MACRO Circular Opus 5

Fall 1997

MACRO Member News

Congratulations!

We are pleased to announce that Daniel Sommerville has been granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.

Congratulations are also extended to Gene and Margaret Trantham on the birth of their son, Daniel James, on August 9, 1997. Despite being the child of two musicians, Daniel came in a little early, thereby preventing Gene from performing his duties at Bowling Green State University’s graduation ceremony where Bruce Benward was to receive an honorary doctorate that same day. Gene and Margaret had enjoyed dinner with the Benwards on the previous evening, August 8. They feel it must have been the pasta!

Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge Marilyn Saker for service above and beyond the call of duty on Musical Insights, our MACRO journal. This has been a longer, and more complicated process than any of us imagined, and Marilyn has graciously devoted much of her time, energy, and talent in order to make this project happen. A special mentioned is also deserved for two of Marilyn’s students; Brandy Gerber, who is completing her Masters degree at Eastern Michigan University and Paul Sayre, who is beginning his Doctorate in Composition at the University of Texas at Austin. Both of these students provided invaluable assistance to Marilyn during the editing process. For further information please refer to the journal update included in the newsletter.

Member News

Recent performances of compositions by Warren Gooch include Sonata for Soprano, Saxophone, and Piano (Great Plains College Music Society conference at Ottawa State University; North American Saxophone Alliance conference at Kansas State University; Society of Composers conference at Oklahoma Baptist University, Society of Composers conference sponsored by the Tampa Bay Composers Forum), Out of the Primordial Ocean (Society of Composers conference at Arizona State University), and Movement for Brass Quintet (Missouri Music Educators Association conference).

The Stones Speak of Eternity (a 40-minute work for wind symphony) was premiered at Truman State University April 23. Other recent performances at Truman State University include: Composition for String Quartet, Three Reflections from the Psalms (choir), Te Deum (choir and orchestra), Labyrinthodontia (trumpet and piano), and Out of the Primordial Ocean (percussion ensemble).

As if he hasn’t been busy enough, Warren also served as a judge for the 1997 Percussive Arts Society composition contest, and has had three choral works accepted for publication by Alliance Publications.

Contest Winner

We are pleased to announce that new MACRO member David Seabaugh is the winner of our 1997 analysis contest. David is a junior at Truman State University, where he is majoring in Music Composition. He is also a vocalist, and was one of the student members who attended our MACRO workshop last summer. His article will appear in Volume 2 of Musical Insights. Congratulations!

Introducing New Members

Kenneth Wold is beginning his 30th year at Oak Hills Bible College, where he administers the music program, directs the choir, and teaches the music ministry, voice, and piano courses. He is not teaching music theory this year, but is teaching the Aural Skills course. He also directs the Christmas Festival.

Kenneth received his BS in Music Education from St. Cloud (MN) State University in 1965, and taught public school vocal music for three years, and has also served as a Minister of Music. In 1988, he received an MA in Music Ministry from Western Seminary, Portland, OR.

His additional interests include directing a church choir, organist, and gardening. Wild flowers are a special interest.

Greetings MACRO members! My name is Jennifer Peters, and as an undergraduate, I enjoyed theory but didn't consider myself very good in the subject. I labored under that unfortunate stereotype of singers as being less "analytical" than other musicians! Then I was a teaching assistant in theory as a graduate student and found I could teach it rather well (at least at the freshman level!)

Now, after about 20 years of teaching basic musicianship and music literacy in one form or another to students ranging from kindergarten age through college, I am "the" theory professor in our small music department. This singer is pretty good at macro analysis by now, too!

My first love is still singing and teaching young singers, but I also thrive on integrating theory and performance in both the classroom and studio. I live with my husband and a very spoiled Persian cat on a small lake in a charming town in southwestern Illinois, with easy access to St. Louis, and the living is --well, not exactly easy, but certainly very good!

I'm very interested in the application of MACRO to developing choral sightreading skills. I would like to communicate with any MACRO members who are interested in exploring this subject.

Kristy Bryden is currently a doctoral candidate in music theory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on closural processes in late twentieth-century chamber music by John Harbison, Barbara Kolb, George Perle, Ralph Shapey, and Joan Tower. While completing her course work, she taught music theory for three years as a TA for Bruce Benward. Her other interests include composition in traditional, interactive, and electroacoustic formats, theory pedagogy, and recorder performance. In her spare time, she does backpacking and rock climbing with her husband and two children.

Research Award

We are pleased to award our first MACRO Research Award to Robert Hodson. His proposal involves the study of jazz harmonic progressions both in terms of analysis and as a generative force. Rob will be exploring the process in which jazz musicians superimpose progressions on top or inside of other progressions. For this study he will examine Charile Parker’s Blues for Alice, showing how Parker developed his harmony through the chaining together of circle of fifth progressions. The project also has a pedagogical aspect; to develop in students a more sophisticated understanding of jazz harmony, that will inform both their analyses and improvising.

