Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIII, no. 3 (Fall 1997)
News of the Society
After the Board Meeting ...
We have recently finished our first blockbuster Board session under my presidency -- a seven-hour
meeting on Saturday, 6 September (in a "scenic" motel somewhere in the outskirts of Washington, D.C.),
followed by a three-hour breakfast meeting on Sunday with most of the Board to revisit the Long-Range
plan and decide where to go from here.
I can only mention the highlights of the meetings (full minutes are available on request from Secretary
Katherine Preston), but the first thing I need to share is that you have a terrific board -- they all have ideas;
they listen and build on one another's comments; they stay on task; and yet they have some fun. I am
delighted to be working with these people! Now for the highlights.
According to our financial report, we are still in good shape. Like every responsible organization that
actively plans for the always-inflationary future, we remain constantly in need of watching the
budget. Several areas received mild budget cutbacks for fiscal health. Our financial situation would
of course be helped by adding some new members. This is a task not only for the membership committee,
but for all of us to take on personally. Aside from this traditional source of revenue, Sonneck has
also started to make a concentrated effort to start raising money through its Development Committee,
chaired by Pamela Fox (contact her with our ideas -- or your checks!) But these efforts do not
translate into immediate revenue, so we are also finding it necessary to raise your dues by a modest
amount.
The Board spent some time on the variety of honors and prizes we now award, and how these should
be refined; on issues of archiving (a report brought to us live by Washingtonians Carolyn Bryant and Susan
Koutsky, our archivist and associate archivist); and on special meeting plans for the academic
year 2000-2001. As many of you know, we will be meeting with eight other societies in the Fall of
2000 in Toronto -- the so-called "Mega-conference." In the tradition of our two successful conferences
in England, we are now actively exploring the possibility of having a special Spring meeting that year
in Trinidad. We are still grappling with issues such as how to keep the cost reasonable, possible
co-sponsors, and dates, but are excited about the possibilities of meeting in this richly evocative location.
Much time was also devoted to discussing public relations policies for the Society. This area is of
growing importance as we try to attract new members. We also devoted a fair amount of time to the
importance of our efforts in education -- with many creative ideas coming from the Board, which will be
transmitted to that Committee.
The Board considered a proposal from the Publications Committee to publish the Bulletin on teh
Sonneck Website and to publicsh the Table of Contents of the journal American Music as well.
Both of these initiatives were approved--and the results are already there for all to see! This should
increase the visibility of our publishing efforts.
These are but a few of the highlights -- and we on the Board owe a debt of gratitude to the many
active committees that contributed reports, many of which represent hours of work. One in particular
comes to mind -- the very important work of the nominating committee, headed this year by Paul Wells,
who turned in an impressive slate of candidates for the Board and officers.
I have received letters from some members expressing the wish to be more active in the Society, and there
may be many more of you who have those feelings but have not yet written. Let me or any Board
member know of your wishes -- and your abilities -- and we'll pass your name on to the appropriate
committee or person. We need your time and energy, and we value your participation. It is out of
such committment that we make the Society run -- and at the moment, I would say it is running well!
--Anne Dhu McLucas, President
Committee Reports
COPAM
The Committee on the Publication of American Music (COPAM) met on November 9, 1996, during the Baltimore
AMS meeting. Ingrid Monson is the newest committee member, replacing Bruno Nettl, whose term has ended.
We were also joined on this occasion by Patrick Wall, the new president of A-R Editions, the publisher
of MUSA (Music of the United States of America). The Committee approved Nym Cooke's critical edition of
the works of Timothy Swan for publication in the MUSA series. An application has been submitted to NEH
for two more years of funding. This grant would pay the salary of the executive editor and also editorial
expenses, honoraria, and some of the project's administrative expenses.
Some time after this November meeting, Jeffrey Magee, MUSA's executive editor, accepted a position
at Indiana University, and Mark Clague, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Music at the
University of Michigan, has been named the new executive editor of MUSA. Sonneck members are urged to
get in touch with him about volumes they may wish to propose for the MUSA series.
--Judith McCulloh
Sonneck representative to COPAM
Education Committee
Upon appointment to chair this committee in March, 1997, Professor Heller expressed his concern to
President McLucas that the committee's charge was vague and that its history was not full of
spectacular accomplishments. Heller resolved to poll the committee members to see what they perceived
as the committee's purpose and subsequently organize and act on it, or recommend that the committee
be dissolved.
