This seminar examines several art song traditions, primarily nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century musical settings of texts by German, French, English, and American poets and writers. Despite a broad chronological framework, this course is expressly not intended to function as a survey of the wide-ranging repertories of art song literature. Instead, we will approach the loosely defined musical genre of art from several critical perspectives, including themes of word-music relations, nature, travel, memory, subjectivity, gender, sexuality, politics, performance, and reception.

Instrumental chamber music and its most representative genres (trios, quartets, quintets, etc.). The seminar tackles works by some of the most widely acknowledged practitioners of these genres along with works by composers belonging to under-represented groups. By working on this repertoire, students will examine how the distinctive features and conventions of instrumental chamber music changed over time and across different genres and musical cultures.

Popular music is a repertoire. While in some ways its inner workings may seem simpler than Western Classical music, its musical materials can be extremely complex and varied. This becomes especially true when considering the music materials' interactions with their cultural surroundings and means of social production. This class will balance musical analysis with this social theory, delving into rock's compositional norms (harmony, syntax, rhythms, and the like) while asking why these choices are made.

Free composition in various forms and media.

Free composition in various forms and media.

This course equips graduate students of all disciplines to teach music history effectively to a variety of audiences. The course content ranges from the practical to the theoretical; students not only practice teaching, observe others teach, survey textbooks, and design their own syllabi, but also grapple with differing philosophies and methods of teaching. The course culminates with a symposium-style presentation of a creative pedagogical idea.

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