a brilliant analy- and recognizes the multiple meanings the Mushroom Cloud: A Decade of sis of Skip James’ recording of “Devil Got that nicknames can have. His intention Disillusion in Black Blues and Gospel My Woman”. is clear, stating his “categorization and Song,” and John Minton’s “Houston The second and third chapters of the interpretation of blues nicknames is based Creoles and Zydeco: The Emergence book are discussions of early commercial on their cultural meaning during the of an African American Urban Popular blues. Chapter two, “‘They Cert’ly Sound time period” (187). Evans reaches several Style.” Groom, a British blues journalist, Good to Me’: Sheet Music, Southern illuminating conclusions about gender surveys post-war blues lyrics that reveal a Vaudeville, and the Commercial differences and changes between pre-war growing mood of protest and disillusion Ascendancy of the Blues” by independent and post-war nickname practice. with American society. He provides an researchers Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff The three following chapters are stud- insightful glimpse into African American is a fascinating study. They clarify the role ies of individual blues recordings: Luigi points of view in the years between the of southern vaudeville in popularizing Monge’s “Preachin’ the Blues: A Textual end of World War II and the rise of the blues by citing previously overlooked and Linguistic Analysis of Son House’s civil rights era in the late 1950s. Minton, early black newspaper accounts. Chapter “Dry Spell Blues;” James Bennighof’s a professor of folklore at Indiana-Purdue three, “Abbe Niles, Blues Advocate” is “Some Ramblings on Robert Johnson’s University Fort Wayne, has contributed by Elliot S. Hurwitt, an expert on W. C. Mind: Critical Analysis and Aesthetic an outstanding essay on the origins of Handy. Niles, who was a Wall Street law- Value in Delta Blues;” and Katharine zydeco, the unique blend of post-war yer and student of African American folk- Cartwright’s “‘Guess Those People rhythm and blues and French Creole song, befriended Handy in 1925. Over Wonder What I’m Singing’: Quotation folk music from Louisiana. He convinc- the next three decades, Niles became and Reference in Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘St. ingly demonstrates the importance of Handy’s legal adviser, collaborator, and Louis Blues’.” Although each author’s the Creole community in the city of a magazine columnist. Utilizing archival approach is markedly different, all three Houston, Texas, in the creation of the material held at the Watkinson Library essays are rich with valuable insights into style. at Trinity College, Hartford, Hurwitt their respective subjects. Monge, who has Ramblin’on My Mind: New Perspectives provides a detailed picture of the relation- contributed to both English and Italian on the Blues is a collection of first-rate ship between the two men. As Hurwitt blues publications, applies the discipline essays from a variety of viewpoints. The observes about Niles, “He had the wit to of textual linguistics to his analysis “to book is an indispensable addition to the grasp Handy’s seminal role in transmit- provide the blues with a new critical literature on the blues, and will be an ting the blues to the American main- method and at the same time to demon- invaluable resource for future researchers. stream, and the eloquence to convey his strate that this system is valid in this par-
The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 33 bulletin board
Members in the News There (Keycan Records, 2008). Keyes, with the Civil Rights Movement: Some who serves as Executive Producer for this Dangers of Teaching Jazz History in Carol Baron will address the special CD project, also composed, orchestrated, Sociocultural Context” in College Music success of concert performances of the arranged, and performed on all tracks. Symposium, vol. 47, 139-155; and Concise music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the For more information, please go to Guide to Jazz, 6th Edition (Prentice- United States from 1948 through 1998 in websites http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ Hall). Gridley is also running a seminar the 2009 summer issue of the Newsletter awards/2009/02/secret-life-of.html and at Case Western Reserve University this of the American Bach Society. www.cherylkeyes.com semester on the Psychology of Jazz. In it, students explore how jazz is perceived in Joe Horowitz announces the Naxos Louis Goldstein performed two solo terms of timbre, rhythm, social context, release of a DVD version of the classic recitals at the University of North Florida musical tastes, temperament of the 1939 documentary “The City,” with a as part of a class titled “The New York listener, imposed emotion and meaning. fresh recording of Copland’s score by the School: Poets, Painters, Composers.” On Post-Classical Ensemble in DC, of which February 26, 2009 Goldstein performed Kendra Preston Leonard has been Horowitz is the Artistic Director. This is a an all Cage concert consisting of 4’33” and awarded the Thornton Wilder Fellowship sequel to the earlier Naxos DVD similarly Sonatas and Interludes. The following in Wilder studies by the Beinecke Rare treating “The Plow that Broke the Plains” evening he played an all Feldman Book and Manuscript Library of Yale and “The River,” with the Thomson concert containing Two Intermissions, University. She will be in residence at Yale scores newly recorded. Intermission 5, and For Bunita Marcus. this fall conducting research on Louise Talma’s opera with Wilder, The Alcestiad. Cheryl Keyes has received a 2009 Mark Gridley recently published “Trait NAACP Image Award in the category Anger and Music Perception” in Creativity of “Outstanding World Music Album” Research Journal, 2009, vol. 21, 137-139; for her debut CD Let Me Take You “Misconceptions in Linking Free Jazz
