Society for Music Theory

Society for Music Theory
Name	Society for Music Theory
Founded	1977
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	United States
Fields	Music theory, musicology

Society for Music Theory is a learned society dedicated to the scholarly study of music theory, founded in 1977 to promote research, pedagogy, and professional development among theorists and composers. The organization intersects with institutions such as American Musicological Society, College Music Society, Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music, and collaborates with festivals like Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival and School, and venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Royal Albert Hall.

History

The Society for Music Theory originated in the 1970s amid debates at universities including Harvard University, Yale University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Michigan, and Eastman School of Music, influenced by scholars from New England Conservatory, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Stanford University. Early leadership included figures associated with American Musicological Society, International Musicological Society, Modern Language Association, Society for Ethnomusicology, and journals like Journal of Musicology and Perspectives of New Music, while responding to curricular trends at Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Conservatory of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and policy discussions touching National Endowment for the Arts and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The society's formative conferences connected research traditions from scholars at Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of California, Los Angeles, McGill University, and University of Toronto.

Organization and Governance

Governance is conducted through elected officers including presidents drawn from faculties of Eastman School of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Peabody Institute, New England Conservatory, and Manhattan School of Music. Committees mirror practices at Royal Musical Association, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Society for Ethnomusicology, and International Association for Music Information Retrieval, with oversight similar to boards at Carnegie Institution for Science, Guggenheim Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. The society maintains bylaws influenced by precedents at American Association of University Professors, Modern Language Association, and Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

Membership and Chapters

Membership spans professionals from departments such as University of Chicago, Cornell University, Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, and conservatories like San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Royal College of Music, and attracts students and emeriti linked to Smith College, Wellesley College, Barnard College, Swarthmore College, and international centers at University of Melbourne, University of Amsterdam, Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Hanns Eisler Academy of Music Berlin, and Seoul National University. Regional chapters and networks coordinate with organizations like Midwest Clinic, New England Conservatory Alumni Association, Texas Music Teachers Association, and link to research groups at Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, Institute for Advanced Study, and British Library special collections.

Publications and Awards

The society publishes a flagship peer-reviewed journal modeled alongside Music Theory Spectrum, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Perspectives of New Music, 19th-Century Music, and Early Music. It issues newsletters and monographs analogous to outlets from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and Princeton University Press, and administers prizes comparable to Pulitzer Prize, Goddard Lieberson Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, ASCAP Foundation Awards, and discipline-specific honors like the Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Fellowship. Awards recognize work in analysis, history, and pedagogy paralleling accolades at Society for Ethnomusicology, International Musicological Society, and College Music Society.

Conferences and Meetings

Annual conferences draw presentations and panels featuring scholars from Princeton University, Yale School of Music, University of California, Los Angeles School of Music, New York University, Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and invite keynote speakers affiliated with Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Opera, BBC Proms, European Society for Cognitive Sciences of Music, and research centers such as Getty Research Institute and Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. Meetings often include joint sessions with American Musicological Society, International Association for Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation, Association for Computing Machinery, and project showcases from Music21, Humdrum Toolkit, and initiatives at Google Arts & Culture.

Education and Outreach

Educational programs partner with conservatories and departments at Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Conservatoire de Paris, New England Conservatory, and community institutions like Lincoln Center Education, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, and outreach collaboratives with National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian Folkways, and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. Outreach includes curriculum resources, workshops, and online seminars interoperable with platforms like edX, Coursera, and archival projects coordinated with Library of Congress, British Library, and National Archives.

Category:Music organizations Category:Music theory