The SMA Committee is delighted announce that Kenneth Smith has been elected Vice-President & Events Officer, and that Suzie Wilkins has been elected as one of our two Student Representatives. Neither post was contested. Their statements of candidature can be found below. Congratulations to both Kenneth and Suzie!
We would also like to thank our retiring Vice-President, Danuta Mirka, retiring Events Officer, Lois Fitch, and retiring Student Representative, Tristian Evans, for all their hard work on the SMA Committee.
Kenneth Smith
I write to offer myself for election to the role of Vice-President & Events Officer for the Society of Music Analysis. After participating in many of the society’s events in recent years during my doctoral study, I would welcome the opportunity to help steer the committee now as an academic in the field of music analysis. I currently teach analysis modules at Durham and Keele Universities and, with forthcoming analytical publications in journals such as Music Analysis, Journal of the RMA and Perspectives in New Music – on such interdisciplinary topics as semiotics, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and gender theory – I feel confident that I have the necessary expertise, dedication and commitment for the role. Moreover, I would like to think that my own interdisciplinary approach to analysis may help to shape the profile of the analysis in collaboration with others from the broader academic community. A wide variety of contacts established over the last few years in various fields of research would also be to my advantage and would help me to find opportunities to maintain the SMA’s high profile on the national and international scene.
Having attended SMA events in numerous locations and had the opportunity to assist in recent conferences at Durham (notably the ICME), I would enthusiastically volunteer myself for involvement at a much deeper level. This may be through planning and developing events, by shaping existing plans in collaboration with other members of the committee, or by looking for links with externally organised events. The SMA has been a vital source of encouragement for graduate students (particularly through TAGS days and summer schools) and I would look forward to working alongside student representatives and nurturing their creative input into the future of the society’s events.
For this role, I would offer the society a professional level of organisation, a broad-minded and flexible approach, a breadth of knowledge of the analytical field, good communicative abilities and a deep-rooted sense of drive and commitment to music analysis.
Suzie Wilkins
I am currently undertaking a DPhil at the University of Sussex where my research is centred on a reception-based approach to aesthetic experience and subjectivity, particularly in the instrumental and orchestral music of the 18th-21st centuries. As part of this I am examining a series of case-studies and creating a dialogue between a close, analytical reading of scores and their broader contexts. By focussing in on every part of the aesthetic process (as created by composer, performer and listener) I am developing a holistic approach towards understanding how music is experienced, and importantly, how each part of the chain of communication affects this experience.
I have recently been drawn into the work of the SMA and was fortunate enough to attend the residential Summer School in Durham. From this is became very apparent to me that the society can benefit students across many fields, both nationally and internationally, through its broad-reaching research. Perhaps more importantly, however, is the inclusive and supportive ethos of the SMA and its events: an asset which is of immeasurable value, particularly to research students who can easily feel isolated.
I would therefore like to stand as a student representative as I feel genuine enthusiasm and commitment to the continuing success of the SMA, having witnessed first-hand the benefits, both academic and social, of their projects. If elected, I would like to make the broader benefits of analytical studies more visible to students who perhaps find analytical studies daunting and unapproachable yet could benefit from them if supported adequately. As such I would work hard to make sure that SMA events continue to support students and ensure the future prominence of analysis.