Call for Submissions music joint papers should be no longer than twenty Society for American Music The role of French culture in shaping minutes. Lecture-performances should be no March 17-21, 2010 North American musical life, with a focus longer than thirty minutes. For complete ses- on Quebec, but also including Acadian sion proposals, the organizer should include an 2010 Program Committee: Michael and Creole cultures. additional statement explaining the rationale for the session, in addition to abstracts for each Pisani, chair; Drew Edward Davies, “The Idea of North” (to cite Glenn paper. Robin Elliott, Larry D. Hamberlin, Gould). [Are there measurable aspects Mary Ingraham, Felicia M. Miyakawa, of an identifiable “Northern culture” in New Seminar Format and Gillian M. Rodger music, comparable to the U.S.’s “Western” Of the proposals submitted in January, or “Southern” traditions?] 2009, the two selected by the program com- The Society for American Music invites Cross-border musical relations in the mittee for the 2010 conference in Ottawa will proposals for papers, papers on one of Americas (affecting musicians, institutions, be: 1) “ ‘The Art of Association’: Exploring two seminar topics (see “New Seminar organizations, cultural policies, etc.) Institutions as Agents of American Music in Format” below), additional panels of 2-3 The impact of immigration on musical life Theory and Practice” and 2) “Nineteenth- papers, concerts, lecture-performances, in the United States and Canada Century American Music Studies: The State of the Field in 2010”. Unlike regular SAM and scholarly posters for its 36th Annual Music in Canada, including classical, Conference. The conference will be held popular, aboriginal, and traditional music sessions, in which papers are read, papers for the conference seminars will be posted at a in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) March (considered either in isolation or in con- tact with each other) password-protected location in advance of the 17-21, 2010. The submission deadline conference, where they may be read by all inter- for all proposals is Monday, 15 June Guidelines ested SAM members. The bulk of the confer- 2009. Presenters are required to register for the ence session will be devoted to discussion of In addition to proposals on the top- entire conference. The committee encourages the papers as they relate to the general theme. ics of the seminar panels, we welcome proposals from those who did not present at Since papers will be posted electronically on proposals involving all facets of musical the 2009 Denver meeting, but all proposals the web, we would like to encourage materials will be judged primarily on merit. With the that are recently published or “in press” as one life in the Americas and manifestations exception of concerts or lecture-performances kind of submission that would be appropriate of these cultures anywhere in the world. with accompanying audio-visual materials, all for the seminar structure. These papers may be For this conference we especially wel- proposals must be submitted electronically full articles, up to 20 pages, and should include come proposals addressing: using the online submission form (see below). notes, examples (where relevant), and bibliog- Proposers for all except lecture-recitals must raphy. All proposals should be submitted in the Cultural politics and the nation: the role specify whether the proposal is for 1) paper, usual way by the regular SAM deadline, except of federal policies, government institu- 2) poster, or 3) either presentation format, that the specific seminar topic should be clearly tions, and public organizations in the the latter to be determined by the Program specified. Unless the author specifies otherwise, creation, performance, and reception of Committee as it builds sessions. Individual or abstracts not accepted for either of the two
34 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2 seminars will be considered by the program tion of their plans to the Program Committee AV changes once a proposal is committee for one of the regular sessions. using the online submission system by June 15, accepted. Although papers for the seminars will not if possible. To ensure proper scheduling and 4. Proposer’s name, address, phone be “read” in the traditional sense, the act of room assignments, Groups should indicate by number(s), e-mail address, and participating in the seminar as a presenter and this date whether they would prefer a lunch- institutional affiliation or city of defending the ideas of one’s paper constitutes time slot (12:45-1:45) or a longer evening ses- residence the same level of participation in an academic sion. Please note that all the information that 5. Specify whether you are a student conference as would a normal paper. For this will appear in the conference program book (and therefore eligible for certain reason, those submitting abstracts toward a (participant names, titles, 100-word abstract) student grants or awards) seminar cannot also submit toward a regular must be submitted not later than August session. 