Seminars

Cross-Disciplinary Interplay between the

Humanities, Technology and Musical Practice

SEMINARS, FALL 2010:

Series: Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound

University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark

Please note that there also will be lunchtime concerts in Cafeteria 4 between 12 noon and 1 p.m. September 23,  October 21 and November 11. Concert programs are available on http://soundmusicresearch.org/lunchtimeconcerts.html

All of the seminars are conducted in English, with the exception of the lecture on September 3, 2010, for Symposion, which is conducted in Danish.

Friday, September 3, 5-6 p.m. in U91. Foredrag i foredragsforeningen Symposion. (Se også http://www.sdu.dk/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/Ifpr/Formidling/Foredragsforeninger/Symposion/e2010)

Musikkens og lydens æstetik anno 2010

Cynthia M. Grund – Lektor ved IFPR, SDU

Resumé: Seriøs refleksion over musik rejser stort set alle de spørgsmål, som danner genstandsfeltet for filosofi. Traditionelt har det dog kun været muligt at diskutere mange af disse spørgsmål i yderst spekulative termer inden for musikfilosofi. Historisk har musikfilosofi også været underlagt diverse praktiske begrænsninger på formidlingssiden, idet den lydlige komponent så godt som altid har måttet repræsenteres på skriftlig vis. Udviklingen inden for it-teknologien de sidste ti år har pustet nyt liv i - og ar givet muligheder for radikalt nye tilgange til - den faglige diskussion inden for musikfilosofi. Desuden er de muligheder, som digitalteknologien tilbyder for at udvikle nye faglige standarder for forskning og forskningsformidling, både spændende og udfordrende.

     Dette foredrag vil præsentere den tværvidenskabelige forskning inden for musikfilosofi, som har sin base på Instituttet for filosofi, Pædagogik og Religionsstudier på SDU. Deltagere, som gerne vil orientere sig en smule før foredraget, er hjerteligt velkomne til at kigge på www.soundmusicresearch.org, www.nnimipa.org og JMM: The Journal of Music and Meaning www.musicandmeaning.net.  

Tuesday, September 14, 2-4 p.m. in U92. Guest lecture

Computer Assisted Performance: The Emergence of the Meta-Instrumentalist.

Dr. Jean Penny, Doctor of Musical Arts, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Australia ; flautist/musicologist, new music performer. 

Abstract: Recent developments in computer technology have made possible a new kind of performance ontology in which the symbiosis of

• performance

• instrument

• equipment

• computer

• technologist

• space

results in an emergent entity, the “meta-instrumentalist”. This presentation will examine this phenomenon from the perspective of flute performance. The discussion includes reference to several works for flute and electronics that demonstrate encounters with the “meta-flautist”. Recorded audio and video material will exemplify flute with amplification; flute with interactive technology activated by gesture; and interactivity activated by pitch and threshold. Central issues within the aesthetics of music such as

• the relationship of score to performance

• the role of the score in determination of the musical work

• the ontology of the musical work

will be addressed during an examination of  the role of  notation in electro-acoustic performance. Performer-audience dynamics  are also reconfigured within the context of “meta-instrumentalism.” 

     Some reflections upon these dynamics will conclude the presentation. 

View/Download poster HERE. Google.calendar entry for SDU-Odense HERE.

Please note that Jean Penny will also be speaking in Esbjerg at AAUE on September 13; Google-calendar entry for Esbjerg HERE. 

Thursday, September 23, 3-5 p.m. in U73. Guest lecture.

Computer-Assisted Creativity: Help or Hindrance to the Composer?

Dr. Barry Eaglestone, Senior Lecturer, U of Sheffield, UK (Retired).

Abstract: Computer technology has become a well established tool for composers and sonic artists. In particular, it has been shown to facilitate the creation, manipulation, organization and nuancing of sounds and other media, generated from an infinite pallet of possibilities. Conversely, information technology is arguably least effective when supporting the types of non-prescribed or unpredictable human activities which, after all, are characteristic of how artists work. This talk sifts through evidence relating to the above tension. This evidence has been gathered from a series of related research projects, including naturalistic studies of how composers use composition software and studies of the impact of individual differences among composers, cognitive style in particular, on related information tasks. Issues highlighted are: tensions between software engineering norms and creativity; the negative effect of a mismatch between interfaces and cognitive styles; and the difficulty in modeling the information generated, using conventional IT solutions. The talk concludes by speculating on how computer systems may be adapted to create more fertile environments for creativity, and suggests areas for further research. 

View/Download poster HERE. Google-calendar entry for SDU-Odense HERE.

