Where Have You Gone, Joe Phillips?

I'm still around! While my postings over the past year have been, let's say sporadic, it has been with good reason. I was writing my thesis and completing my Masters degree in Music Composition from Stephen F. Austin University. Now that I'm an official Master, my blog writings will be a little more frequent including a future post detailing some of my grad school experiences including some of my thesis: The Music CompositionMISCĒRE, the Historicity of Mixed Music and New Amsterdam Records in the Contemporary New York City Mixed Music Scene (sounds scintillating, right?!). Also, while it won't be called Miscēre, you'll be hearing some of the music from the thesis as a future large-scaled Numinous project, premiering in 2012!

One thing that has been great since graduating is now I actually have time again to read for pleasure and NOT for school (not that school reading was unpleasant, actually much of it was, but I think you understand what I'm sayin')! Before the research for my thesis began in earnest I was enjoying reading the George Lewis book A Power Stronger Than Itself about the AACM. Needless to say, I had to put it down as I focused on more things immediately pertinent to the thesis. 

Actually I wished I hadn't put it down, because as I began reading the book again from where I left off (had just started Chapter 7-"Americans in Paris") I've found that some of it was/could have been quite useful to the thesis, particularly some of the fascinating later discussion such as in Chapter 9 ("The AACM in New York") about new music, mixing genres, society and culture, especially the lack of cross-pollination and critical acceptance within the general new music community of the 1970s to some African-American composers/performers who were working in similar modes of expression as those "pan-European" composers in the "downtown art world" nexus. Oh well, if I decide to continue to a PhD., perhaps the Lewis book will find its way into my research.

Frankly anyone interested in the current debate in the new music community about music that fuses elements from a wide variety of sources and inspirations including vernacular music (the mixed music, alt-classical, post-classical, indie classical, is-it-classical-or-is-it-pop-or-is-it-jazz-or-WTF-is-it debate) really should read the book.

POSTED BY NUMINOUS AT 12:52 PM