Current Newsletter - November 2024
Newsletter
Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory
November 2024
Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory
November 2024
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Study day
On the 1st of March 2025, the society will celebrate its annual members symposium, in the form of a study day. We are happy to do it this time at the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen. The motto of this study day will again be “for and by members”. We would love to see contributions of completed work or “work in progress”. Members who would like to contribute can let our secretary Ralf Pisters ([email protected]) know before the 1st of February. Our annual General Meeting will also take place on the study day. A more detailed program will follow via e-mail and will appear on the website in due course.
25-Year Anniversary Conference “Off the Beaten Track”
From March 1-3, the Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory held the international conference titled Off the Beaten Track at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. This was a special event, as our association celebrated its 25th anniversary. This meeting, which brought together academics and teachers from different countries, stood out for its relaxed atmosphere and, above all, for the diversity and originality of its presentations. The theme of the congress allowed for a wide variety of talks, bringing us closer to topics that we do not usually hear about in the classroom.
The event began on Friday with a festive opening session, which included a jazz concert by Diana with da Boiz, consisting of students from the Conservatorium of Amsterdam. This evening was an excellent opportunity for attendees to reconnect with old friends and meet new colleagues. The next day we had an opening session in which a commemorative book, specially designed for the 25th anniversary of the DFSMT, was distributed to the attendees. This book, in which the chairmen and honorary members look back over the history of our association and reflect on its present and future, helps us to better understand how the DFSMT has become the association it is today, and to think about the challenges we will face in the coming years. For those members who were unable to attend the congress, the book was sent by post.
The rest of the day was devoted to a series of lectures that addressed various topics related to music theory. During the sessions, attendees were also treated to a wonderful concert by the Fontana Quartet, also consisting of students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam – who performed Britten's String Quartet No. 2, offering a musical interlude of impressive quality. Finally, we closed with an outstanding talk by Professor Thomas Christensen, our first keynote speaker, entitled “Future Histories of Music Theory”. His intervention offered an inspiring vision about the possible futures of our discipline, generating a lively debate among the attendees.
Sunday began with our Annual General Meeting, where the winner of the Martin Lürsenprijs was announced. We congratulate our dear colleague Aljoscha Ristow for this well-deserved recognition! After the meeting, Aljoscha, CvA-alumnus and professor at the Maastricht Conservatory, presented his master's thesis, "From Fundamental Bass Theory to Symmetrical Systems: On the Role of Enharmonicism in the Music of Rameau, Wagner, and Ravel", with which he won the award. Another highlight of the meeting was the appointment of John Koslovsky, the society's president from 2015 to 2020, as an honorary member of the DFSMT, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the society.
The closing event of the conference was the presentation by our second keynote speaker, Aart Strootman, guitarist, composer and professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag. His talk, “Disrupting (the) tools”, offered us a fascinating glimpse into his compositional world. Strootman, supported by live music he played himself, demonstrated how acoustic theory can be used to create new instruments and compositional techniques, closing the event on a note of innovation and creativity.
Our 25-anniversary conference Off the Beaten Track was in summary a very nice event providing participants with a valuable learning and collaboration opportunity. We thank everyone who made this meeting possible and look forward to meeting you in future DFSMT events.
Music Theorist in Residence 2024
From October 14 to 18, Prof. Peter Schubert (McGill University), author of Modal Counterpoint and Baroque Counterpoint, was in Leuven and Amsterdam as the Music Theorist in Residence 2024. After visiting the University of Leuven on Monday and Tuesday, there was a program on Thursday and Friday for students and members of the DFSMT in the Sweelinck Hall at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and in the Belle van Zuylen Hall at the University of Amsterdam’s University Library. Attendance in Amsterdam was high. DFSMT members, mostly theory professors at Dutch conservatories, participated in the various sessions alongside a large group of Music Theory students.
Thursday featured two workshops focused on improvised counterpoint, including both an analysis of a transcription of a 16th-century improvisation and practical exercises. The lecture at the UvA on Thursday afternoon was titled “The Arcane Counterpoint of Rore’s 1542 Madrigals and What It Can Teach Us About Analysis.” On Friday, Prof. Schubert built on Thursday's sessions with a more extensive analysis and improvisation of somewhat more complex contrapuntal textures in small groups.
The DFSMT board thanks Prof. Schubert for making the journey to the Netherlands and Flanders and for sharing his recent research on Renaissance music with us.
Online meetings
The board of the society maintains its will to continue holding online meetings in which we get together to learn about different topics related to music theory and its pedagogy. These meetings will take place, as in the last occasions, on Mondays 20:00. For the next online meetings, we are still looking for members who would like to present a topic they are researching or a pedagogical aspect of their teaching practice. For those interested, please send an email to our secretary ([email protected]).
Martin Lürsen Prize
During the 2024 Annual General Meeting it was suggested that the deadline for submitting papers for the prize could be postponed for future editions to fit in with the examination calendars of the various musical institutions in both the Netherlands and Flanders. In accordance with this proposal, the board has agreed to set October 1st as the deadline for submission (of uneven years). The calendar will be accordingly adjusted in the regulations.
