Associate Professor Daphne Leong has been named Vice President of the Society for Music Theory.
Music theorists from the University of Colorado continue to lead the development of their growing field. Most recently, Associate Professor of Music Theory Daphne Leong was elected Vice President of the听听(厂惭罢).
SMT serves North America as a way to, according to its website, 鈥減romote the development of and engagement with music theory as a scholarly and pedagogical discipline.鈥� Each member of the CU-Boulder music theory faculty is active in the group, along with students.
The vice president serves a two-year term, starting in November. Leong has been involved with the SMT since college. 鈥淚n music theory, this is where things are happening,鈥� she says.
Because music theory broke away from musicology and developed as a discipline in North America, the SMT represents the future of the field. One place where that plays out is the organization鈥檚 annual conference. 鈥淭he conference is the one time per year when we all get together鈥攏ational theorists and some international鈥攁nd hear research, network and take care of important business,鈥� says Leong.
One of her responsibilities will be organizing an aspect of SMT that she helped pioneer: interest groups.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be involved in interest groups again,鈥� says Leong. 鈥淚n 2004, I started one of the earlier interest groups, called the Performance and Analysis Interest Group. When we talk about what makes pieces tick, it relates to performance, but not in a straightforward way. So the group I started looked at questions like these, and how what we do as analysts relates to performers.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be in this role, and get to see what other interest groups are doing and what they鈥檙e working on."
Leong says there are SMT interest groups on everything from jazz theory to music and math. The groups bring music theorists together to stimulate research and promote publications. They also play a big role in growing the presence of the society.
鈥淚nterest groups put on sessions at conferences. By doing that, they help bring new people to the SMT who wouldn鈥檛 ordinarily know what we鈥檙e doing. They also advocate for other groups within music research,鈥� says Leong.
Expanding the profile of music theory is a passion for Leong, and part of the collaborative mission of the SMT. It鈥檚 a tall order, since the fundamentals of theory are often, unfortunately, taken for granted.
鈥淲hen we listen to music, we don鈥檛 always think about things like triads and chord progressions鈥攖he things that are happening that make us enjoy music or not enjoy it,鈥� says Leong. 鈥淏ut knowing how to describe and think about music allows you to appreciate it more. And it makes you a better musician.
鈥淚t鈥檚 interdisciplinary. How music moves us, how math relates to it, how culture inspired it. Knowing those things can affect how we practice and how we perform. It鈥檚 innate and integral.鈥�
Leong says this new leadership position will allow her to foster relationships between the SMT鈥檚 regional chapters, the North American organization and its international counterparts.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in those aspects where people connect,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 personal and research-focused, and the fact that you connect people and research鈥攁nd dive into subjects with international groups, too鈥攊s thrilling.鈥�
Music theory department members Keith Waters, Yonatan Malin, Kris Shaffer and Steven Bruns are also actively involved in the SMT.
