Sean's trip to New York, Vol. 3, Part 1 -- Saturday, March 19
Yes, I haven't updated my blog in a week. So sue me.
On Saturday morning, I awoke early and got all primped up for the conference. We had to leave extra early from Jeremy's apartment because the subway through Brooklyn was shut down for most of its path. We had to wait at street level near the subway station for a shuttle bus that ran between the stations. When we got on the bus, it was already really full so we had to stand. Standing in the subway train isn't that big of a deal because the train follows pretty predictable patterns of movement. A bus is a completely different story! With the stop and go nature of driving, and the fact that the bus was really packed and I had a fairly heavy bag over my shoulder didn't make things easier. Once we got to the station where the train actually came to, it was pretty easy to get up to CUNY. We got off the subway at 34th street and walked about 3 blocks.
I wish I had taken some pictures of the Graduate Center. The entrance resembles a bank or an office building, with security guards and everything. We went up to the third floor where they were holding a breakfast. As I walked into the room where the breakfast was being held, I was greeted by Heather Laurel Feldman, the coordinator of the conference. She asked who I was and I said "Sean." Jokes ensued about Sean "Puffy" Combs -- apparently someone later in the day was presenting about Jay-Z and they thought that was me. Reminded me of high school and Samir (story for another day for those of you who don't know it).
After being introduced to most of the graduate students and faculty present, I grabbed a bagel and some coffee and sat down with Liz to eat. Soon after, I met Joseph Straus, who's the theory coordinator at CUNY Grad Center, and someone Dr. Fieldman told me to talk to. He seemed to be a really nice person and very insightful. The presentations began at 10am in the beautiful recital hall on the first floor. The first was about the Manuscript Society of New York, which was an early organization for the performance of new music in the late 18th century. The second presentation used the visual metaphor of the collage to discuss aspects of "Putnam's Camp" by Charles Ives. We then had a short coffee break on which I figured out how to use the CD player. The presentation following the break was a very interesting talk about polyrhythms in Elliot Carter's music.
Finally it was my turn to present! Everything started very well, and I moved along quickly through the presentation. Unfortunately, it was very dry on the stage and my voice kept drying out. I must have stopped 3 or 4 times in the middle of my presentation to cough. When I finished, I received some very interesting and thoughtful questions, that, according to Liz, I answered very well.
Following my presentation was lunch! They served huge submarine sandwiches (New York-style apparently) that you can really only eat by taking them apart and eating the pieces. During lunch I was able to speak with some of the other graduate students, most of whom seemed interested in my talk. The most striking of them was Eve Poudrier (incidentally another person who Fieldman insisted I say "hi" to). She had given the talk on polyrhythms in Carter's music and is a student at CUNY. She is a really exuberant and friendly person who is interested in everything. She's originally from Quebec and has a unique accent. Incidentally she was one of the attendees who had asked me questions after my paper.
I called Jeremy during lunch to see if he wanted to have brunch with us on Sunday (he leaves for work at about 3pm and I wanted to catch him before he left). He sounded really interested and had lots of ideas of where to go.
The presentations after lunch were more historically- and culturally-oriented than those before lunch, which were more analytical. The first paper discussed aspects of irony in the cultural commentary of Marilyn Manson. I thought that the paper showed lots of promise from its title and topic, but the presenter just completely ruined his argument. He based many of his assumptions on the work of a single author and his responses to questions were very dismissive, which is very disappointing, considering the controversiality of the music.
The second presentation talked about Jay-Z's "It's Alright" and the musical references that are contained in it. Unfortunately the paper about Marilyn Manson had drained me and I was starting to feel sleepy so I wasn't able to devote my full attention. Luckily another coffee break followed the presentation. I got a chance to talk with Liz and Jennifer Iverson who is a student at UT-Austin. She had given the paper in the morning on Ives. She has a great sense of humor and had some interesting things to tell us about the program at UT.
The two presentations following the coffee break were some of my favorites. The first discussed Aaron Copland's appearances on television programs promoting American music, and much about the hidden agendae of the programs. The programs specifically evoked an association between his music and American ideals, including having undertones of anti-communism. The presenter of this paper, Emily Abrams, attends Harvard and is originally from England, where she graduated from Oxford. Her accent was very entertaining, but very clear.
The final presentation of the day talked about a very marginal figure in American history, Henry Flynt, and his outlandish objections against the Western symphonic tradition in American music. The paper followed his participation in various protests associated with the Workers' World Party and his eventual break from them because of the radicality of his ideas. The presenter, Ben Piekut, attends Columbia University (somewhere across Manhattan from CUNY).
