In this section, Professor Emily Richmond Pollock discusses using visits from contemporary composers to position modern music as a living tradition. She shares her strategies for preparing for these visits and facilitating a dialogue between students and the composers.
Visits from Contemporary Composers
It’s important that students think of modern music as a living tradition.
— Emily Richmond Pollock
An important aspect of 21M.260 Stravinsky to the Present is inviting composers to visit the class. If an educator at a different institution wants to teach a similar course, I would definitely encourage them to seek out composers on their campus or in the local community, and to invite them to visit the class, because it’s important that students think of modern music as a living tradition. Students need to meet musicians and to talk to contemporary composers in order to understand that what they’re learning in the course is not dead history, but vibrant and alive. Many composers working today are directly influenced by the repertoire and composers we are studying in Stravinsky to the Present.
Preparing for the Dialogue
For educators facilitating visits with musicians and composers, I would recommend asking students to develop questions for the visitors in advance as part of a homework assignment or warm-up. Don’t assume the visitors will do the heavy lifting by facilitating the sessions or presenting a prepared lecture. Asking students to prepare questions in advance ensures they’ll be able to contribute to the dialogue about how the composer's work relates to what the students know about or are interested in, and that will be more valuable for everyone.
Spotlighting the Relevance of the Visit
When facilitating these discussions, I think it's important that the instructor have some idea of what relevance she thinks that visitor might have for the students. If important connections don't come up in the dialogue, you can spotlight them and move the discussion along. It also helps if the visit is connected to some kind of event on campus, such as a concert that students can attend. We want the connection to composers to be both intellectual and personal.