Society for American Music

Our Mission

The mission of the Society for American Music is to stimulate the appreciation, performance, creation and study of American musics of all eras and in all their diversity, including the full range of activities and institutions associated with these musics throughout the world.

Oscar Sonneck (1873-1928)
The Society for American Music was founded in honor of and originally named for the first critical scholar and bibliographer of American Music, Oscar G. T. Sonneck.

The Sonneck Circle was established in 2003 to honor the memory of Oscar Sonneck, and offers its members additional benefits. To see a list of contributors and read more about the Sonneck Circle click here.

Support American music scholarship. Contribute to the Society!

36th Annual Conference

Call for Submissions (Deadline extended to June 22!)


2009 Awards of the Society

At the annual business meeting held on March 21, 2009 in Denver, the following awards were announced:

Irving Lowens Award for distinguished scholarship in American Music (book):
Michael Broyles & Denise Von Glahn, authors of Leo Ornstein: Modernist Dilemmas, Personal Choices (Indiana University Press, 2007).

Irving Lowens Award for distinguished scholarship in American Music (article):
Nancy Yunhwa Rao, author of “Ruth Crawford’s Imprint on Contemporary Composition,” in Ruth Crawford Seeger's Worlds: Innovation and Tradition in Twentieth-Century American Music, ed. Ray Allen and Ellie Hisama (University of Rochester Press, 2007).

Wiley Housewright Dissertation Award:
Ayden Adler, for “Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music”: Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, 1930-1950 (Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester).

Mark Tucker Award (student paper):
Christine Fena, for “The ‘Piano Technician’ and his ‘Unfortunate Piano’: Henry Cowell in the Machine Age.”

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Horace Clarence Boyer, in recognition of his inspiring leadership in the study, performance, and appreciation of gospel music.

Honorary Membership Award:
Tony Isaacs, in recognition of his monumental achievements, through his recording philosophy and techniques, in keeping traditional music alive within American Indian communities, and far beyond.

Distinguished Service Award:
Ron Pen, in recognition of his deep commitment to bettering our community of the lovers of American music and with sincere appreciation for his dedicated efforts toward furthering the mission of the Society.

Congratulations to all our award recipients!

Updating Resources of American Music History

The Society for American Music, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for American Music, has received a National Leadership Grant to plan for an updated and electronic version of Resources of American Music History: A Directory of Source Materials from Colonial Times to World War II , originally compiled by D.W. Krummel, Jean Geil, Doris J. Dyen, and Deane L. Root (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1981). Position papers are being written and a planning conference is scheduled for 26-28 April 2009. For more information on the project visit the RAMH2 website.

The Society's Consortium of Centers for American Music will be hosting a special session devoted to this project at the upcoming Denver conference, on Saturday, March 21st. Check the Program for more details.

 

News:

At the 2008 meeting of the American Musicological Society held in Nashville, SAM member Christopher Reynolds won the H. Colin Slim Award for his article "Porgy and Bess: 'An American Wozzeck'," which was published in the inaugural issue of JSAM (February 2007).

 

Copyright Petition

Please download the ARSC copyright petition and make any comments to the ARSC Petition email thread soon to be on the SAM list-serv. Not subscribed to the list-serv yet? Join up here!

 

 

Give a JSAM Gift Subscription

The Society for American Music is pleased to announce that it is now possible for you to share the in-depth and quality research presented in each issue of the Journal of the Society for American Music with family and friends. Gift subscriptions are only $50.00 per year! These are only available to current members of SAM and can be renewed annually. We'll even send the recipient a card letting them know about your gift! Simply complete the JSAM Gift Subscription Form and mail or fax it back to us.

New Membership Dues Structure

A post-graduate rate of $50.00 has been established for new Ph.D's, which is valid for the first three years after our student members have completed their degree and after completing the stipulated five year limit. We hope that this graduated membership rate will encourage our student members to keeping renewing as they begin their academic or field-related careers.

We have also reopened for a limited time, the Lifetime membership. Lifetime members receive all regular benefits of membership without the hassle of renewing each year! Members can make a one-time payment of $2,250.00, or five annual payments of $500.00. This offer will only be available during 2008.

Click here to take advantage of the Lifetime membership offer, join the Society, or renew your 2008 membership online.