Conference Information
Twenty-Fifth Annual Conference
Appleton, WI, April 25-26, 2014
General Information
The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin warmly invites you to attend the twenty-fifth annual meeting of Music Theory Midwest to be held April 25-6, 2014. Thanks go to Arnie Cox (Oberlin College-Conservatory), who chaired the program committee, and to its other members: Matthew Arndt (University of Iowa); James Bungert (University of Wisconsin); Johanna Devaney (The Ohio State University); Karen Fournier (University of Michigan); Roman Ivanovitch (Indiana University); Catherine Losada (Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), ex-officio as MTMW President; and Brad Osborn (University of Kansas).
Ian Bates (Lawrence University), our chair of local arrangements for this conference, is delighted to welcome everyone to Appleton. Our sessions will be held in Harper Hall (Music-Drama Center) and Miller Hall (Shattuck Hall 156) on the Lawrence University campus.
Keynote Abstract
This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Deborah Stein (New England Conservatory). It is entitled "Poetry into Song: the German Lied launches a Century." The abstract follows:
Teaching the German Lied often occurs as a supplement to instrumental genres and forms. This is regrettable in part because the Lied genre, especially from the early 19th century, presents tremendous innovations in chromaticism and tonal design. These miniature masterpieces offer short but complete pieces that demonstrate the creativity-- and audacity – that appear in longer works throughout the entire 19th century.
The great Lied composers didn’t just set poetic images such as the whir of Gretchen’s spinning wheel and the pounding of horse hooves in Erlkönig. Rather they created musical replicas of the poet’s psychological drama or journey. The chronic 16ths in Gretchen am Spinnrade represent obsession with her anguish and the triplets in Erklönig depict the terror of the father and his son in the face of death. These interpretations can deeply alter performances, as “text painting” becomes poetic elaboration and nuance. Every aspect of the settings, vocal line, accompaniment, texture, tempo, dynamics, and so forth, commingle to recreate the poetry in a way that had never been done before.
Performers of all 19th-century music thus must understand the German Romantic soul, as expressed in the poetry set by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf. The tenets and philosophies of German Romanticism is a critical entry into all 19th century music, and this literary foundation informs not only singers and pianists but also instrumentalists, who do not have a poetic text to explain the narrative of their music. What do conflicts and ambivalence, psychological progressions and irresolutions mean in purely instrumental music?
Location
Our sessions will be held on the Lawrence University campus in the Music-Drama Center and the adjoining Shattuck Hall of Music.
Music-Drama Center
Lawrence University
420 East College Avenue
Appleton, WI 54911
Conference registration will be in the Harper Hall lobby in the Music-Drama Center. Conference sessions will be held in Harper Hall (Music-Drama Center) and in Miller Hall (Shattuck Hall 156). For directions and maps, please visit: http://www.lawrence.edu/info/directories/maps.
Conference Events
On Thursday, April 24, from 6-9 pm, we will host MTMW’s fourth annual Pre-Conference Workshop, titled “Rhythm, Meter and Hypermeter in Pop-Rock Music,” led by Nicole Biamonte (McGill University). We’re pleased to announce that this workshop is full to capacity with participating students and faculty.
On Friday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m., the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra and Lawrence University choirs will perform Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Although attendance is free of charge and seating is general admission, a block of seats has been set aside for conference participants and will be held until approximately 15 minutes before the start of the performance.
On Saturday evening, the conference will conclude with a reception and buffet dinner to be held in the Nathan Marsh Pusey Room in the Warch Campus Center. Cost for the reception and banquet is $25 (discounted to $20 for our student members). A cash bar serving beer and wine will be available.
Travel
Lawrence University is serviced by the Outagamie County Regional Airport (ATW). For general information regarding flying into or out of the airport, please visit: http://www.atwairport.com.
Visitor parking is free of charge at Lawrence University and requires no special permit. Simply use the designated visitor parking areas shown on the map available here: http://www.lawrence.edu/info/directories/parking. In addition, there is usually plenty of street parking (unmetered and without a time limit) in the residential area north of campus.
Accommodations
We have reserved blocks of rooms at two area hotels. At the CopperLeaf Hotel (www.copperleafhotel.com) in downtown Appleton, five short blocks from campus (a 10- to 15-minute walk), MTMW participants are eligible for a special rate of $102/night for a Copper King (1 King bed) or Copper Double (2 double beds) room. This rate includes a hot buffet breakfast, complimentary wi-fi, and complimentary shuttle service to and from the Outagamie County Regional Airport. To receive the special MTMW group rate when making a reservation, call 1-877-303-0303 and mention that you are part of the MTMW group. Pre-arrange your complimentary airport shuttle service directly with the hotel once you have your flight information. The rooms at the CopperLeaf will be held until March 24, at which point any unreserved rooms will be released to the general public.
Copperleaf Hotel
300 West College Avenue
Appleton, WI 54911
We have also reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Appleton (www.hiappleton.com), located in the restaurant and shopping district, at a special rate of $79/night for a room with 2 double beds or 1 King bed. This rate includes complimentary wi-fi, scheduled shuttle service to and from the Lawrence University campus, and complimentary shuttle service to and from the Outagamie County Regional Airport. An additional fee of $13/night (bringing the total to $92/night) includes a hot buffet breakfast for up to four people per room. To receive the special MTMW group rate when making a reservation, either call 1-855-652-1331 and mention that you are part of the MTMW group, or enter group code “MTM” if making reservations online. To request pickup via the complimentary airport shuttle service, use the courtesy phone in the airport baggage claim area or call 920-735-9955. The rooms at the Holiday Inn will be held until April 11, at which point any unreserved rooms will be released to the general public.
Holiday Inn Appleton
150 South Nicolet Road
Appleton, WI 54914
Local Information
Local Arrangements Chair: Ian Bates (Lawrence University)
Program Committee
Arnie Cox (Oberlin College), Chair
Matthew Arndt
James Bungert
Johanna Devaney
Karen Fournier
Roman Ivanovitch
Catherine Losada, ex-officio
Brad Osborn
Komar Award Committee
John Cuciurean (University of Western Ontario), Chair
Daphne Tan (Indiana University)
Robert Cook (University of Iowa)
Sarah Ellis (University of Oklahoma)
Online Program
The online program can be found here once it is available.