Please note that Barry Eaglestone will also be speaking in Esbjerg at AAUE on September 20 and in Copenhagen at KU September 24. Google-calendar entry for Esbjerg HERE.  Google-calendar entry for Copenhagen HERE.

Thursday, October 7, 2:30 p.m. in U43. Defense of the PhD dissertation

Playing by the Rules? A Philosophical Approach to Normativity and Coordination in Music Performance

by Søren R. Frimodt-Møller, PhD fellow, Institute for Philosophy, Education and the Study of Religions, University of Southern Denmark. 

Abstract: Why is following rules so important for successful coordination processes and interpersonal relations in general? This project tries to answer this question in a discussion relativized to performing music ensembles. Applying modeling strategies from contemporary branches of epistemic logic and game theory, I show how following norms is a requirement for a musician who has the goal of reaching coordination with the rest of the group. The dissertation also provides a survey of theories regarding the normativity of a composition in relation to the music performance, and challenges these by highlighting the importance of the individual musician's interpretation of the performance norms. 

Committee:

Lars Ole Sauerberg, Professor of English, University of Southern Denmark, Chair.

Catherine Z. Elgin, Professor of the Philosophy of Education, Graduate School of Education. Harvard University.

Daniel Bonevac, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin.

Supervisor: Cynthia M. Grund, Associate Professor, Inst. of Phil., Edu., & the Study of Religions; University of Southern Denmark.  

The dissertation is available online HERE.

Official invitation to the defense sent out on September 13 by the Institute for Philosophy, Education and the Study of Religions, University of Southern Denmark: HERE. For an invitation crafted by Søren R. Frimodt-Møller - in English - please see HERE. For those who use Facebook, there is an event page HERE

Friday, October 8, 1-3 p.m. in U32. Seminar and Panel Discussion.

Music as Philosophical Microcosmos

The panelists set forth and discuss their views on the ways in which the central questions and issues of philosophy are raised by serious discussion about music.

Panelists:

Lars Ole Sauerberg, Professor of English, University of Southern Denmark.

Catherine Z. Elgin, Professor of the Philosophy of Education, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University.

Daniel Bonevac, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin.

William Westney, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Piano, Browning Artist-in-Residence School of Music, Texas Tech University, Lubbock (via Skype).

Cynthia M. Grund, Associate Professor, Inst. of Phil., Edu., & the Study of Religions; University of Southern Denmark.

Søren R. Frimodt-Møller, PhD fellow, Institute for Philosophy, Education and the Study of Religions, University of Southern Denmark

Thursday, October 21, 3-5 p.m. in U73. Joint seminar: SDU and Texas Tech.

Embodying Music: Susanne K. Langer’s Ideas of ‘Living Form’ and Martin Buber's Notion of verwirchlichen As These Apply – Suitably Modified – to Contemporary Research on the Role of Gesture in the Formation of Musical Meaning.

William Westney, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Piano, Browning Artist-in-Residence School of Music, Texas Tech University, Lubbock (via Skype).

Cynthia M. Grund, Associate Professor, Inst. of Phil., Edu., & the Study of Religions; University of Southern Denmark. 

Abstract: Both Susanne Langer and Martin Buber discussed artistic form and its significance-bearing potency in a vivid and dynamic fashion, and both included notions of embodiment in their analysis.

This presentation offers video footage of  

1.       a non-traditional classical-music performance workshop that incorporates group gestural exercises as a central and purposeful element in the quest for meaningful and insightful performance, Westney’s Un-Master Class. This workshop has been refined during more than a decade of presentations in conservatories and centers of music education on four continents;

2.       laboratory work carried out in February 2010 at the FourM’s Lab at the University of Oslo, Norway, as part of a coordination meeting within NNIMIPA: Nordic Network for the Integration of Music Informatics, Performance and Aesthetics. 

It is posited that in 1) and 2), the notion of artistic form is brought “to life” in ways that can be effectively analyzed from suitably modified Langerian and Buberian perspectives. For background material, please see www.nnimipa.org/JWG.html.

