Her Music Academia

In our last episode for Women's History Month, I chat with Dr. Rachel Lumsden (Florida State University) about her experiences as a flautist, her time in grad school at CUNY, and the music theory curriculum at FSU. We also discuss how she got into music theory and feminist studies, as well as her award winning MTO article "Music Theory for the 'Weaker Sex': Oliveria Prescott’s Columns for The Girl’s Own Paper."

Thank you for tuning in this season! Stay tuned for the semester in review episode in May!

Our third episode for Women's History Month, in which I chat with Dr. Candace Bailey (North Carolina Central University) about her musical upbringing as a pianist, her path to historical musicology, and her time in graduate school at Duke. We also discuss her current music history curriculum at NCCU and her 2021 book Unbinding Gentility: Women Making Music in the 19th Century South.

In our second episode for Women's History Month, I chat with Dr. Jan Miyake (Oberlin Conservatory) about her musical upbringing, her path to music theory, and her current tenure as the president of the Society for Music Theory. We also discuss her course "Questioning Genius," which challenges students to analyze a wide range of music and introduces "ungrading" into the classroom. Finally, we finish with a conversation about mentorship.

Our first episode for Women's History Month! I chat with Dr. Louise Toppin (University of Michigan) about her musical upbringing, her experience studying piano and voice, and her time as a graduate student at Michigan. We also discuss her current book project with the Humanities Collaboratory and her African American art song class.

For our last episode of Black History Month, I chat with Willard Jenkins about his early interest in record collecting, how he began writing reviews of jazz, and his time in festival management, specifically with the DC Jazz Festival. We also discuss his book project Ain't But A Few Of Us, which features several Black writers, critics, and music academics who write about Black music.

On our third episode for Black History Month, I chat with musician, entrepreneur, poet, and spoken word artist Aaron Dworkin (University of Michigan) all about his musical upbringing, his work in arts leadership, and his experience founding the Sphinx Organization. We also chat about his 2023 spoken word album The Poetjournalist, and explore the various intersections of art, storytelling, and Black history.

In this episode, I chat with Jerome Bell (Eastman School of Music) about his musical upbringing in the church, his experiences in performance and composition, and how he ended up in a music theory PhD program. We also chat about his recent paper that he presented at the Society for Music Theory annual meeting in November 2023, titled "Modal Fluidity in Millennial Gospel," about shifting harmony in the music of Tye Tribbett and Richard Smallwood.

Welcome back to a new season of the show! On our first episode of Black History Month, I chat with pop music critic and commentator Henny all about their musical upbringing, when they began thinking critically about music, and how they got into content creation. We also discuss the use of different scales, modes, and instrumentation in pop music to elicit a sense of promiscuity, danger, or rebellion. Check out Henny's work on all the platforms!

A special bonus episode, in which I chat with composer, pianist, conductor, and coach Raphael Fusco. We talk about his musical upbringing, how he fashioned such a multifaceted career in music, and his time on the faculty at Opera Lucca, an Italian summer young artist program for singers, pianists, and composers (which I got to attend!). We also discuss and listen to his composition La Contesa Canora and dive into his compositional process.

HMA's last episode of the year, in which I review my fall semester! I chat about the classes I took, give an update on my teaching, discuss my big preliminary exam, and contemplate the conversation surrounding the public music theory plenary session at SMT's annual meeting. I also look back at my theme for 2023 and pick a new theme for 2024. Stay tuned for our new season of HMA beginning February 5! Happy holidays to you and yours!

Our last episode in the HMA fall season! I chat with Megan Ihnen, a New Orleans based mezzo soprano who collaborates with living composers to commission new works. We discuss her musical upbringing, her work in coaching and entrepreneurship, and her touring duo with alto saxophonist Alan Theisen. We also dive into her workshops on creative placemaking and the role that music making plays in communities.

Episode seven of our fall season, in which I chat with San Fransisco based soprano Chelsea Hollow about her musical upbringing, our shared experiences in community college, and how she's built her current singing career. We also discuss her 2023 debut album Cycles of Resistance, for which she commissioned twenty-two songs about resistance in eight different languages. Finally, we dive into the intersection of opera, art song, and activism to explore the role of music and artistry in resistance movements.

