[Smt-talk] assessing an interest group in early music

[Timothy Chenette]

Dear colleagues,

	I’m writing to assess the possibilities of a Society for Music Theory interest group in early music, the history of music theory, or both. My preference would be early music, and to definite it loosely as music before 1650, but I am certainly open to other ideas.

	Below, I’ve listed a few services such a group could provide to its members and to SMT.

1. A bibliography of early music analyses (by composer?)
2. Other bibliographies (a number of topics come to mind)
3. Networking with fellow scholars with similar interests
4. Discussions of the place of early music in the fields of music theory and musicology
5. Discussions on incorporating early music into core curricula
5. Organization of presentation sessions around given topics, rather than general “early music” sessions, as sometimes happens currently without such organization

	So please, send me an email if you’re interested, and if you have opinions with regard to early music vs. the history of music theory and the definition of early music for the purposes of the group, let me know! I may not reply right away, but if I receive enough responses in the next two weeks, I’ll chorale (sorry, couldn’t help it) those emails into a list and start some discussions. If we wish to reserve a meeting at SMT 2014, we must do so by May, which seems far away, but will be here before we know it…

	All best,

Tim Chenette
Music Theory Area Head and Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Utah State University
chenettet at gmail.com