Symposium on Historic American Music

Thursday, Oct. 16

3 p.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art
Registration opens.

4:15–4:45 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a lecture-demo by Dr. Christopher Troiano and the 8th Green Machine Regiment Band.

5–5:45 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a performance by Dr. Christopher Troiano and the 8th Green Machine Regiment Band.

6–6:45 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a lecture-demo by Colin Hancock and members of The Roof Garden Jass Band.

7 p.m.
Degenstein Campus Center‘s Mellon Lounge
Enjoy the symposium’s official kick-off party with music provided by the Roof Garden Jass Band.

Find an interactive campus map here.

Friday, Oct. 17

8 a.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art
Registration opens.

8:30 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Hear opening remarks by Rick Benjamin, adjunct professor of music at Susquehanna University, and founder of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.

Morning Academic Papers Begin

8:45–9:25 a.m
Stretansky Concert Hall
Dr. Kris Monson, Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College
Musical Notation from the “Inventor of Jazz”: A Comparative Analysis and Contextualization of Jelly Roll Morton’s Sheet Music and Autograph Manuscripts

8:45–9:25 a.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Dr. Anne K. Rasmussen, Professor of Ethnomusicology, College of William & Mary
The Ethics of Archival Listening, Preservation, and Stewardship of an Arab-American Soundworld

9:30–10:10 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Dr. Michael O’Connor, Professor of Music, Palm Beach Atlantic University
The Shadow Repertoire of the Dodworth Cornet Band: Reclaiming Part of the New York Soundscape

9:30–10:10 a.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Bruce Cain & David Asbury, Professors of Music, Southwestern University
Lecture-Recital: Music for Voice & Guitar from 1850 to 1875

10:15–10:55 a.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Dr. E. Douglas Bomberger, Professor of Music, Elizabethtown College
Victor Record 18255 and the Introduction of Jazz to a Nationwide Audience

11 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a lecture-demo by Dom Flemons, “The American Songster.”

12:15 p.m.
Degenstein Campus Center‘s Apple Meeting Rooms
Attend the symposium’s keynote luncheon with John H. McWhorter.

Afternoon Academic Papers Begin

2–2:40 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Dr. Eugene Montague, Professor of Music, George Washington University
Scott Joplin’s Syncopations

2–2:40 p.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Dr. Nico Schüler, Professor of Music, Texas State University
Rediscovering African-American Music of the 1870s & ‘80s: Minstrel Music, Musical Theatre, and Spirituals

2:45–3:25 p.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Dr. Kevin N. Moll, Professor of Music, East Carolina University and New England Conservatory
Arraying Tune-Groups Within the Anglo-American Ballad Tradition: The Case of Barbara Allen

2:45–3:25 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Alyce Mott, independent scholar, New York, NY
Victor Herbert Composed Far More Than Operetta

3:30–4:10 p.m.
Cunningham Center for Music & Art’s Classroom 240
Mark Tavern, Professor of Music, University of New Haven
Before There Were Stars: Making Records in the Early Recording Industry

4:30 p.m.
Weber Auditorium
Enjoy a performance by Susquehanna University’s Symphonic Band, Susquehanna University’s Symphonic Band, including historic works by Alton Adams, Clarence Cameron White, and James Reese Europe. Conducted by Dr. Eric L. Hinton.

Dinner on Your Own
Find recommended restaurants in Downtown Selinsgrove here. Local favorites include Isabella Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge and BJ’s Market Street Tavern & Oyster Bar.

7:30 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a performance of Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s Meet Me At The Fair!: Sights & Sounds From the Great World’s Fairs. Tickets are required for this performance. A complimentary ticket is included with symposium registration.

Find an interactive campus map here.

Saturday, Oct. 18

9:15–9:55 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Paul Johnson, independent scholar, Sacramento, CA
Hearing How Ragtime Transitioned to the Blues on the Piano

10–10:40 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Bryan Proksch, Professor of Music, Lamar University
The “Devil” Trumpet Supplants the “Bastard” Cornet in American Music

11 a.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Lecture by Edward A. Berlin on “The Life and Afterlife of Scott Joplin.” 

12 p.m.
Stretansky Concert Hall
Enjoy a syncopated send-off with The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra! After a short PRO performance of classic ragtime selections, conference attendees and students are welcome to join the orchestra onstage for “side-by-side” playing.  Immediately following the performance, light refreshments will be available in the lobby.  

All events are open to symposium registrants and current Susquehanna University students. Register here.  

Find an interactive campus map here.

John H. McWhorter, Keynote Speaker

John H. McWhorter is an associate professor in the Slavic Department at Columbia University. He earned his B.A. from Rutgers, his M.A. from New York University, and his Ph.D. in linguistics from Stanford. Professor McWhorter is an author of more than twenty books, including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Losing the Race: Self Sabotage in Black America and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English. In 2016, he published Words on the Move: Why English Won’t – and Can’t – Sit Still (Like, Literally), while in 2021 he published Nine Nasty Words and Woke Racism. He also writes a weekly column for The New York Times and hosts the language podcast Lexicon Valley. Students might be particularly interested in his article on how immigrants change languages in The Atlantic and an essay on policing the “N-word” in Time.

Edward Berlin

American musicologist and author Edward A. Berlin, Ph.D., is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on ragtime and composer Scott Joplin. Berlin’s 1980 book Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History is the most widely cited study of the subject. His monograph Reflections and Research on Ragtime (1988) won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, and his King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era (1994; second edition 2016) is acclaimed as the definitive biography of the composer.

Berlin has taught at Hunter College and was visiting professor and acting director of the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College.