 

Institute of Philosophy,  Education and the Study of Religions   Research Director for The Aesthetics of Music and Sound and  Editor and Webmaster for www.soundmusicresearch.org: Cynthia M. Grund cmgrund@ifpr.sdu.dk     Updates   Archive for "Updates": Click HERE.     February 3, 2012: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound with Composing as Adventurous Applied Science , presented by Jan Flessel, composer and instrumentalist, Thursday, February 9, 2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for the seminar available HERE. This is the second seminar in a series of 13 seminars during the spring. For series information and updates, please see HERE   January 31 2012: The spring semester 2012 begins on February 1, 2012 in Denmark, and we get off to a running start on February 2 in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound with On Sound Segregation and Music, presented by Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard, PhD, Associate Professor, Center for Sound Communication, Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark on Thursday, February 2, 2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for the seminar available HERE. This is the first in a series of 13 seminars during the spring. For series information and updates, please see HERE.   December 31, 2011: The Aesthetics of Music and Sound wishes everyone a very Happy New Year and hopes that 2012 will be a healthy and rewarding year for all!   January is examination month at Danish universities and the spring term officially begins on February 1. Please watch the website for updates regarding activities during 2012.   December 12, 2011: Concert: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 12  noon - 1 p.m.  in Cafeteria 4, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Nu er det jul with Nikolaj Nottlemann, tenor, and Cynthia M. Grund, piano. Concert poster available HERE. Concert program available HERE.   December 12, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound, Thursday, December 15, 2011, 2:15 -4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55.  5230 Odense M.   Sigrún Lilja Einarsdóttir, PhD student in Sociology – University of Exeter, England; Part time lecturer – Bifröst University, Iceland. Presentation via Skype: Bach in Everyday Life: ´Choral Capital´As Well-Being and the Socio-Musical Identities of Amateur Choristers Who Perform Art Music. Abstract available HERE. Poster for the seminar available HERE.     December 7, 2011: ArtsIT-Second International ICST Conference on Arts and Technology, December 7-8, Esbjerg, Denmark. http://artsit.org/show/home   November 25, 2011:Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound, Thursday, December 1, 2011, 2:15 -4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55.  5230 Odense M. David Clowney, Associate Professor, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA  presents a talk entitled Limits, Risks and Accomplishment in Musical Performance. Via Skype. Abstract available HERE. Poster for the seminar available HERE.    November 18, 2011: Concert: Thursday, November 24, 2011, 12  noon - 1 p.m.  in Cafeteria 4, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Pianist and Professor William Westney plays a program of Bach, Scriabin, Albeniz and Brahms..Concert poster available HERE. Concert program available HERE.   November 18, 2011:Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound, Thursday, November 24, 2011, 2:15 -4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55.  5230 Odense M. William Westney (Texas Tech U) and Cynthia M. Grund (SDU) present a talk entitled David Hume's Theories of Beauty and Utility Applied to Issues of Musical Performance – A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue. Abstract available HERE. Poster for the seminar available HERE.      November 18, 2011:  New Directions in Musical Performance. Workshop and seminar in the Concert Hall, Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark/Syddansk Musikkonservatorium og Skuespillerskole (AMDA/SMKS), Islandsgade 2, Odense, Denmark. 9:30 -14:00,  November 21, 2011. For details, please see HERE.   November 14, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound, Thursday, November 17, 2011, 2:15 -4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55.  5230 Odense M. We welcome Catherine Z. Elgin, Professor of the Philosophy of Education, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, who will present a talk entitled Two Dogmas and the Arts via Skype. Abstract available HERE. Poster for the seminar available HERE.     At 7:30 p.m. on November 17, 2011, William Westney will be giving a concert in the Concert Hall at the The Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark (AMDA), Islandsgade 2, 5000 Odense C. William Westney is Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Piano and Browning Artist-in-Residence, School of Music, Texas Tech University and was appointed H.C. Andersen Visiting Professorial Fellow at The University of Southern Denmark during the 2009-2010 academic year, affiliated with The Aesthetics of Music and Sound. Dr. Westney's program will include works by Bach, Albeniz, Brahms and Scriabin. For detailed program, please see HERE. For more information on Dr. Westney, please see HERE.     November 6, 2011: Concert: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 12  noon - 1 p.m.  in Cafeteria 4, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Pianist Morten Heide plays a program of character pieces, the titles of which suggest that they have been inspired by the song of birds or the sounds of flowing water..Concert poster available HERE. Concert program available HERE.   The concert will be filmed for television broadcast and is followed by a seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound entitled: The Cognitive Semantics of Musical Tension with Jens Hjortkjær, PhD, Research Assistant, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen. The seminar will take place on Thursday, November 10,  2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for the seminar available HERE.   