Florida State University Music Theory

11/01/2025

So excited to attend AMS/SMT ( ), Nov. 6–9 in Minneapolis. FSU music theory will be represented to a record-breaking degree, including appearances by _seven_ current Ph.D. students --- congrats C.Gwynn, H.Harper, L.Matos-Tovar, B.Pflanz, M.Reid, B.Scribner, and C.Terrell! --- and a heroic horde of alumni. Check out the full list...!
I note with interest that my phone isn't predicting any freezing temps. (It's also not predicting any high highs, but obviously the highs will come from the music theoretical content.)

01/30/2025

Bravo to Kim Loeffert (Ph.D. music theory, 2015) and John Peterson (Ph.D music theory, 2014) on the publication of their co-edited volume of essays entitled _Modeling Musical Analysis_ with Oxford University Press! Congrats as well to Jose Garza (Ph.D. music theory, 2017) on his contribution to the volume! See comments for the jaw-dropping table of contents. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/modeling-musical-analysis-9780197678480?cc=us&lang=en&

11/09/2024

Huge congratulations to Prof Michael Buchler and to Gregory Decker (M.M. 2007, Ph.D. 2011, on faculty at BGSU) for winning the Society for Music Theory’s Outstanding Multi-Author Collection Award for their co-edited volume _Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater_ (Univ. of Michigan Press, 2023)!! Contributors to the volume also included Prof. Rachel Lumsden!

11/04/2024

Incredibly excited and proud of all FSU theorists who'll be in action in Jacksonville this coming week! Congratulations in advance to all, especially our current and recent (and "less recent") students Juan Chattah, Hon Ki Cheung, Alan Elkins, Dave Easley, Christopher Endrinal, Stanley Fink, Andrew Gades, Jose Garza, Trevor Hofelich, Robert Kelley, Kim Loeffert, Demi Nicks, John Peterson, Gillian Radcliffe, Zachary Simonds, Lina Tabak, Claire Terrell, and Jeff Yunek!

10/21/2024

Innovations in music theory pedagogy! Courtesy of FSU alum Chelsey Hamm (M.M. 2010), on faculty at Christopher Newport University.

"Ready For It?"

08/30/2024

A heartly welcome to first-year Ph.D. theorists Luis Matos-Tovar, Isabel Milbourn, and Brandon Scribner! Congratulations on making it through your first week, folks! Smiley-faces may have something to do with the upcoming long weekend.

06/24/2024

Huge congrats to our Ph.D. alumnus Stanley Fink on the publication of his article "Benjamin Britten's Musical Characterization of the Madwoman in _Curlew_River_" in the most recent issue of the Journal of Music Theory. (Also...what an issue!)

Journal of Music Theory | 68 | 1 | April 2024

04/25/2024

Smiley theorists, smiley theory students! Front left: FSU music theory alumna Sarah Sarver (Ph.D. 2010, on faculty at Oklahoma State University). Front and center: FSU music theory alumna Crystal Peebles (M.M. 2007, Ph.D. 2011, on faculty at Ithaca College). Also pictured: numerous yout's.

Sarah writes: "What a treat! Scholar Dr. Crystal Peebles (Associate Professor of Music Theory at Ithaca College) visited my Post-Tonal Analysis class today and led a conversation about intertextuality in selected works by Caroline Shaw. This group made me so proud. They were engaged and shared some really interesting ideas! GO POKES!"

03/16/2024

Greetings from Nashville, where 19 FSU'sters (9 current students, 8 alumni, 2 faculty) are attending the joint meeting of Music Theory Southeast and the South Central Society for Music Theory! Today's papers included...
-- "Terminally Anti-Climactic Form in Post-1990s Progressive Metal" by 1st-year M.M. student Zachary Simonds
-- "Extended Techniques and Valve Transformations and in Luciano Berio’s Sequenza X (1984)" by 1st-year Ph.D. student Gillian Radcliffe
-- and "Dispersed Harmony as a Means of Distinguishing Sacred Harp Hymn-Tune Subgenres" by Robert Kelley, a Ph.D. alumnus on faculty at Lander University.

The three them are pictured in the back row of the picture I'm attaching. Others pictured: undergrads Oliver Schoonover and Doogan Townsend (in front) and grad students Aaron D'Zurilla, Brittney Pflanz, Albert Wheeler, and Luke Waddell. Others on site: graduate student Cameron Gwynn and alumni Lauren Crosby (Clemson), Chris Endrinal (FGCU), Gabe Fankhauser (U.N.GA), Shannon Groskreutz (Stetson), Dickie Lee (UGA), Ash Stemke (Murray State U.), and Jeff Yunek (Kennesaw State U.).

FSU'sters in action elsewhere this weekend...FSU Prof. Julianne Grasso is co-presenting "'Ludology Meets Narratology' at 25: A 'Duel' Approach" at the North American Conference on Video-Game Music (East Lansing, MI) and Ph.D. alumnus Stanley Fink (Drake U.) is presenting "A Supervised Learning Approach to the Behavior of “Soul Dominants” in the McGill Billboard Corpus" at the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic conference (Newport News, VA) where Ph.D. alumnus Judith Ofcarcik (JMU) is chairing a session.

Go team!!!!!!!!

10/26/2023

Michael Buchler and Denise Mercier talking about our Music Living-Learning Community at CMS

10/26/2023

FSU graduate Chelsey Hamm presenting on Open Music Theory at CMS 2023 in Miami.