Sigma Alpha Iota

Pan Pipes Spring 18

Issue link: http://saihq.uberflip.com/i/975858

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 11 of 39

PAN PIPES • SPRING 2018 • sai-national.org 10 I was honored to receive a Professional Development grant from Sigma Alpha Iota in the fall of 2017 to attend the Society for Music eory's Annual Conference in Arlington, Virginia (referred to as SMT). is year was the 40th Annual meeting of SMT, making it a particularly auspicious occasion for a first-year master's student to attend! At the conference, I attended seventeen research paper presentations by theorists from the finest music programs in the world. e topics of the papers presented this year ranged from Handel operas to Stravinsky ballets, and from the music of Coltrane to the music of Steely Dan. Not only did I listen to the research of world class theorists, like Nancy Rogers and Jane Piper Clendinning, but I got to hear direct responses to those papers from other world class theorists, like William Caplin. Each of the four days of the conference included four to five simultaneous presentation sessions in three or one-and-a-half hour time blocks. ere were also poster sessions throughout the conference, and in the evenings, certain universities would host alumni receptions that provided pre-doctoral students (like me) the opportunity to network with professors and students at prestigious music schools. SMT was not only an opportunity to hear the fascinating research being written within the field, but also provided a chance to catch up with former professors. One of my favorite papers, "Mapping the Modulation Zone: A Formal and Stylistic Study of Stepwise Modulation in Pop- Rock," was presented by my Music eory I professor from Oklahoma State University, Dr. Brian Hoffman. Aer his presentation I had the opportunity to chat with him and a few other friends who were in my class at OSU. It was wonderful to be able to let him know that he had an impact on our choices to study music theory at the graduate level. Another former professor I was able to reconnect with was Dr. Robert Hatten from the University of Texas at Austin. It was Dr. Hatten's support, encouragement, and love of discourse about music that inspired me to pursue a Master's degree in eory. Talking to him at the University of Texas reception was one of the highlights of my trip. Despite the busy conference schedule, it would have been impossible to travel to the Washington, D.C. area without doing a bit of sightseeing. Two of my close friends from my current institution, the University of Texas at Arlington, also attended the conference. Neither of them had traveled to D.C. before, so I had the honor of being the first person to take them to see the view of the Washington Memorial in the reflection pool from the staircase on the Lincoln Memorial. My trip to SMT simply would not have been possible without the financial support of Sigma Alpha Iota. I truly believe that, although we make a small financial commitment to join and remain members, SAI gives back to us many times over in many different ways. Receiving this grant and being given this amazing career opportunity is just one of the many ways I have felt incredibly honored and grateful to be a member of this sisterhood. Renae Perry is an initiate of the Iota Alpha chapter at Oklahoma State University and a member of the Austin Alumnae Chapter. She is pursuing a Master's degree in Music eory at the University of Texas at Arlington. MUSIC NOTES Attending the SMT Annual Conference Above, Renae Perry (center) and friends from UT Arlington on the DC subway. At right, Dr. Robert Hatten at the UT Austin reception.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Sigma Alpha Iota - Pan Pipes Spring 18