Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIV, no. e (Summer 1998)
News of the Society
Thoughts from a New Perspective
The beginning of the new school year always brings renewal of energy for me -- perhaps it is the
promise of cool weather or the appearance of fresh young, unjaded faces full of eagerness to learn, or
just old habits of emotion left from my own school days.
This year, though, has a special flavor because of the close juxtaposition of two locales and the musical
events that went with them. The first locale was Eugene, Oregon, and the musical event was the Oregon
Festival of American Music, an August Festival, now in its sixth season, in which American music in all its
diversity is celebrated with concerts, lectures, dances, workshops, youth academies, art work, and general
good feelings -- contexts, in other words, that match the music. The Festival this year featured repertoire
from ragtime through boogie-woogie and stride and celebrated the rag and early jazz influences in symphonic
music from both America and Europe. Events ranged from large concerts to informal "happenings," such
as the Maple Leaf Rag "cutting contest" in which renditions of Joplin's famous piece were played by
pianists ages twelve to seventy-two (including yours truly, who had the honor of yielding her bench to
New York pianist Dick Hyman), but also featured renditions on the theramin and the musical saw!
The contrast provided by going straight from these events to Europe, where I visited the Bachakademmie in
Stuttgart and various venues in Vienna and Paris, made me realize how different the two musical scenes
really are and how important it is for us to elebrate American music in appropriate contexts, instead of
trying to force it into the molds created for European musics. Some of these molds fit sometimes, but
more often the music created to function in American social contexts doesn't survive translation to a new
social setting.
I would like to use this not-so-new insight as a metaphor for musical societies -- to suggest that to some extent
our subject matter may also thrive better in social contexts designed specifically for it rather than
borrowed from other societies. We have done well in the Sonneck Society at devising forms to fit our
needs -- the general friendly informality of our national meetings, the infamous Sonneck "shrub"
drink, the brass band concert, the suspenseful auction (and for those of you reading this who have not
been to a meeting, you must experience these things for yourself!) -- all of these make Society meetings
distinctive. Our newly-burgeoning interest groups and the myriad ways they have found of working
with their subjects is an impressive demonstration of form following function. I would urge that we
continue to "loosen up" our meetings, to seek new ways to present our ideas, and to invite people
to the meetings that might not find their way to other scholarly societies.
As we head toward the Toronto 2000 meeting, where twelve different musical societies will meet
together, it is all the more important that we preserve and cherish our identity and our distinctive
ways of doing things, lest we lose ourselves in the general crush. Our program chairperson, Kitty
Preston is already working with those ideas in mind -- I would urge you to contact her with your own
ideas.
Yours in eternal optimism,
Anne Dhu McLucas
Proposed Change in Bylaws
Article III. Board of Trustees
Current:
Section 2. Nomination, Election, and Term of Office
The Board of Trustees shall present to the members each year a double slate of candidates, acting
on proposals by the Nominating Committee, except that, at their discretion, the Board of Trustees may by
a two-thirds vote decide to present only one candidate for the posts of secretary and treasurer, providing that
the candidate has already served one term in the same post. The slate of candidates . . .
Proposed:
Secion 2. Nomination Election and Term of Office
The Board of Trustees shall present to the members each year a double slate of candidates, acting on
proposals by the Nominating Committee, except that, in their discretion, the Board of Trustees, may
by a two-thirds vote decide to present only one candidate for the post of secretary providing the
candidate has already served at least one term in the same post. The Board of Trustees may, at their
discretion, present only one candidate for the post of Treasurer. The slate of candidates . . .
Rationale:
The Board of Trustees recommends a change in the Bylaws of the Sonneck Society on the recommendation
of the Finance Committee to allow the nomination and presentation of a single candidate for the
post of Treasurer. The growth of the Society has let to financial complexities that require a
specialized knowledge and ability on the part of the candidate for treasurer. This change will assure
the Society that the the most appropriate candidate has been nominated for the treasurer's post.
Letter from the Editor
This issue marks the end of my second year as editor of the Bulletin. The good news is that article
contributions to the Bulletin are flowing in at a steady pace. I am pleased that the quality of
articles is maintaining itself at a high level. I am in the process of working with authors on articles
on topics as varied as turn-of-the-century musicians unions, Leonard Bernstein, and minstrel parodies of
Italian arias. At least a half dozen more articles are in the process of being considered for
publication. Thank you to our members for their interest in the Bulletin.
On the other hand, items regarding the personal accomplishments of our members seem to have fallen off.
I am sure that this is not because members are marking fewer achievements of note, but perhaps these
accomplishments are taking more of their time. Please take a moment to keep me informed of the news.
The Bulletin is your voice to the world, and the world's window on Sonneck. Don't forget that
deadlines for Bulletin submissions are the 15th of January, May, and September and I prefer e-mail
or digital submissions. To the many people who keep me up-to-date with all things American, thank you.
Sincerely,
Larry Worster
Updated 12/29/98