The 2022 in-person annual meeting of MTSNYS celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. The conference will take place April 9 and 10, 2022, at the Eastman School of Music, the location of the first meeting of MTSNYS in 1971. See the link below for more information.
Nicole Biamonte (McGill University) will lead a workshop on rhythm and meter in popular music, and Poundie Burstein (Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY) will give the keynote address, “Golden Anniversaries and Golden Opportunities.”
To register for the 50th anniversary conference, please login to the MTSNYS membership dashboard.
More information is available at our Conference Information page.
The MTSNYS board recently created and advertised a new 50th Anniversary Award to be given for the first time in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the society’s founding. Upon reflection, our current board has decided to postpone this award pending further consideration of its definition, purpose, and requirements.
The society will move forward with the selection of a 2022 Patricia Carpenter Award winner, which recognizes outstanding scholarship by an emerging scholar in the field. This award includes a $500 honorarium and publication of the winning paper in the society’s journal, Theory and Practice.
Dashboard Login
If you are already a member, please login using the email address keyed with your MTSNYS account and choose an appropriate password. Once logged in, you can update your personal information, pay member dues, submit proposals, and more.
Dear Colleagues,
The Board of Directors of the Music Theory Society of New York State and the editors of the Society’s journal, Theory and Practice, stand in support of Dr. Philip Ewell, a longtime member of the Society who served as its Vice President from 2016–2020. We support and honor Dr. Ewell’s significant contributions to the study of racism and white supremacy in the academic field of music theory, and we applaud his courage in bringing these matters to national attention.
In solidarity with the SMT Executive Board and other regional music theory societies, we condemn the statements of anti-Black racism in several essays published in Volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies, as well as the journal’s violation of well-established, equitable editorial procedures: the lack of a conventional peer-review process, the publication of an anonymous submission, and the failure to invite Dr. Ewell to respond to a symposium discussing his work.
In response to Phil Ewell’s July interview, quoted in the advocacy portion of the open letter to SMT, the President of the Music Theory Society of New York State, as authorized by the Board of Directors, acknowledges the following three points: (a) that American music theory is historically rooted in white supremacy, the racist idea that whites are superior to nonwhites; (b) that these white supremacist roots have resulted in racist policies that have benefitted whites and whiteness while disadvantaging nonwhites and nonwhiteness; and (c) that these racist policies have resulted in injustices suffered by BIPOC at all stages of their careers. The President, with the authorization of the Board of Directors, apologizes to all BIPOC who have suffered such injustices without equivocation. We pledge to undertake ongoing discussions about meaningful actions that MTSNYS can take to mitigate these injustices and to foster a climate of inclusivity and respect.
Sincerely,
MTSNYS Board of Directors
Editors of Theory and Practice