School of Music Post-Classical Symposium

Preparing Music Students for the Post-Classical World

The DePauw University School of Music is presenting “Preparing Music Students for the Post-Classical World” Thursday November 29 through Saturday December 1. Kicking off with a performance by Bang on a Can, the symposium will feature talks and discussions by Joseph Horowitz, Greg Sandow, and members of eighth blackbird, the School of Music’s 2007-8 Ensemble-in-Residence. The purpose of event is to facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas about the challenges facing college and university music departments, schools of music, and conservatories as we look with fresh eyes at the curriculum.

Please click on the links at left for more information on the symposium presenters, a call for proposals, the tentative schedule, etc.

“Post-classical”?

What is the “post-classical” world, and why should music educators be interested in it? That’s a question more easily asked than answered, and one that the symposium will explore.

A preliminary answer is that the “classical” paradigm is one which sees the western art tradition as superior to others, while the emerging post-classical world is fundamentally multi-cultural, embracing non-western and western popular traditions to one extent or another. The classical paradigm emphasizes the performance of great works of the past, while the post-classical paradigm is centered in music of the present. The classical paradigm emphasizes acoustic, unamplified performances in traditional concert halls and opera houses; in the post-classical world, there’s a growing use of amplification, multimedia presentations, and non-traditional (for classical music) performance venues. The classical tradition emphasizes the values of Werktreue (being true to the work) and Texttreue (being true to the text). The emerging post-classical world embraces improvisational elements (influenced by non-western and western popular musics) as well as performances of works in the classical canon that are freer interpretations and reinterpretations of those works than were often been encouraged in earlier generations.

–Eric Edberg, DePauw Cello Professor and Symposium Coordinator