In June, 1997, Heller wrote to the twelve committee members. To date (July 30, 1997), three of the twelve
have responded: one positively, and two somewhat negatively.
The one positive respondent stated the Education Committee should play a leading role in educating, preserving, and promoting
the story of America's music (both past and present) to the public in the schools, concert halls, and in the media.
The first negative respondent was concerned that (1) promoting American music has several logical and practical
difficulties, especially because American music has clear and easily found roots in music of other countries; and
(2) the Sonneck Society's interests are too diffuse and too Yankee-centric to be of much interest to one who sees
music as a human phenomenon rather than a collection of artifacts. This respondent would support the committee if
it promoted learning music of diverse (American) cultures rather than promoting yet another (American) canon.
A second negative respondent expressed concern that the Sonneck Society Board does not seem to be interested in or
supportive of the Education Committee's work. This seems to come out of frustration with past efforts, especially attempts
to provide music teachers with American music materials suitable for classroom use. This person
indicated a willingness to continue of some evidence of change in the board's attitude were to appear.
Given nine non-responses, one positive response, and two negative responses, prospects are not good for continuing this
committee's work. The chair offers two alternatives for the board's consideration: (1) reconstitute the committee with
the three respondents and nine new appointees, clarifying the charge and providing tangible support;
(2) dissolve the committee.
--Goerge N. Heller, chair, Dan Binder, Edith Borroff, Marva Carter, Rebecca Cureau, J. Terry Gates,
Harlan Jennings, Susan Key, Ron Pen, Nancy Ping-Robbins, Craig Russell, Ann Silverberg, Charles Wolffe
Membership Committee
A chairperson of the Membership Committee I urge each of you to consider what you personally can do
to increase our membership. Over the past several years our society's ranks have remained quite constant or
increased slightly so that we now hover around 950 members. The Sonneck Society for American Music has much to
offer in a number of arenas, and we want othrs to know of our mission, activities, and collegiality. In the near future,
each current member will receive a "new and improved" membership flyer that will be suitable for posting,
for mailing, and for offering in person to a prospective member. May I urge each of you to accept the responsibility
to put this flyer to good use; talk up the Sonneck Society to teachers, performers, librarians, independent
researchers, hobbyists, and other lovers of American Music.
--Linda Pohly
Honors Committee
The Honors Committee is working on recommendations for the Distinguished Service and Honorary Member
awards and is plased to report that the Sonneck Society Board has initiated a new Lifetime Achievement
Award. This award will recognize a Sonneck member for "lifetime achievement in scholarship, performance,
teaching, or support of American music." Nominations for any of the awards should be sent to Susan Key.
Honors Committee subcommittees are hard at work on the Lowens Book Award (Michael Broyles, chair), the
Lowens Article Award (John Spitzer, chair), and the Dissertation Award (Charles Hamm, chair). Results will be
announced at the annual meeting in Kansas City.
--Susan Key, chair, Raoul Camus, Rebecca Cureau, Vicki Ohl, Steven Stone.
Nominating Committee
This year the Sonneck Society's Nominating Committee was charged with setting a slate of candidates to run for the office
of Presidnet, and for three positions as Member-at-Large of the Board of Trustees. Under the current system,
the successful presidential candidate will serve one year as President-elect. He or she will be installed to that office
at the Kansas City meeting and assume the full presidential duties and the 1999 meeting in Texas. The successful
candidates for the Board positions will serve three-year terms, beginning with next February's national conference.
Competing for the office of President will be Rae Linda Brown (University of California at Irvine) and
Daniel Kingman (Emeritus, California State University at Sacramento). Candidates for the Board are Paul
Charosh (Brooklyn College, CUNY), Nym Cooke (College of the Holy Cross), Douglas Moore (Williams
College), David Nicholls (Keele University, UK), David Warren Steel (University of Mississippi), and Judy
Tsou (University of California at Berkeley). Ballots will be distributed with the membership renewal information.
