Location: Bowdoin / Music / courses / Fall 2012

Music

Fall 2012

Courses

010. Music and Race in Latin America: Michael Quintero T 6:30 - 9:25 Gibson-206; A historical survey examining the relationship between musical practice and racial thought in Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present day. Considers the links between non-Europeanized music and ideas of race by looking at travelers’ accounts, government documents, and secondary sources. Tracks musical exchange and mixture between groups, and the mixed feelings of attraction and revulsion they provoked. Discusses the role of music in doctrines of racial “whitening” and civilizing. Examines the rise of nationalist folklore in the twentieth century and music’s role in multiculturalism and cultural tourism in the twenty-first. Familiarizes students with various Latin American musical genres.
101. Introduction to Music Theory: Cristle Judd M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; Designed for students with some beginning experience in music theory and an ability to read music. Covers scales, keys, modes, intervals, and basic tonal harmony.
140. History of Hip Hop: Tracy McMullen T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; Traces the history of hip-hop culture (with a focus on rap music) from its beginnings in the Caribbean through its transformation into a global phenomenon. Explores constructions of race, gender, class, and sexuality in hip-hop’s production, promotion, and consumption, as well as the ways in which changing media technology and corporate consolidation influenced the music. Artists/bands investigated include Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, Lil’ Kim, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Spooky.
202. Write Your Own Classic Show Tune: Mary Hunter M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 Studzinski-202; A course in which students write their own classic show tune in the style of Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter or George Gershwin. Skills taught include writing for keyboard, some keyboard harmony skills, chromatic harmony, text setting, melody writing and harmonization of pre-existent tunes. Not open to students who have received credit for Music 151 {2102}.
221. Improvisation: Frank Mauceri T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Studzinski-202; Do we understand improvised and composed music differently, and, if so, how? Investigates musical syntax in improvised settings and its consequences for the organization of time in music. Also considers the social functions and meanings of improvisation. Analysis draws from recordings, interviews, and writings in ethnomusicology, semiotics, and music theory. At the same time, students participate in regular improvisation workshops exploring vernacular musics, avant-garde open forms, and interactive electronics.
255. The Western Canon: Mary Hunter T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Gibson-206; The Western canon—the repertory of works and composers at the core of classical music—may seem pretty immutable. But in fact works and composers continually fall in and out of it, or move up and down in its hierarchy. At the same time, it has been extraordinarily difficult for the canon to include works by women, people of color, and non-Western composers. Examines the processes of, and pressures on, canon formation from about 1780 until the present and a number of pillars of classical music, from Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation to the symphonies of Shostakovich and the works of Nadia Boulanger’s students.
269. Middle Eastern Ensemble: Robert Greenlee M 6:30 - 8:25 Studzinski-202; Meets once a week on Monday evenings, and performs pieces from the Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, and Greek traditions. Coached by oud player Amos Libby and percussionist Eric La Perna, the group does one performance per semester and often collaborates with the Bowdoin Belly Dance Club. No experience is required to join; students have the option of singing, learning new percussion instruments, or playing an instrument with which they are already familiar.
271. Chamber Choir: Robert Greenlee M 4:15 - 5:35, T 4:15 - 5:35, W 4:15 - 5:35, TH 4:15 - 5:35 Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; An auditioned group of about thirty-five student singers. Repertory ranges widely, from Renaissance music to American contemporary music and folk music of the world. The choir performs at festivals and society meetings in the U.S. (American Choral Directors Association and Society of Composers), and it tours abroad during some spring breaks. Recent trips have taken the ensemble to Germany, Ireland, England, Chile, Hungary, and Slovakia. Monday through Thursday late afternoons must be reserved, but the choir usually rehearses only three of those days.
273. Chorus: Anthony Antolini TH 7:00 - 8:55, SU 7:00 - 9:25 Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; A choral ensemble composed of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Entrance is by audition. This ensemble has performed at the regional convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Baltimore. The chorus has toured throughout New England, New York, Washington, D.C., and Montreal. In summer 2008, the Chorus traveled to Greece. Recent performances have included Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, Jenkins’ Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem. Rehearsals are Thursday and Sunday evenings.
275. Concert Band: John Morneau T 6:30 - 8:25, TH 6:30 - 8:25 Studzinski-100; An ensemble open to all students with wind and percussion experience that performs several major concerts each year on campus, along with performances at campus events and ceremonies. Repertoire consists of a variety of literature, from the finest of the wind band repertoire to light classics, show tunes and marches. Students have been featured as soloists and conductors, and student compositions have been premiered by the ensemble. Rehearsals are Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
277. Ensemble Performance: George Lopez SU 7:00 - 8:25 Studzinski-100; Ensemble Performance is for instrumentalists who play orchestral instruments or piano and would like to play in chamber ensembles and the chamber orchestra. Participants (except pianists) must reserve Sunday evenings from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., and chamber ensemble rehearsals and coachings will be scheduled on an individual basis. All students must audition for ensemble performance. One-half credit per semester can be earned if one participates in both the orchestra and a chamber ensemble; with permission of the director, some students may be allowed to play in only one or the other ensemble on a non-credit basis.
281. Afro-Latin Music Ensemble: Michael Quintero M 6:30 - 7:55, W 6:30 - 7:55 Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; Performs the musical forms of black populations in Latin America and the Caribbean, with particular emphasis on the marimba and drumming traditions of Afro-Colombians. May include also include Afro-Cuban, Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Puerto Rican, Afro-Dominican, and other musics. Students learn and perform multiple instruments, drumming, singing, and dance, culminating in a concert every semester. Occasional texts and audiovisual materials supplement musical learning by offering cultural and aesthetic contextualization. Rehearsals are Monday and Wednesday evenings.
283. Jazz Ensembles: Frank Mauceri Gibson-101 Tillotson Room; Groups of four to six students, formed by audition, and performing both modern and classic standards, plus some original compositions by students and faculty. They perform one concert a semester on campus, and appear occasionally in other venues. Rehearsals are arranged to suit the players’ and coach’s schedules.
285. Individual Performance Studies: The Department
286. Individual Performance Studies: The Department
287. Individual Performance Studies: The Department
288. Individual Performance Studies: The Department
289. Individual Performance Studies: The Department
302. Tonal Composition: Robert Greenlee T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25 Gibson-206; A compositional study of the stylistic traits of the common practice period in western Europe. Assignments include exercises in counterpoint and chromatic harmony, sight-singing and keyboard work, and the composition of a three-voiced baroque piece and a nineteenth-century operatic scene.
385. Advanced Individual Performance Studies: The Department
386. Advanced Individual Performance Studies: The Department
387. Advanced Individual Performance Studies: The Department