He has written dozens of articles, reviews and essays on American music for numerous publications, as well as encyclopedia entries for The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, African American National Biography, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The International Dictionary of Black Composers, Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Collier’s Encyclopedia and others.

Since 1979, Berlin has lectured at concerts, festivals and universities across the United States and has been a popular guest on television and radio programs in the U.S., Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary.

Dom Flemons

Dr. Dom Flemons, “The American Songster,” received an Honorary Doctorate from Northern Arizona University; and he’s a Grammy Award winner with four nominations, two-time Emmy nominee, International Acoustic Music Award Grand Prize winner, and was a United States Artists Fellow. He is a musician based in the Chicago area and he is famously known as “The American Songster®” since his repertoire covers over one hundred years of American roots music; including country, folk, bluegrass, Americana, and the blues. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music scholar, historian, actor, narrator, host, slam poet, record collector, podcaster, and the creator, host, and producer of the American Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville, TN. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. He is the co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the founder of American Songster Productions.

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO) is the world’s only year-round professional ensemble dedicated to re-creating “America’s Original Music” — the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent cinema and vintage dance. The orchestra was founded after Rick Benjamin discovered thousands of early 20th-century orchestra scores belonging to Victrola recording star Arthur Pryor in 1985. More information about Rick Benjamin can be found at rickbenjamin.com.

The PRO made its formal debut in 1988 at Alice Tully Hall, marking the first Lincoln Center concert by such an ensemble. Since then, the group has performed at hundreds of prominent arts venues worldwide and gained a loyal following through radio broadcasts on WQXR, NPR programs such as All Things Considered and Performance Today and international networks including the BBC and Voice of America.

Tickets are required for the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra’s featured performance, which will showcase the music of America’s early World’s Fairs.* Tickets are $20 per person. Seniors may purchase a discounted ticket for $15, while students may purchase tickets for $10. Tickets may be purchased online through the Degenstein Center Box Office, or by visiting the box office or calling 570-372-ARTS. Box office hours are Monday through Friday while classes are in session, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

*A ticket is included with symposium registration.

Susquehanna University Symphonic Band

The Susquehanna University Symphonic Band brings together talented student musicians from across campus, offering an opportunity for in-depth musical study. Performing a diverse repertoire for winds and percussion, the ensemble explores works from composers of various backgrounds and traditions.

The 8th Green Machine Regiment Band

The 8th Green Machine Regiment Band performs 19th-century brass band music using authentic 19th-century instruments and mouthpieces. Many of the band’s instruments feature an over-the-shoulder (OTS) bell design, which allowed bands to march in front of soldiers while ensuring the music reached the troops.

The band wears uniforms inspired by those of the 1st and 2nd United States Sharpshooters (Berdan’s) during the Civil War. Their performances honor historical and social traditions while presenting the vibrant sounds of 19th-century America in a way that resonates with modern audiences.

The Roof Garden Jass Band

The Roof Garden Jass Band performs for jazz societies nationwide, including events such as the Tribute to Bix Beiderbecke Festival in Wisconsin, the Orange County Classic Jazz Festival in California and Dick Hyman’s Jazz in July Festival at New York’s 92nd Street Y. The band is also a regular feature at the Hot Steamed Jazz Festival in Essex, Connecticut.

Their repertoire includes music by the Original Memphis Five, the Louisiana Five, the Frisco Jazz Band, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, the Georgians and other “rag-a-jazz” bands that predate King Oliver’s historic 1923 recordings. The Roof Garden Jass Band is the only group exclusively dedicated to preserving and performing this early era of jazz.

More information about Colin Hancock is available at dailyillini.com.

Listed alphabetically by author:

Victor Record 18255 and the Introduction of Jazz to a Nationwide Audience
Dr. E. Douglas Bomberger, Prof. of Music, Elizabethtown College

Music for Voice & Guitar from 1850 to 1875
Bruce Cain & David Asbury, Profs. of Music, Southwestern University

The Influence of Cuban Music on American Popular Music and Jazz
Dr. Michael Davison, Prof. of Music, University of Richmond

Hearing How Ragtime Transitioned to the Blues on the Piano
Paul Johnson, independent scholar, Sacramento, CA

Arraying Tune-Groups Within the Anglo-American Ballad Tradition: The Case of Barbara Allen
Dr. Kevin N. Moll, Prof. of Music, East Carolina University and New England Conservatory

Musical Notation from the “Inventor of Jazz”: A Comparative Analysis and Contextualization of Jelly Roll Morton’s Sheet Music and Autograph Manuscripts
Dr. Kris Monson, Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College

Scott Joplin’s Syncopations
Dr. Eugene Montague, Prof. of Music, George Washington University

Victor Herbert Composed Far More Than Operetta
Alyce Mott, independant scholar, New York, NY

The Shadow Repertoire of the Dodworth Cornet Band: Reclaiming Part of the New York Soundscape
Dr. Michael O’Connor, Prof. of Music, Palm Beach Atlantic University

The “Devil” Trumpet Supplants the “Bastard” Cornet in American Music
Bryan Proksch, Prof. of Music, Lamar University

The Ethics of Archival Listening, Preservation, and Stewardship of an Arab-American Soundworld
Dr. Anne K. Rasmussen, Prof. of Ethnomusicology, William & Mary

The Use of the Clarinet in Early American Music
Sunshine Simmons, Prof. of Music, University of North Florida

Rediscovering African-American Music of the 1870s & ‘80s: Minstrel Music, Musical Theatre, and Spirituals (Zoom presentation)
Dr. Nico Schüler, Prof. of Music, Texas State University

Before There Were Stars: Making Records in the Early Recording Industry
Mark Tavern, Prof. of Music, University of New Haven