October 29, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound- Romantic Ballet: Features, Conventions and Narratives with Dr. Astrid Bernkopf, Programme Leader Dance Studies, Dept. of Performing Arts, Middlesex U., Trent Park Campus, London. Presentation via Skype. Audience participation via Skype also welcome. Thursday, November 3, 2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE.     October 7, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound - Musicianship, Musical Interpretation, and Cultural Identity: Challenges for Philosophy and the Social Sciences with David G. Hebert, PhD, Professor of Music, Grieg Academy, Faculty of Education, Bergen University College. Presentation via Skype.Thursday, October 13, 2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE.   October 2, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound - Goals for Cross-Disciplinary Research and Education in Music and IT with Dr. Barry Eaglestone, Senior  Lecturer, U of Sheffield, UK (RetiredI). Presentation via Skype.Thursday, October 6, 2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE.   September 26, 2011: A TV-documentary in English about a Lunchtime Concert with pianist Gustav Krogh Hansen Piekut earlier this year at The University of Southern Denmark, SDU, at Odense airs throughout the week of September 26 - October 2, 2011 on ALT, Aabenraa Lokal TV on the TV Sønderjylland (TV-SDJ) network. The program will be permanently available HEREand during the broadcast week also HERE.  In addition to concert clips, the program features interviews in which Gustav Krogh Hansen Piekut, Assoc. Prof. Cynthia M. Grund and Søren R. Frimodt-Møller, PhD participate.   September 24, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound - Norms of the Performance Context with Søren R. Frimodt-Møller, PhD. Thursday, September 29  2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE.   Public lecture in fulfillment of the requirements for the magister degree. Stud.mag. Daniel Frandsen holds a public lecture addressing the following topic: Discuss the role played by authenticity in analysis of musical meaning and of musical value, taking into account considerations involving the connection between aesthetic value and ethical value. The lecture will be given in English and takes place on Friday, September 30 at 1:15 p.m. in U150, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M.   September 20, 2011: Musikkens og lydens æstetik: en tværvidenskabelig tilgang til nutidens Parnassus/The Aesthetics of Music and Sound: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to a Present-Day Parnassus with Cynthia M. Grund. Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy, University of Southern Denmark at Odense.  Opening lecture for the fall 2011 semester, Netværk for Kvinder i Filosofiske Fag (KIFF), Friday, September 23, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m, Room 1467-517, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, followed by a reception. Poster available HERE.   September 16, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound - Immanuel Kant and Eighteenth-Century Musical Thought withTomas McAuley, PhD Candidate, Department of Music, King's College, London (via Skype). Thursday, September 22  2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE.   September 16, 2011: With all that has been going on as the fall semester gets off to a start, we neglected to include this important update! The website for JMM10, the tenth issue of The Journal of Music and Meaning www.musicandmeaning.net was launched on July 20, 2011. From this issue and onwards, JMM will publish articles as they become camera-ready - a publication strategy we call ”rolling publication”. Two articles are already online and more are on their way.      We are also delighted to announce that the Danish Council for Independent Research| Humanities (FKK) has recently renewed its support for JMM with a grant of 90,000 Danish crowns (ca. 17,000 US dollars at current rates of exchange) for 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. All of us at JMM are very grateful to FKK for its continuing support.       September 9, 2011: Seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound - Markerless Motion Capture withAlex Czarowicz, Vice President of Sales for Organic Motion, Thursday, September 15  2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for seminar available HERE. The abstract for the presentation is available HERE.   September 2, 2011: Welcome back from summer vacation! Updates are now in the process of being uploaded throughout the site. Please pay special attention to the "kick-off" for both the lunchtime concert series and the seminar series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound on September 8:   Concert: Thursday, September 8, 2011, 12  noon - 1 p.m.  in Cafeteria 4, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Tango quintet RABO DEL GATO plays a program of Astor Piazzolla's tango compositions. Concert poster available HERE. Flyer introducing RABO DEL GATO (in Danish) HERE.     The concert will be filmed for television broadcast and is followed by a seminar in the series Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound entitled: Lyric and Meaning in Tango’s Poetry with Claudio Cifuentes-Aldunate, Associate Professor of Spanish at The University of Southern Denmark. The seminar will take place on Thursday, September 8  2:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in U73, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M. Poster for the seminar available HERE.   June 26, 2011: Four-day multi-event in London June 30-July 3 on the occasion of the inaugural annual conference of the RMA-MPSG which will be held at King’s College London on 1-2 July 2011. See HERE.     Archive   for "Updates": Click HERE.   (Includes the description of the SDU-IFPR research program The Aesthetics of Music and Sound which initially appeared online in Danish as Musikkens og Lydens Aestetik during the fall of 2006.)

The Aesthetics of Music and Sound - www.soundmusicresearch.org              

Cross-Disciplinary Interplay between the Humanities, Technology and Musical Practice