I'll finish up the rest of the day in the next installment.
On Saturday morning, I awoke early and got all primped up for the conference. We had to leave extra early from Jeremy's apartment because the subway through Brooklyn was shut down for most of its path. We had to wait at street level near the subway station for a shuttle bus that ran between the stations. When we got on the bus, it was already really full so we had to stand. Standing in the subway train isn't that big of a deal because the train follows pretty predictable patterns of movement. A bus is a completely different story! With the stop and go nature of driving, and the fact that the bus was really packed and I had a fairly heavy bag over my shoulder didn't make things easier. Once we got to the station where the train actually came to, it was pretty easy to get up to CUNY. We got off the subway at 34th street and walked about 3 blocks.
I wish I had taken some pictures of the Graduate Center. The entrance resembles a bank or an office building, with security guards and everything. We went up to the third floor where they were holding a breakfast. As I walked into the room where the breakfast was being held, I was greeted by Heather Laurel Feldman, the coordinator of the conference. She asked who I was and I said "Sean." Jokes ensued about Sean "Puffy" Combs -- apparently someone later in the day was presenting about Jay-Z and they thought that was me. Reminded me of high school and Samir (story for another day for those of you who don't know it).
After being introduced to most of the graduate students and faculty present, I grabbed a bagel and some coffee and sat down with Liz to eat. Soon after, I met Joseph Straus, who's the theory coordinator at CUNY Grad Center, and someone Dr. Fieldman told me to talk to. He seemed to be a really nice person and very insightful. The presentations began at 10am in the beautiful recital hall on the first floor. The first was about the Manuscript Society of New York, which was an early organization for the performance of new music in the late 18th century. The second presentation used the visual metaphor of the collage to discuss aspects of "Putnam's Camp" by Charles Ives. We then had a short coffee break on which I figured out how to use the CD player. The presentation following the break was a very interesting talk about polyrhythms in Elliot Carter's music.
Finally it was my turn to present! Everything started very well, and I moved along quickly through the presentation. Unfortunately, it was very dry on the stage and my voice kept drying out. I must have stopped 3 or 4 times in the middle of my presentation to cough. When I finished, I received some very interesting and thoughtful questions, that, according to Liz, I answered very well.
Following my presentation was lunch! They served huge submarine sandwiches (New York-style apparently) that you can really only eat by taking them apart and eating the pieces. During lunch I was able to speak with some of the other graduate students, most of whom seemed interested in my talk. The most striking of them was Eve Poudrier (incidentally another person who Fieldman insisted I say "hi" to). She had given the talk on polyrhythms in Carter's music and is a student at CUNY. She is a really exuberant and friendly person who is interested in everything. She's originally from Quebec and has a unique accent. Incidentally she was one of the attendees who had asked me questions after my paper.
I called Jeremy during lunch to see if he wanted to have brunch with us on Sunday (he leaves for work at about 3pm and I wanted to catch him before he left). He sounded really interested and had lots of ideas of where to go.
The presentations after lunch were more historically- and culturally-oriented than those before lunch, which were more analytical. The first paper discussed aspects of irony in the cultural commentary of Marilyn Manson. I thought that the paper showed lots of promise from its title and topic, but the presenter just completely ruined his argument. He based many of his assumptions on the work of a single author and his responses to questions were very dismissive, which is very disappointing, considering the controversiality of the music.
The second presentation talked about Jay-Z's "It's Alright" and the musical references that are contained in it. Unfortunately the paper about Marilyn Manson had drained me and I was starting to feel sleepy so I wasn't able to devote my full attention. Luckily another coffee break followed the presentation. I got a chance to talk with Liz and Jennifer Iverson who is a student at UT-Austin. She had given the paper in the morning on Ives. She has a great sense of humor and had some interesting things to tell us about the program at UT.
The two presentations following the coffee break were some of my favorites. The first discussed Aaron Copland's appearances on television programs promoting American music, and much about the hidden agendae of the programs. The programs specifically evoked an association between his music and American ideals, including having undertones of anti-communism. The presenter of this paper, Emily Abrams, attends Harvard and is originally from England, where she graduated from Oxford. Her accent was very entertaining, but very clear.
The final presentation of the day talked about a very marginal figure in American history, Henry Flynt, and his outlandish objections against the Western symphonic tradition in American music. The paper followed his participation in various protests associated with the Workers' World Party and his eventual break from them because of the radicality of his ideas. The presenter, Ben Piekut, attends Columbia University (somewhere across Manhattan from CUNY).
I'll finish up the rest of the day in the next installment.
posted by Seanicus at
4/04/2005 11:00:00 PM
