Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIV, no. 2 (Summer 1998)
News of the Society
Message From the President
Summertime--and the living is [fill in your own adjective]...
For me, the adverb/adjective is "unbelievably rich" -- with the diversity of conferences
and festivals happening here in Oregon, and all those tempting mountains to climb!
However, it is also the season of international meetings, and this, plus some of our
own upcoming activities, leads me to contemplate the general subject of The Sonneck
Society and other organizations -- a topic that is of great interest as we head into the new
century, and the Toronto "mega-meeting" of many societies (I've lost count--by now I
think it's eleven!) that marks it. I belong to quite a number of musical and other
research societies, and as I attend their meetings and watch their interactions,
I am aware of how each develops a culture -- and a stance toward "being American" --
that might be instructive for us.
For example, I've just been sitting in the Society of Dance History international
meeting, happening here in our own Department of Dance this week, and I am struck by how easily
the dance historians intermix papers about American topics with those about
European and world dance topics -- with no fanfare, no dividing lines, and no
defensiveness -- it's all about the language of movement and the people of whatever
nationality who have made it possible, both in the past and in the present. Somehow,
our dividing lines in the sudy of music and music history seem more sharply drawn, even with
the progress made in the recent past (see the last Bulletin for my comments on that topic).
We still do "American sessions" at AMS and SEM meetings, as if American music
were a topic apart from all others; and at Sonneck we too often (in my opinion)
take the "embattled" postiion, and "defend" American music rather than talking
about it as a legitimate topic. I'll leave the contemplation of why this might be
more so in music than in dance to all of you to figure out, or perhaps to discuss on the
Sonneck e-mail list; for now my object is to get each of us to "infiltrate" all the
other organizations we belong to and to present our views on things American and on the
virtues of being in the Sonneck Society as frequently and naturally as we can.
A wonderful recent example of an interaction with other organizations by one of our
members, was the visit of Linda Pohly, chair-emeritus of the membership committee,
who, following on the footsteps of Jocelyn Mackey, co-chair of the American Music
Week Committee, made contact with a number of musical organizations at a recent
"Conference of Music Organizations" in Akron, Ohio. Her express purpose was to introduce
Sonneck to the people who didn't know about it, and she brought ample materials to
distribute. It was also a wonderful occasion to talk about American Music Week
(coinciding with election week in November) with other organizations who have their
own American music activities, but at different times of year. The National Federation
of Music Clubs, for example, has a "Parade of American Music," which happens at another
time of year; as a result of Jocelyn and Linda's contact, they will be considering
moving it to November.
It is this sort of interaction with other groups, whose interests overlap ours,
that I am promoting. The Sonneck Society started out, in some sense, as a
place of refuge for a beleaguered group that was not being heard elsewhere. The
world has moved on -- many more are ready to hear and hear about American music and
music in America. Let us join with them, interact, have our voices heard -- and
invite their members to our own meetings to enrich us with their insights. Let us
plan more joint meetings, as we have in the past, and have already planned for, not only in
Toronto in 2000, but also in Trinidad with the Center for Black Music Research in 2001.
And, by all means, let us get our best work out there in print, submitting to our own
journal, American Music (see Rob Walser's call for articles in this Bulletin) but
also to those of other societies. We are in the mainstream now; we simply have
to act like it!
Yours in eternal optimism,
Anne Dhu McLucas
Summary of Board Activities
Kansas City Meeting, 19-22, Feb. 1998
The Board of Directors of the Society met twice at the National Conference held in
Kansas City in February -- on Wednesday, 18 February and on Sunday, 2 February.
The Long-Range Planning Committee of the Society reported to the Board that
as of September 1997 (when the committee met in Washington, D.C.) many of the goals
established by the Society's original Five-Year Plan (Pulished in the Bulletin in
Summer 1994) have been achieved. The Board, after some discussion, decided that it is
time for the Society to revisit the issue of a long-range plan, and the committee
will meet again in November 1998. If any members of the Society have suggestions or
concerns about the future direction of the Society, these should be voiced
to any member of the LRPC (the President, officers, and Executive Director of the
Society, as well as chairs of the Membership, Development, Finance, and Public
Relations Committees) prior to the meeting. The general sense of the Board is that
the Society is in good shape and that we are making discernable progress in our goal of
stimulating "the appreciation, performance, creation, and study of American
music in all its historical and contemporary styles and contexts," but that
guidelines -- in the form of a continually updated strategic plan -- are crucial.