Part two of my conversation with Dr. Owen Belcher (University of Missouri Kansas City), Dr. Catrina Kim, and Dr. Alan Reese (University of Massachusetts Amherst), where we discuss music entrepreneurship, the "usefulness" of music theory, and their recent MTO article, "Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes."

In part one of this episode, I chat with Dr. Owen Belcher (University of Missouri Kansas City), Dr. Catrina Kim, and Dr. Alan Reese (University of Massachusetts Amherst) about their musical upbringings, their time together in grad school at Eastman, and their advice to current music grad students. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation when we chat about their recent MTO article, "Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes."

In episode four of our fall season, I chat with Chris Jenkins (Oberlin College) about his musical upbringing in New York, his career as a violist, his current work as the Associate Dean of Academic Support at Oberlin Conservatory, and our shared experiences as Black musicians. We also discuss his new book Assimilation vs. Integration in Music Education: Leading Change Toward Greater Equity.

In episode three of our fall season, I chat with Dr. Patrick Nickleson (University of Alberta) about his musical upbringing in Canada, his background as a guitarist, and his path to musicology. We also discuss his 2023 book The Names of Minimalism: Authorship, Art Music, and Historiography in Dispute, available now through the University of Michigan Press.

In the second episode of this season, I chat with Dr. Michael Buchler (Florida State University) about his musical upbringing, his time in grad school at Michigan (go blue!) and Eastman, his research on musical theatre, and his current tenure as the President of the Society for Music Theory. We also discuss his current union work and how that led to his research on the intersection of music and labor movements.

In this recap episode, I chat all about everything I did this summer, from traveling to Italy to sing opera for a month (!!!), to seeing Beyoncé on the Renaissance World Tour in London (!!!!), to the grad student strike at Michigan officially ending (!!!!!). I also discuss what I've been doing for fun this summer (including some book, music, and podcast recommendations) and give an update on what's to come for HMA. Check back for new episodes of the show every Monday starting October 9th! Wishing you the best for your next season!

TW: brief mentions of minstrelsy

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Teresa Reed (University of Louisville) about her early experiences with music in the Black church, her path to studying music theory at Indiana University, and her time as the dean of music at the University of Louisville. We also chat about her published scholarship, diving into her first book The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music as well as her latest book You're Likely Not A Racist: Answers for Curious White People.

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Daniel Barolsky (Beloit College) about his early experiences as a double bassist, coming to musicology through listening to recordings, and the current music curriculum at his college. We also discuss his work with Open Access Musicology and Daniel Leech-Wilkinson's book Challenging Performance: Classical Music Performance Norms and How to Escape Them.

In part two of our conversation, YouTuber and musician Tayo Omisore (COLORMIND.mp4 on YouTube) and I continue our conversation about "rap covers" and how rap is developing into a canon. We also discuss Tayo's songwriting and production process for his musical interlude segments in his YouTube videos.

In this episode, I chat with YouTuber and musician Tayo Omisore (COLORMIND.mp4 on YouTube) all about his musical upbringing with rap, his experiences learning to write music, and the development of his career as a Black musical content creator. We also discuss his video response to music theory YouTuber Adam Neely, who made a video about the absence of "rap covers." Tayo and I offer our perspective as Black musicians and ponder what music theory offers us when studying and discussing rap. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation!

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Ben Cornelius-Bates (Duquesne University) about his musical upbringing in Alaska, his path to composition, and his experiences studying the organ. We also discuss how to write music for the organ, particularly within the context of secular music, and talk about timbre in Maan Varjot by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho for organ and orchestra. Rest in peace to Saariaho, who passed away on June 2, 2023.

In this solo episode, I chat all about how my winter semester at the University of Michigan went. I give an update on the grad student strike, my classes, and my teaching. I also explore my yearly theme of simplicity, set new goals for Summer 2023, and discuss the podcast's progress!