5. Interest Groups without a guaranteed slot For Lecture-Performances please include for 2010 may submit panel proposals via the the above-mentioned materials, plus: Research Poster Sessions online submission system if they wish, but 1. Seven copies of a recording (CD The poster format provides an opportunity acceptance or rejection of these proposals will and DVD preferred, but cassette or for SAM members to meet informally with be at the discretion of the Program Committee. VHS tapes also accepted) authors and discuss research. Each author All Interest Group submissions (guaranteed or 2. An addressed, stamped mailer if you attends his/her respective 90-minute session, not) should use the “Panel” option below. would like the recordings returned distributes abstracts, and answers questions. Include the following for all submissions: 3. A list of special needs (e.g., piano, Supporting sound and/or video examples (on 1. 250-word proposal music stand, space for dance dem- personal computers and utilizing battery, rather 2. 100-word abstract suitable for pub- onstration, choral risers) than AC power) will be coordinated with other lication in the conference program presenters once sessions have been formed by (.txt or .rtf format) All materials must be electronically date- the Program Committee. Further poster guide- 3. Audio and visual needs selected stamped (online submission) or postmarked lines may be found at www.american-music. from the following list only: CD (mail submission) by 15 June 2009. Questions org. and audiocassette player, overhead about the submission process may be sent to projector, VHS/DVD player, LCD Michael Pisani at [email protected]. Postal Interest Groups projector. Due to logistics and the submissions should be addressed to: Michael Interest Groups with a guaranteed slot for high cost of renting this equip- Pisani, SAM 2010 Program Committee Chair, 2010 are requested to convey a brief descrip- ment, we cannot accommodate Vassar College, Box 595, Poughkeepsie, New York, 12604-0595
The Society for American Music is pleased to welcome these new members
Institutional members: Post-Graduate: Michael MacDonald, Edmonton, AB, J D Williams Library, University of Vivian Montgomery, Newton, MA CANADA Mississippi Kati Szego, St. John’s, NF, CANADA Hampsong Foundation Individuals: David Alan, Nashville, TN International Student Members: Students: Dorothea Gail, Norman, OK Marcia Ostashewski, Regina, SK, Sarah Shewbert, Seattle, WA Bruce Quaglia, Salt Lake City, UT CANADA Sarah Finer, Buffalo, NY Stephen L. Mantz, Superior, CO Kristin Force, Toronto, ON, CANADA Matthew Mugmon, Elkridge, MD Jocelyn Neal, Durham, NC Matthew Valnes, West Fargo, ND YouYoung Kang, Claremont, CA Kimberly Francis, Carrboro, NC Judith Mitchell, Denver, CO Matthew Buchbinderr, South Lyon, MI Deborah Smith Pollard, Detroit, MI Tim Miller, Durham, NC Brenda Romero, Westminster, CO Russell Huiskamp, New York, NY Ralph Russell, Plainsboro, NJ Gabriela Praetzel, Lincoln, NE Alexander Stewart, Burlington, VT Robin Pentland, Kenmore, WA Spencer Huston, Mission, KS Joshua Hakanson, Eugene, OR Deborah Rifkin, Ithaca, NY David Wells, Madison, WI Gregory Straughn, Abilene, TX Jeffrey Richmond,Lincoln, NE Thomas Kernan,Grove city, OH Spouse/Partners: Adam Kolek, Easthampton, MA Karen Shadle, Durham, NC Jonathan Yaeger, Bloomington, IN Kelly Hiser, Miami, FL International Individual Members: Paul Luongo, Oviedo, FL Toshiyuki Ohwada, Tokyo, JAPAN Bill Bahng Boyer, Brooklyn, NY Suzanne Robinson, Northcote, Paige Lush, Berea, KY AUSTRALIA Noriko Manage, New York, NY Glenn Colton, Thunder Bay, ON, CANADA
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awards of the society
Further information is available at the Irving Lowens Memorial Awards Student Travel Grants website (www.american-music.org) or by The Irving Lowens Award is offered by Grants are available for student members contacting the SAM office. the Society for American Music each who wish to attend the annual conference year for a book and article that, in the of the Society for American Music. These judgment of the awards committee, makes funds are intended to help with the cost H. Earle Johnson Bequest for Book an outstanding contribution to the study Publication Subvention of travel. Students receiving funds must be of American music or music in America. members of the Society and enrolled at a This fund is administered by the Book Self-nominations are accepted. Application college or university (with the exception of Publications Committee and provides deadline is February 15th. doctoral students, who need not be formally two subventions up to $2,500 annually. enrolled). Application deadline is January 1. Application deadline is November 15th. Wiley Housewright Dissertation Mark Tucker Award Sight and Sound Subvention Award This award consists of a plaque and cash The Mark Tucker Award is presented at This fund is administered by the Sight and the Business Meeting of the annual SAM Sound Committee and provides annual award given annually for a dissertation that makes an outstanding contribution conference to a student presenter who has subventions of approximately $700-$900. to American music studies. The Society written an outstanding paper for delivery for American Music announces its annual at that conference. In addition to the competition for a dissertation on any topic recognition the student receives before the relating to American music, written in Society, there is also a plaque and a cash English. Application deadline is February award. 15th, for dissertations completed between 1 January and 31 December of previous year.
36 The Bulletin of the Society for American Music • Vol. XXXV, No. 2