On the 1st of March 2025, the society will celebrate its annual members symposium, in the form of a study day. We are happy to do it this time at the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen. The motto of this study day will again be “for and by members”. We would love to see contributions of completed work or “work in progress”. Members who would like to contribute can let our secretary Ralf Pisters ([email protected]) know before the 1st of February. Our annual General Meeting will also take place on the study day. A more detailed program will follow via e-mail and will appear on the website in due course.
25-Year Anniversary Conference “Off the Beaten Track”
From March 1-3, the Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory held the international conference titled Off the Beaten Track at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. This was a special event, as our association celebrated its 25th anniversary. This meeting, which brought together academics and teachers from different countries, stood out for its relaxed atmosphere and, above all, for the diversity and originality of its presentations. The theme of the congress allowed for a wide variety of talks, bringing us closer to topics that we do not usually hear about in the classroom.
The event began on Friday with a festive opening session, which included a jazz concert by Diana with da Boiz, consisting of students from the Conservatorium of Amsterdam. This evening was an excellent opportunity for attendees to reconnect with old friends and meet new colleagues. The next day we had an opening session in which a commemorative book, specially designed for the 25th anniversary of the DFSMT, was distributed to the attendees. This book, in which the chairmen and honorary members look back over the history of our association and reflect on its present and future, helps us to better understand how the DFSMT has become the association it is today, and to think about the challenges we will face in the coming years. For those members who were unable to attend the congress, the book was sent by post.
The rest of the day was devoted to a series of lectures that addressed various topics related to music theory. During the sessions, attendees were also treated to a wonderful concert by the Fontana Quartet, also consisting of students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam – who performed Britten's String Quartet No. 2, offering a musical interlude of impressive quality. Finally, we closed with an outstanding talk by Professor Thomas Christensen, our first keynote speaker, entitled “Future Histories of Music Theory”. His intervention offered an inspiring vision about the possible futures of our discipline, generating a lively debate among the attendees.
Sunday began with our Annual General Meeting, where the winner of the Martin Lürsenprijs was announced. We congratulate our dear colleague Aljoscha Ristow for this well-deserved recognition! After the meeting, Aljoscha, CvA-alumnus and professor at the Maastricht Conservatory, presented his master's thesis, "From Fundamental Bass Theory to Symmetrical Systems: On the Role of Enharmonicism in the Music of Rameau, Wagner, and Ravel", with which he won the award. Another highlight of the meeting was the appointment of John Koslovsky, the society's president from 2015 to 2020, as an honorary member of the DFSMT, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the society.
The closing event of the conference was the presentation by our second keynote speaker, Aart Strootman, guitarist, composer and professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag. His talk, “Disrupting (the) tools”, offered us a fascinating glimpse into his compositional world. Strootman, supported by live music he played himself, demonstrated how acoustic theory can be used to create new instruments and compositional techniques, closing the event on a note of innovation and creativity.
Our 25-anniversary conference Off the Beaten Track was in summary a very nice event providing participants with a valuable learning and collaboration opportunity. We thank everyone who made this meeting possible and look forward to meeting you in future DFSMT events.
Music Theorist in Residence 2024
From October 14 to 18, Prof. Peter Schubert (McGill University), author of Modal Counterpoint and Baroque Counterpoint, was in Leuven and Amsterdam as the Music Theorist in Residence 2024. After visiting the University of Leuven on Monday and Tuesday, there was a program on Thursday and Friday for students and members of the DFSMT in the Sweelinck Hall at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and in the Belle van Zuylen Hall at the University of Amsterdam’s University Library. Attendance in Amsterdam was high. DFSMT members, mostly theory professors at Dutch conservatories, participated in the various sessions alongside a large group of Music Theory students.
Thursday featured two workshops focused on improvised counterpoint, including both an analysis of a transcription of a 16th-century improvisation and practical exercises. The lecture at the UvA on Thursday afternoon was titled “The Arcane Counterpoint of Rore’s 1542 Madrigals and What It Can Teach Us About Analysis.” On Friday, Prof. Schubert built on Thursday's sessions with a more extensive analysis and improvisation of somewhat more complex contrapuntal textures in small groups.
The DFSMT board thanks Prof. Schubert for making the journey to the Netherlands and Flanders and for sharing his recent research on Renaissance music with us.
Online meetings
The board of the society maintains its will to continue holding online meetings in which we get together to learn about different topics related to music theory and its pedagogy. These meetings will take place, as in the last occasions, on Mondays 20:00. For the next online meetings, we are still looking for members who would like to present a topic they are researching or a pedagogical aspect of their teaching practice. For those interested, please send an email to our secretary ([email protected]).
Martin Lürsen Prize
During the 2024 Annual General Meeting it was suggested that the deadline for submitting papers for the prize could be postponed for future editions to fit in with the examination calendars of the various musical institutions in both the Netherlands and Flanders. In accordance with this proposal, the board has agreed to set October 1st as the deadline for submission (of uneven years). The calendar will be accordingly adjusted in the regulations.