In this episode, I invite Anna Rose Nelson (University of Michigan) on the show to give us an update on finishing her dissertation (hire her!). We also (in great detail!) break down the ongoing strike at the University of Michigan. Beginning with the very recent history of U-M graduate student workers and lecturers striking in 2020, Anna Rose shares about her experiences organizing with the Graduate Employees Organization on behalf of the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. We discuss how the bargaining with the university over the grad student workers' next three year contract has gone (poorly!) and what has led over 1,000 grad student workers to halt their teaching, office hours, and grading. Finally, Anna Rose shares about how the university's negotiations specifically affect music grad students, and how U-M faculty and undergraduates can support their grad student instructors and researchers. Thanks for your support! Solidarity!

(Again, this podcast is absolutely NOT an attestation that either Anna Rose or I are on strike! U-M kindly mind your business!!)

Small numbers correction: We mention that our economic ask was about 10% of the $200M we make the university each year. Actually, the highest compensation proposal would cost 33M (closer to 20%) in that first intense bump.

Our last episode for Women's History Month! Today on the show I welcome another Michigan alum Dr. Vivian Luong (University of Oklahoma) to chat about her background as a clarinetist and a pianist, her time studying music theory at Michigan, and her current approaches to theory pedagogy. We also discuss her research centered around feminist music theory and what it means to love music, her MTO article titled "Rethinking Music Loving," and her Engaged Music Theory blog post titled "Feeling Like a Theorist."

TW: brief mentions of sexual assault

For our second episode of Women's History Month, I chat with Dr. Susan McClary (Case Western Reserve University) about her path to musicology, as well as her experiences as an educator and researcher. We also discuss her incredibly influential scholarship centered around gender and sexuality in music by diving into her 1991 book Feminine Endings. Finally, she shares her current teaching philosophies as well as the music she is enjoying.

Our first episode for Women's History Month! Today I chat with Dr. Kyra Gaunt (University at Albany, State University of New York) all about her experiences as a singer, her time studying voice and ethnomusicology at Michigan, and her first book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From Double Dutch To Hip-Hop. We also discuss her forthcoming book PLAYED, featuring her research centered around Black girls dancing on YouTube.

We are finishing off Black History Month with a conversation about Beyoncé! My sister Ismatu Gwendolyn Bangura and I chat all about our personal relationships to her music, the public perception of Beyoncé, and the aesthetics and politics in her latest album, Renaissance. I also feature the voices of some of the Black women and femmes in my community to get their thoughts on the album. In order of appearance, you heard the voices of Erykah Benson, Gaby Kubi, Dylan Keese-Forster, and Ijeoma Opara. A huge thanks to my sister and my friends for being on the show!

In this episode, we are wrapping up Black History Month with some familial history! My younger sister Ismatu Gwendolyn Bangura joins me on the show to discuss our shared musical upbringing, their experiences leading a gospel choir at Northwestern University, and how their relationship to music changed after they became a sex worker. We also chat about their blossoming Tik Tok career and the ways in which they are using art, writing, dance, and poetry in their activism. Finally, Ismatu shares about the fundraiser they've started for our tribe back in Sierra Leone! If you are able, drop a dollar! And stay tuned for part two of our conversation, where we dive into the aesthetics and politics of Beyoncé's album Renaissance!

Continuing our series of conversations with Black musicians for Black History Month, today Dr. Phil Ewell (Hunter College of City University of New York) joins me on the show to discuss his background as a cellist, his time studying music theory at Yale University, and our shared investment in public music theory. We also examine the whiteness and maleness of music theory through the lens of other scholarship throughout the humanities, in order to explore what anti-racist work in music theory could actually look like. Finally, Phil shares a little about his new book, forthcoming through the University of Michigan press!

This week we are continuing our conversations with Black musicians for Black History Month! In this episode, I chat with Darrian Dorrough (@94Drow) about his experiences in hip hop, the status of rap research in the academy, and his songwriting and production process. We also discuss his experience hosting a live show on Instagram called the Dope or Nope Show, where he and his collaborators review the music of unsigned artists and producers. Check out 94Drow's album MissFit and his singles wherever you stream your music, and follow the @dopeornopeshow on Instagram!

