Sonneck Society for American Music
Bulletin, Volume XXIV, no. 2 (Summer 1998)
Bulletin Board
Sonances Studies in Music
Sonances is launching a new series of studies in music. The editors of this
series are looking for book-length manuscrips that deal with music in a variety of
challenging ways. They seek a mix of titles and formats, ranging from studies
by a single author to symposia treating a given repertoire or aspect of music
from differing points of view. Although any thoughtful and original work
is welcome, the editors are particularly interested in projects that bear upon the following:
music aesthetics; sociology of music; critical theories; ethnomusicology;
twentieth-century music; history of theory; and speculative theory. Authors are invited
to submit proposals to Sonances, PO Box 8717, Sainte-Foy (Quebec), CANADA GIV 4N6;
(418) 657-7955 (fax); email: studies@sonances.qc.ca.
1998 ACLS Annual Meeting
The 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Council of Learned Societies, held in Philadelphia on 1-2
May 1998, was the first Annual Meeting over which John H. D'Arms presided. In a conversation with
ACLS constituent members, President D'Arms emphasized that ACLS programs and activities must be
connected closely to the mission of the ACLS: to advance humanistic studies in all fields of
learning in the humanities and related social sciences, and to maintain and strengthen relations
among the national societies devoted to such studies. He considered how ACLS activity in four areas --
ACLS as funder, ACLS as convener, ACLS as advocate, and ACLS as collaborator -- might contribute
to advancing that mission. He reported on the results of his efforts to increase funds for
fellowships endowment grants and support from the institutional Associates. The Council's goal
is to double the endowment devoted to fellowships and to double the funds awarded to scholars
annually. Plans call for only a modest increase in the number of fellowships awarded but
substantial increases in fellowship stipends.
Both the Delegates and the Conference of Administrative Officers held programmatic sessions addressing
the broad topic "Communities and Commonalities in the Humanities." The Delegates focused their
discussion on how the ACLS can best use their collective and individual talents. The Conference of
Administrative Officers heard presentations on "The Production of Ph.D.s and the Labor Market" and
"Ph.D. Careers Outside the Academy."
ACLS Online Directory
ACLS is pleased to announce the ACLS Online Directory of Constitutent Societies, which provides information
on our member learned societies and affiliates. Previously issued each year in print, the Directory
in its new online format will be frequently updated and available to a wider audience. You may
access the Online Directory at www.acls.org/ls-dir.htm.
New Major at Tulane
Tulane University has just established a B.F.A. major in Musical Theatre. This adds an undergraduate
component to Tulane's M.F.A. degree in musical theatre. These degrees are in conjunction with Tulane Summer
Lyric Theatre, which for the past thirty-one years has presented American musical theatre productions
on a semi-professional basis during the summer. Featuring Tulane students and graduates (many of whom
are now professionally active in theatre), together with a professional orchestra, Summer Lyric
Theatre is presenting this summer "Funny Girl" (17-21 June), "South Pacific" (8-12 July), and
"Meet Me in St. Louis" (29 July-2 August). Tulane University also established three years ago
an M.A. musicology degree in the music of New Orleans. Students in this program have access
to the Hogan Jazz Archive, the Amistad Research Center, and various other archives at Tulane
and in the New Orleans area. Persons wishing information on the program should contact
Professor John H. Baron, Chair, Deptartment of Music, Tulane University (email:
caccini@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu).
University of Colorado Heritage Conference
The American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder is sponsoring a Heritage
Conference for the College of Music on Saturday, 3 October 1998, at the Imig Music Building
on the CU Boulder campus. Former and present faculty, staff, and alumni will be meeting
to discuss the events and activities which have been most significant for the College of
Music during the past half-century. The proceedings for the conference will be recorded and
serve as documentary material for future histories of the College. The public is invited to
attend either as participants or observers. For more information, please write to Prof.
William Kearns, Co-Chair, Heritage Conference, Campus Box 301, University of Colorado at
Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309 or call 303-492-8564.
Bill Harrison Collection Moves to Center for Popular Music
The Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University has acquired the record and tape
collection, personal papers, photographs, and other items belonging to the late Bill Harrison of
Madison, Alabama. Harrison was the driving force behind the establishment in the mid-1960s of the
Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Association (TVOTFA) and one of the original organizers of the
TVOTFA's annual contest held every year in Athens, Alabama, recognized as one of the leading
traditional music events in the southeast. Harrison also founded the TVOTFA's newletter which
quickly grew into The Devil's Box, a quarterly publication that has long been a leading source
of information about fiddling and fiddlers. Harrison passed away 16 November, 1997. His family
donated the materials to MTSU in February 1998.
The collection includes approximately 1,000 commercial sound recordings, many periodicals, a few
books, and over six linear feet of manuscript material, clippings, festival flyers, and photographs.
The collection includes considerable material that documents the history and operation of the
TVOTFA, its annual contest, and the publication of The Devil's Box. Fiddling and other southern
old-time music are strongly represented in Harrison's recordings. Particularly noteworthy is the
number of private label recordings contained in the collection. These are items that receive
limited distribution, even within the specialized network of companies that deal in traditional
music; they normally must be obtained directly from the performer. "This collection provides wonderful
documentation of southern fiddling and the fiddle contest scene from the late 1960s to the
present," said Charles Wolfe, a member of the English faculty at MTSU, a leading scholar of
old-time music, and a personal friend of Bill Harrison's. Paul Wells, director of the Center
for Popular Music, and himself a scholar on fiddling, was also enthusiastic about the material.
"Bill had many, many LPs that are now virtually impossible to obtain," said Wells. "These include
a wonderful group of albums, featuring locally-important musicians such as Bob Douglas and Frazier Moss
of Tennessee, as well as professional fiddlers such as Howdy Forrester and Georgia Slim."
The Center's archival staff is currently processing Harrison's materials and they will soon be
available for the use of researchers at the Center.
Updated 08/31/98