From the President
M. Jennifer Bloxam
Our upcoming annual conference marks a wonderful milestone for the SCSM — it will be the first time we meet beyond U.S. borders! The University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto will host us, thanks to the efforts of member-at-large and local arrangements chair Michael O’Connor (see p.XX for more news about the conference). The program committee (David Heetderks, chair, joined by Richard Strauch, Emily Thelen, and Joshua Waggener), is busy reviewing a bumper crop of proposals even as I write, from which they will distill a variety of thought-provoking and inspiring sessions for us. Stayed tuned for details in the weeks ahead!
Our meeting in Toronto will also mark a particularly notable ‘changing of the guard’ in the SCSM leadership team: three of the four officers will change, and four of the six members-at-large positions will also turn over. Such transitions are extremely important for the health of the Society, bringing fresh ideas and energy to bear on our mission, and I strongly encourage you to VOTE in the upcoming biennial election, scheduled for late November. I am very grateful to the nominating committee (chaired by Effie Papanikolaou and including Andrew Shenton and Tim Steele, ex officio) for assembling such a strong slate of candidates, and to all the excellent nominees who have agreed to run.
In addition to the new officers and members-at-large who will join the Executive Committee at the Toronto meeting, we will also welcome Hannah Porter Denecke as the next graduate student representative, succeeding Megan Francisco who is stepping down after four tremendous years of service. Hannah, who will complete her Masters of Music in Historical Musicology at the University of Florida in Gainesville this coming spring, will assist Megan with planning the graduate student-related activities for the Toronto meeting and otherwise ‘learn the ropes’ of this crucial position.
Supporting our graduate student members in their scholarly pursuits has long been a priority for SCSM, and I am delighted to announce that the Graduate Travel Fund initiative launched by Andrew Shenton will be implemented for the first time for the Toronto 2019 meeting. We are indebted to the Ad Hoc Graduate Travel Fund task force (chaired by Joanna Smolko and including Megan Francisco, Joseph Turner, and Zig Reichwald, ex officio) for their recommendations on how to administer this subsidy. Award application details will be shared with all graduate student presenters in due course.
Finally, let us celebrate the wonderful work of the current officers and members-at-large whose names appear at the end of this newsletter, and give a special shout-out to the Communications Team (Chelle Stearns, Chad Fothergill, Adam Perez, and Megan Francisco), whose achievements this year include the launch of the SCSM Blog, the publication of the Spring and Fall newsletters, and continuing enhancements to the curated list of Graduate Programs in Music and Religion (available on the website).
Enjoy reading, stay in touch, and come celebrate Valentine’s Day in Toronto with your SCSM colleagues!
M. Jennifer Bloxam is the Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Music at Williams College, where she has taught since 1986. This is Professor Bloxam’s final “From the President.” We want to thank her for outstanding service to the Society for Christian Scholarship in music.