Happy Black History Month! In this episode, I chat with Jordan Brown (Harvard University) about her experiences as a singer and arranger, her path to ethnomusicology, and her positionality as a queer Black woman in music academia. We also discuss E. Patrick Johnson's 2001 article titled "Quare Studies, or Almost Everything I Know About Queer Studies I Learned From My Grandmother," which is utilized in Jordan's research about the music of queer Black femmes.

In this episode, I chat with Dr. John Michael Cooper (Southwestern University) about his path to musicology, his experiences in music publishing, and the lives and music of Margaret Bonds and Florence Price. We also listen to and discuss Margaret Bonds' piece Tangamerican, performed by pianist Lara Downes. Special thanks to Lara and to Candace Johnson for their appearances in this episode!

In this episode, I chat with Majel Connery all about her experiences as a singer, her choice to leave the field of musicology, and our shared experiences as women in music. We also discuss her new podcast from CapRadio, "A Music of Their Own," which explores the ways women in music navigate the industry and the ways the music itself is gendered. Make sure to stream her show wherever you get your podcasts!

In this solo episode, I chat all about how my fall semester turned out, from taking classes to teaching for the first time to quitting my barista job. I also discuss my experience presenting at the American Studies Association conference and at the big #musiccon (AMS/SEM/SMT 2022) in New Orleans. Finally, I reflect on achieving some of my goals of the past year and set a new yearly theme for 2023.

In this episode, I chat with my friend Natalie Krafft all about her career as a music teacher, her experience doing music streams on Twitch, and our favorite recordings of the Goldberg Variations by Bach.

In part two of my conversation with Dr. Megan Lavengood (George Mason University) and Dr. Cara Stroud (Michigan State University), we chat all about timbre, the role of "world music" instruments, and Megan's MTO article "The Cultural Significance of Timbre Analysis: A Case Study in 1980s Pop Music, Texture, and Narrative." A special thanks for Cara and her class for their thoughts on Megan's piece and for making an appearance on this episode (in order of appearance: (Zephie Hillard, ShihPing Wang, Jessi Fegan, and Karla Evans).

In part one of my conversation with Dr. Megan Lavengood (George Mason University) and Dr. Cara Stroud (Michigan State University), we chat about their experiences in music theory, their approaches to reading and writing, and their thoughts on teaching theory during the pandemic. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation!

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Dan DiPiero (Ithaca College) about his background as a jazz drummer, his experiences studying comparative studies, and his new book Contingent Encounters: Improvisation in Music and Everyday Life (out now and available open access through the University of Michigan Press!).

In the last episode of season four, Lydia chats with Dr. Jenny Snodgrass (Lipscomb University) about her experiences as an opera singer (and with computer programming), her upcoming career change, the music theory pedagogy conference coming up next month, and her 2020 book Teaching Music Theory: New Voices and Approaches.

In episode seven of season four, we chat with Dan Inglis about his choose your own adventure music education, his career as a voice and piano teacher, and his music theory YouTube channel centered around developing aural skills for singers.

In episode six of season four, Lydia talks to Amelia Wellers about her experiences in music performance and music production, having a career outside of music, her rock album Wallflower (produced with Kyle Joseph), and how she uses music theory as a singer-songwriter and producer. 

In episode five of season four, Lydia chats with Dr. Marc Hannaford (University of Michigan) about his experiences as a jazz pianist, pursuing careers in both music performance and music academia, and his forthcoming article "Fugitive Music Theory and George Russell's Theory of Tonal Gravity."

A special bonus episode that Lydia recorded for her Everyday Musicology class! Lydia names her favorite Beyoncé songs, describes Beyoncé's particular expression of Black womanhood, and explores her complicated relationship to feminism, Black capitalism and Black excellence. Shoutout to her brilliant professor Dr. Castro and all of her amazing classmates!