Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXV, no. 2 (Summer 1999)
Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections
The Society for American Music will hold a special fall meeting 1-5 November 2000 in Toronto, Ontario,
as a participant in a remarkable gathering of fifteen different North American societies devoted to the
study or performance of music, Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections. The conference steering committee
has worked hard to ensure that the conference is a true meeting of musical minds and not simply simultaneious
conferences of numerous societies. Although each society has its own program committee and its
own independent program, musical intersections have been designed into the conference schedule on
several levels. First are the dozen joint sessions built into the "mega-schedule" (the call for
proposals for these twelve sessions appeared in the Spring issue of the Bulletin). Second are the
scheduled joint sessions within each society's program. The Society for American Music, for example,
has agreed to share several sessions each with the International Association for the Study of
Popular Music (IASPM) and with the Historic Brass Society. Third, the program chairs of many of the
individual societies have been inspired further to encourage both papers and full sessions that are truly
cross-disciplinary in nature or that have representation from more than one of the scholarly societies
involvedin the conference. The diverse SAM Program Committee for Toronto 2000 includes individuals
with the following "sub specialties" (among others): ethnomusicology, theory, popular music, film
music, Hispanic music, jazz, twentieth-century composition, music in 19th century America, and
musical theatre.
The Officers and Board of the Society for Americn Music regard our participation in Toronto 2000 as
a tremendous opportunity. There are many music scholars out there who might have heard of our
Society but who have never made an effort to find out what we are really like. There are many more
who have begun to think that perhaps there might be something to this groundswell of
interest in American music. There are probably even more who are like the scholar overheard
in the exhibits area of a recent AMS meeting: he was examining an American music textbook
because, as he put it, "they've told us we have to start to teach an American music course; I guess
I better find out what the texts are like." These are among the many scholars we can reach
at this conference, and reach them we will.
The Society for American Music is a recognized source of seasoned scholarly expertise on all aspects
of music in America and American music; this expertise will be demonstrated clearly in the papers
chosen for our program. The Program Committee, however, is looking for papers and sessions that will illustrate
clearly how different SAM is from other scholarly organizations, and the Program Committee is eager
to consider proposals that will highlight those differences. We ask members of the Society to think
in creative and innovative ways; to propose papers and sessions that highlight some areas of American
musical life that might still be too "remote" for scholarly inquirty by members of other societies;
to stake our claim for the importance of studying and performing American music; and to make our
case for the necessity of understanding the rich cultural history of our country. We also solicit
suggestions for highlighting the valued expertise of our non-academic members, for this is likewise
an aspect of SAM that sets us apart from many scholarly organizations.
Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections promises to be an exciting, provocative, and stimulating conference.
With the proliferation of music scholarly societies in the late twentieth century, many of us
have found ourselves pulled in different directions as we struggle to find time to attend multiple
conferences. This conference presents a real opportunity for us to come together, to share our
interests and areas of expertise, and to understand how the study of music and musical culture
is ful of crossroads, converging avenues, and intersections.
Inquires about the conference, ideas about sessions or concerts, or suggestions should be
directed to Katherine Preston or Mark Tucker, Toronto Program Committee, Department of Music, The
College of William and Mary, POB 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795, kkpres@facstaff.wm.edu
or tucker@facstaff.wm.edu. The official call for
proposals follows this article.
Call for Proposals: Toronto 2000
The Society for American Music will hold a special conference 1-5 November 2000 in Toronto, Ontario,
as one of fifteen music scholarly societies participating in Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections.
Proposals for papers, concerts, lecture-performances, and full sessions are invited, as are proposals
for presentations in innovative and imaginative formats. The Program Committee is particularly
interested in considering papers or sessions that have representation from more than one of the
scholarly societies involved in the conference; already built into the SAM program are several
joint sessions with both the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) and the
Historic Brass Society. We also invite truly cross-disciplinary papers and sessions that combine
musical understanding with literature, history, theatre history, cultural studies, sociology, art,
anthropology, dance, film studies, American studies, and other areas of scholarly inquiry. SAM
Special Interest Groups will not have meeting times at this conference, but are welcome to submit
session proposals; particularly appealing will be joint sessions with similar special interest groups
from other societies or interdisciplinary sessions. Proposals involving any aspect of American
music and music in America are welcome.
Individual presentations of all types normally are limited to twenty minutes in length, and full
sessions typically consist of three individual twenty-minute presentations. If the material warrants
and if sufficient justification is provided, the Committee will also entertain proposals for longer
presentations, especially if they include performances or are truy interdisciplinary. Submissions
for papers consist of eight (8) copies of a proposal of no more than 500 words, and one (1) copy
of a 250-word abstract suitable for publication in the conference program. Because all submissions
(except for panel sessions) are evaluated blind, proposers' name(s), address(es), phone number(s),
and e-mail address(es) should appear on only ONE copy of the proposal. The abstract for publication
should be single-spaced and should include the presenter's name and affiliation between the title and the
abstract text.
For formal sessions, panels, or proposals involving unusual formats, the proposer(s) should include
eight copies of an additional statement explaining the format and overall rationale for the
session, the importance of the topic, and the significance of the proposed grouping of papers. The
organizer of the session should gather the proper number of individual proposals and abstracts from
session members, and submit them in a single envelope. Formal session proposals are welcome, but
each abstract will be evaluated individually, and the Committee reserves the right to reconfigure
the organization and makeup of such proposed sessions, or to accept individually any of the proposed
papers. Proposals for panel sessions that deal with issues of general interest are also solicited;
these should be clearly labeled as panel sessions. The sessions should consist of a brief position
paper (of not more than 10 minutes duration) by each of the participants in order to leave ample
time for discussion. Organizers of panel discussions should submit eight copies of a one-page
prospectus that provides an outline of the proposed topic; describes the significance of the
panel, and explains why each panelist has been chosen. Panel proposals will be accepted or rejected
as intact entities.
Proposals for lecture-recitals or for concerts (either independent performances or those aligned with
a session) should be submitted to Mark Tucker. Submissions for lecture-recitals should include two
copies of the 500-word abstract, one copy of the 250-word program abstract, and at least one copy of a
recording of the proposed performer(s), of sufficient lenght to permit evaluation. (Please indicate
if you wish for the tape to be returned). Proposals for concerts should consist of a recording (as above)
and two copies of a short description of the concert (including duration, a list of repertory,
rationale for the concert, and -- if appropriate -- how the concert fits with a proposed formal
session submitted to the program committee). Concerts can be proposed for mid-day or evening venues.
Proposers must also indicate special needs, such as audio-visual equipment, music stands, rehearsal
space, etc. All submissions must include two (2) self-addressed stamped envelopes.
Presenters must register for the full conference. Any music scholars must be members of at least
one of the societies represented at the conference. No individual may apear more than twice. Appearances
include delivering a paper, participating in a daytime, programmatic panel, giving a lecture-demonstration,
or functioning as a chair-organizer of or respondent to a session. All proposals must be postmarked
by 8 January 2000. Submissions by fax or e-mail will not be accepted.
Paper and session materials should be sent to Katherine K. Preston, Chair, SAM Program Committee
for Toronto 2000, Department of Music, The College of William and Mary, POB 8795, Williamsburg, VA
23185-8795. Performance proposals should be sent to Mark Tucker, SAM Representative to the Joint
Concert Committee, 114 Deerwood Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23188.
Updated 8/20/99