--Paul F. Wells, chair, Dale Cockrell, Donald Krummel, Judith Tick, Josephine Wright
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the Sonneck Society for American Music met for a marathon meeting in Northern
Virginia on 6 September 1997. The Board and officers discussed long and hard many issues that concern the future of the
Society. Anyone interested may request a copy of the meeting's minutes from Katherine Preston, Secretary
(kkpres@facstaff.wm.edu). In lieu of all the details,
however, here is a snapshot of some of the important decisions the Board made that might be of interest to
members. The Board:
Discussed and accepted a budget submitted by the Finance Committee (Homer Rudolf, chair), streamlining
expenditures in several areas because of fiscal contraints.
Reaffirmed commitment to student members of the Society by allocating addition funds to the Student
Travel Fund.
Accepted a reposrt from the Development Committee (Pam Fox, chair) that outlines exciting new initiatives,
including a proposal to establish an AMS-50-like dissertation fellowship award.
Reaffirmed the Society's committment to participate in the "Megaconference" or "Conference 2000"--the alphabet
soup joint confernece of scholarly societies devoted to the study of music (including AMS, CMS, SMT, SEM, and
several other organizations) that will be held in Toronto in November 2000.
Accepted a proposal by the Conference Site Selection Committee (Wilma Reid Cipolla, chair) to hold a special conference
in Trinidad in 2001 and directed the Conference Manager (Jim Hines) to explore the possibility of hildoing
this meeting jointly with the Center for Black Music Research.
Approved a proposal by the Minority Issues Committee (Guy Ramsey, chair) to establish an outreach program
the goal of which is to acquant members of underrepresented groups with the activities of the Society via
special invitations to attend our national meetings.
Confirmed the essential role played by the membership Committee (Linda Pohly, chair) in the continued
viability of the Society.
Pledge continued support for the Interest Groups as an essential and active component of the Society.
Established a committee (Carol Baron, chair) to explore drafting an Ethics Statement by the Society.
Reaffirmed the crucial importance of the Education Committee (George Heller, chair) and directed that committee
to turn its attention to the study and implementation of various initiatives.
--Submitted by Katherine Preston, Secretary
Submissions for Sonneck Awards
Applications for the Sonneck Society Non-Print Publications Subvention Award will be accepted
starting in the fall with a 1 Demcember deadline. For more information contact Wayne Schneider, Department of
Music, Burlington, VE, 05405; Tel: (802) 656-8815.
The annual deadline for applications for the Sonneck Society Publications Subvention Awards is 15 November.
Inquiries for 1998 should be directed to the committee's chair, John Beckwith, 121 Howland Ave.,
Toronto, Canada, M5R3B4 (e-mail: j.beckwith@utoronto.ca).
Annual Sonneck Society Dissertation Prize. This award is designed to recognize a single dissertation
on American music for its exceptional depth, clarity, significance, and overall conribution to embrace North Ameria, and aspects
of its cultures elswhere in the world. Dissertations from American Studies, American History, and other fields
beyond theory, musicology, and ethnomusicology are welcomed as long as the primary focus of the work is a
musical topic.
The period of eligibility for the Prize is for doctoral dissertations completed and successfully defended
between 1 July and the following 30 June. The deadline for submissions is 1 September in the year of completion.
Applicants need not be members of the Society, and the submission process will be blind. There is no limit on the
number of submisssions from any particular institution, and there is no requirement for nomination by dissertation
director(s).
Letter from the Editor
I am deeply gratified by the many positive comments that I have received on my first issue of the Bulletin. I
thank both those people who have praise and those of you who have taken the time to constructively critique this
important vehicle.
Although it took a bit of time, the Summer issue of the Bulletin is now available online. I wish to thank Cheryl Taranto
for her fine efforts to increase the Sonneck presence on the web. In the future, this version will appear three weeks after mailing the
physical version. Please inform others of this important resource.
To aid you in communicating with your colleagues, please keep in mind that considerable time is involved in producing the Bulletin.
Although submission deadlines are the 15th of September, January, and May, the time necessary to edit articles, layout, print and mail the
Bulletin is around two months. Plan ahead so that your notices and announcements will be timely. If you wish to submit
an article, please try to do so ahead of the deadline so that we may work together more efficiently. To all of you who have sent me news
items, about yourself or others, thank you for making the Bulletin truly your voice. I look vorward to hearing from
others in the Society.
Sincerely,
Larry Worster
Updated 1/5/98