For more information on MACRO Research Awards, refer to the "Notes from the Chair."

"Opportunities do not come to those who wait; they are captured by those who attack."

William H. Danforth, I Dare You

Notes from the Chair

This year’s MACRO Workshop: Doing it WRIGHT!

No this is not a typo, although I’m certainly capable of them! For those of you who have felt that the atmosphere of the University of Wisconsin Humanities Building leaves something to be desired, have we got news for you! Our 1998 MACRO workshop will be held May 28-29 at the brand new Monona Terrace Convention Center on Lake Monona in downtown Madison. The center is just two blocks from the state capitol and the famous State Street. Our rooms in the "Hall of Ideas" open onto one of the Terraces overlooking Lake Monona. The center also features a 75,000-square-foot rooftop garden that overlooks stunning views of the lake, capitol, and city. Even if the weather doesn’t cooperate, the unique interior design should create a much more invigorating atmosphere for the workshop.

If you are interested in presenting a session at the workshop, there is still time to get on board. However, I need to know this by October 15 in order to get the information into the workshop flyer. Some of the sessions for the 1998 workshop include MACRO and Wagner, MACRO and Jazz, MACRO and Performance Injuries, Active Learning and MACRO II (a sequel to last year’s session with real live students), the analysis of non-circle areas, and a special lecture recital of an original composition by Warren Gooch, written especially for MACRO. The recital includes performances by three MACRO members on voice, piano and tuba. Come and see who does what!

Opportunities in MACRO

A review for old and new members alike. Submission dates are provided below. We are always open to new ideas for MACRO activities.

Currently the MACRO organization produces three newsletters, a biannual journal, and a yearly workshop. Financial opportunities include research awards, and various contests. We also provide workshop travel assistance for members. The following opportunities are available for students.

Opportunities for Students

We currently offer the Robert Fountain Memorial Scholarship to MACRO student members. Students members are also eligible for research awards, as well as submissions to the newsletters, journal, and presentations at the workshop.

Submission due dates

Submission due dates for various MACRO activities are as follows:

Financial Summary

As of our last financial report, our principal housed at the University of Wisconsin Foundation was worth $230, 999. Yes, you did read that number correctly, and depending on the fluctuations of the market, we may soon reach a quarter of a million dollars. We are earning approximately $2,400 dollars worth of interest every quarter. Unfortunately, our journal is eating up much of this quarterly income thus far, (Refer to the article on the MACRO journal update) but the MACRO board is meeting during October to discuss various ways to remedy this situation. Hopefully we will soon be at a point where we can begin to accumulate some of the funds from these quarterly payments. When this happens, our first priority is to provide more student awards, and research awards. Our next priority is up to you. This organization is for all of us, so we want to hear from you! Is there a need that we could fill? Let us know. One proposal currently under consideration is providing financial assistance to schools that include macro analysis as a part of their curriculums.

We want to hear from you! As always, send your comments or requests for application materials to:

Features for Teachers

A special section of our newsletter is called "Features for Teachers." Subheadings include "Teaching Hints," which may cover any topic involved in music instruction, to "Favorite Teaching Pieces," and "Favorite Music Examples." If you have a teaching hint, favorite teaching piece or music example that you would like to submit, send it to Jamie Henke at the address listed in this newsletter.

A Note from the Editor of Musical Insights

Volume One of Musical Insights, our scholarly journal, is close to completion and will be available in the near future. The editorial staff has completed four rounds of editing publisher’s galleys, and we are hoping that one final proof reading will complete the task and allow mass printing to begin. Organizing and formatting the first volume of Musical Insights has definitely been a learning experience! Over time, we gained proficiency in conveying the special requirements related to printing musical examples to our publishers, University Publications at the University of Wisconsin. Hopefully, the next set of proof pages will verify our success.

Each MACRO member will be sent a copy of the journal as soon as the printing is completed. Articles included in volume one are by Bruce Benward, Bill Carmody, Brandy Gerber, Warren Gooch, Jamie Henke, Charles Stark and myself. We are hoping that the release of volume one will serve as an impetus to persuade other MACRO members to submit manuscripts for consideration for inclusion in volume two.

On a personal note, I would like to thank the authors and the editorial staff for all of their hard work related to the journal production, and in particular, I would like to thank Jamie Henke for serving as the liaison between the publishers and myself. If Jamie had not been willing to function as the Madison connection, my work from Michigan would have been much more difficult. She's a real gem!!!

Marilyn Saker