The Board accepted reports from various standing committees of the Society, and acted
on several recommendations, including one from the Publications Committee that the reply
default on the Sonneck Uselist be changed from "reply to list" to "reply to
sender." The Education Committee, chaired by George Heller, was given a new and
updated charge by the Board, which reaffirmed the Board's belief in the importance of
this committee. Raoul Camus, as chair of the Honors and Awards Committee,
submitted language to clarify the committee's charge, particularly in reference to award criteria.
The Board accepted the committee's recommendations that the Honorary Membershiop and Lifetime
Achievement Citations be given to a person who is a "well-known, prominent senior figure"
who has "made important contributions to the field of American Music" and who is
"a person of stature whose selection would bring favorable attenton to the
Society." The recipient may be a member of the Society, but this is not
necessary. The Distinguished Service Citation is awarded to a current member of the
Society who has given "examplary and continued service to the Society and its
mission." The Board also agreed with the committee that the Honorary and Lifetime
Achievement honorees should (if possible) be present at the meeting where the award
is presented and that the name of the Distinguished Service honoree should remain
a closely guarded secret until the award is actually conferred. Upcoming conferences of
the Socity are Fort Worth, Texas (10-13 March 1998); Charleston, South Carolina (1-5 March 2000);
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as part of the Toronto 2000: Musical Intersections (1-5 November 2000),
a "mega-conference" of numerous North American societies devoted to the study of music; and
in Trinidatd with the Center for Black Music Research over Memorial Day weekend, 2001. The Conference
Sites Selection Committee, chaired by Wilma Reid Cipolla, is exploring locations
in the middle of hte country for the conference in 2002. If members of the Society have
any concerns they wish brought to the attention of the Board at its upcoming
meeting in Boston in October 1998, please feel free to contact any of the officers
or members of the Board. The names of these individuals are at the front of
the Society Directory. Fi there are any items to be added to the agenda of
that meeting, please contact Katherine Preston at kkpres@facstaff.wm.edu
(or at the addresses in the Directory).
--Katherine Preston
Secretary of the Society
Statement of Financial Condition
Year Ending December 31, 1997
General Fund
Income
Dues $42,945.00
Interest/Dividents 5,713.83
Transfer of Interest from F02
(Life Membership) 1,000.00
Transfer from F03
(Discretionary Fund, 1995) 16,841.41
Transfer from F06 (Lowens) 424.00
Transfer from F03
(Johnson, for 1996 and 1997) 10,000.00
Transfer from F09
(Conference Proceeds, 1996) 4,347.39
Other Income
Contributions 1,795.00
Mailing labels, postage 1,171.09
Total Income 84,237.72
Program Expenses
American Music 29,836.47
Bulletin 5,292.32
Directory 1,354.99
Recognitions/Awards 161.58
Lowens Awards
Awards 400.00
Plaques 24.00
Johnson Subventions
(awards for 1996 and 1997) 10,000.00
RILM 850.00
Total Program Expenses 47,495.36
Management Expenses
Board Expenses 2,841.05
Office Expenses 2,316.77
Management Services (Academic Services) 4,080.03
Honoraria (Executive Director and
Conference Manager) 6,000.00
Fees and Miscellaneous 1,185.77
Total Management Expenses 16,423.62
Contingency 20,318.74
Total Expenses 84,237.72
Restricted Funds
Life Membership 22,067.27
Discretionary 10,301.78
Student Travel -175.28
RILM 103.93
Lowens Memorial 13,757.05
Non-Print Publications 18,174.93
H. Earle Johnson 101,362.87
Conference 1,448.17
Dissertation Prize 1,248.55
Total Restricted Funds 168,289.29
Account Balances
Merrill Lynch 123,724.45
U.S. Trust 33,864.16
H. Earle Johnson Account
(Merrill Lynch) 101,362.87
Conference Account (Merrill Lynch) 2,826.49
Total Account Balances: $261.777.97
The Editor of American Music seeks stimulating scholarly articles on all aspects
of American music and music in America. Send three printed copies to
Robert Walser, Musicology Department, UCLA, Box 951623, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
Sonneck Society members may be interested to know that over the past nine months,
50 article submissions have been received, with 23 rejected, 21 currently undergoing revision or
review, and 6 scheduled for publication. The editorial staff is working hard to put the journal
back on schedule while maintaining high scholarly standards.
--Robert Walser, editor
Updated 8/31/98