Call For Papers
Heaven is Shy of Earth: Julian Anderson at 50
Friday 20 October 2017, 10am–6.30pm
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Lecture Recital Room, Silk Street, London
This one-day conference on Julian Anderson provides a scholarly context for the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Total Immersion’ day (Saturday 21 October) devoted to his orchestral, choral and chamber music. While Anderson’s music, its contexts and inspirations will naturally be the primary focus, the conference is intended to act as a catalyst for scholarly enquiry into the full range of his diverse activities, addressing not only Anderson’s creative work, but also his important contribution as a scholar and as a significant animating presence in British musical life, as well as the interrelations between the three. Contributions will also be considered for inclusion in a volume of essays on Anderson’s music to be co-edited by the convenors.
The conference is jointly presented by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Birmingham Conservatoire, and is convened by Christopher Dingle (Birmingham Conservatoire) and John Fallas (University of Leeds).
The day will feature invited contributions from Edward Venn (University of Leeds) on Anderson’s Symphony and from Matthew Mendez (Yale University) on Anderson and the avant-garde.
Proposals for conference contributions are invited on all aspects of Anderson’s activities, including but not limited to the following topics:
· Anderson’s relationship, as both composer and scholar, to various musical traditions (these might include French music, Eastern European music, Scandinavian music, folk repertories …)
· Anderson’s harmonic and melodic practice (non-tempered vs. tempered tuning; melodic modes; etc.)
· the use of space in Anderson’s music (e.g. the positioning of soloists in Imagin’d Corners, In lieblicher Bläue, and Van Gogh Blue)
· Anderson’s creative responses to figures from the other arts (Sophocles, Hölderlin, Emily Dickinson, Harry Mulisch, Tom Phillips, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Joan Miró, Constantin Brâncuºi, Sergei Parajanov, etc.)
· Anderson’s engagement with existing genres (symphony, concerto, string quartet …)
· Anderson and the voice, whether solo, choral, or operatic
· Anderson and dance
· Anderson as curator and concert programmer
· Anderson as composition teacher
A particular hope of the convenors is that the conference will provide a welcoming and collegial environment in which musicologists who have not previously had the opportunity to work on Anderson’s music may give a first outing to nascent research. To this end we invite contributions using one of two formats:
· 20-minute papers to be followed by 10 minutes of questions from the floor
· a shorter, 10-minute outlining of questions and initial observations in a particular area, followed by 10 minutes of questions and discussion.
Proposals should be sent to [log in to unmask] by 5.00pm on Friday 30 June, and the applicants will be notified of outcomes by Monday 17 July. Please specify which of the two paper durations you intend to use, and include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), an email address which will remain valid between 17 July and 20 October, and a paper title and 250-word abstract. Standard computer, projector and audiovisual equipment will be available in the conference venue. In addition, the organisers are keen to take advantage of the conservatoire setting by featuring contributions throughout the day from performers studying at the Guildhall School. Please state if you think your paper might benefit from ‘live’ music examples. The conference organisers will communicate further with participants on this matter in the course of August and September once performer availability is confirmed.
Programme committee:
Christopher Dingle (Birmingham Conservatoire),
John Fallas (University of Leeds),
Julian Philips (Guildhall School of Music & Drama),
Caroline Rae (University of Cardiff)
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