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We administered an online survey to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the productivity and work/life balance of people who teach music theory and/or aural skills in higher education. The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions about research, 2020-2021 teaching, 2021-2022 teaching, service, and the relationship between work and personal life. According to the survey data, music theorists felt that their ability to work on research, the time they spent teaching, and satisfaction with work/life balance were, indeed, impacted by the pandemic. However, how people were disrupted by the pandemic varied from person to person, especially as demonstrated by the qualitative data. We conclude with several takeaways: (1) we should acknowledge the challenges we experienced living through a global pandemic; (2) we should recognize the pressure of time and overwork within our discipline; and (3) we could improve our disciplinary community through empathy and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

In May 1936 and May 1937 Johanna Magdalena Beyer attended two concerts in midtown Manhattan that would include the largest number of performances of her works to occur during her [...]

In this article, I examine a cluster of music theory essays by Oliveria Louisa Prescott (1842-1917), which were published between 1886 and 1891 in The Girl's Own Paper (TGOP), the most popular periodical for young women in Victorian England. Although little known today, Prescott sustained a vibrant musical career in London as a composer and teacher, and her articles on music theory regularly appeared in major periodicals such as The Musical World and TGOP. Prescott's work for TGOP presents a rare opportunity to explore music theory that was not just written by a woman, but also intended for a genteel female audience in the Victorian era. Her articles include explanations of fundamental theoretical subjects (cadences, basic harmonic progressions) as well as short analyses of solo piano works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn. But these articles are also noteworthy for their discussions of more advanced theoretical topics (such as chromatic harmony), concepts that might seem surprising for a popular periodical for young ladies. Mainstream journalism is often devalued as a 'less serious' form of intellectual discourse, but Prescott's work complicates stereotypes of ignorant amateur female musicians and the so-called 'private' sphere, and it demonstrates how print journalism could serve as a vital public platform for the circulation of music theory among young British women in the Victorian era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The flourishing scholarship on gender and humor in recent decades has focused on written texts, film, and stand-up comedy to the near exclusion of performing arts genres--particularly those that do not use written or spoken language, such as dance and instrumental music. This article examines The Race of Life (1937-38), a collaboration by modern dancer Doris Humphrey and composer Vivian Fine. Based on a series of drawings by James Thurber, the Humphrey/Fine production alters both the order and content of Thurber's graphic narrative, ultimately creating a different interpretation that privileges women characters and female perspectives. Building on work by Regina Barreca, Joanne R. Gilbert, Kathleen Rowe, and Nancy A. Walker, this article argues that The Race of Life exemplifies how creative women in the performing arts used humor, dance, and music to satirize misogynist stereotypes of womanhood (such as "bitch" and "vamp") that were widely circulated during the Depression era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...