Road to Redemption
Well, another Friday came and went. That's usually when I'm inspired to say something on the ol' blog. This is my 51st post. With it, I bid farewell to March. Forever. It's the last March I'll spend in school.
So today's seminar was actually worthwhile. Write that down, because I'll never say that again. The whole seminar was spent listening to this one prof present a couple of her pieces--a percussion ensemble piece and an orchestra piece. Wow. Someone actually presented their music. This has only happened once this semester—I’m not exaggerating (that begs the question: what the crap do we do every week??). It was pretty good music, too. Unpretentious, well-crafted, and--*gasp*--likeable!
Immediately following the seminar was a lecture. You know, another “required” event that they don’t tell you about until a few days beforehand. A few of us skipped. We figured, after the fiasco of last Wednesday, we deserved a freebee. It was too beautiful a day to sit through more inane drivel. I don’t know, there was some visiting theorist who was presenting on “Queer Theory”… basically, nothing that has anything to do with me. I don’t see why I’m required to go to a seminar of almost two hours about gay studies in twentieth-century music… that doesn’t even talk about music theory!!!!
It has nothing to do with me. It won’t make me a better composer. It won’t interest me. It won’t inform me. Therefore, I didn’t go. I have other crap to do. Half out of spite, and half out of apathy, I didn’t go to the lecture. Guess what? I’m not sorry. I heard all about it from those who did go. I didn’t miss anything.
I’m sure I’ll take crap for this. It doesn’t matter. Nobody really cared about my opinion anyway. I get the feeling that the majority of my peers (and professors) see me in a poor light. I’m not as irreverent as some people make me out to be. I’m every bit as intellectual and professional as anyone else in there. I’m not setting a bad example. I almost always hold my tongue—at least until I’m in the company of kindred spirits.
I’ve been in quite a rut lately. When dignity is all I have left, I don’t appreciate when self-righteous people challenge it. I declare April the month of redemption.
posted by the warrior bard at 11:01 PM
2 Comments:
TO APRIL!!!
Saturday, April 01, 2006 7:24:00 AM
We had to do some study of "feminist" musicology (and by extension, gay "theory") in Bulen's history class. There are people who spend their entire careers devoting themselves to the study of both "feminist musicology" and "queer theory" trying to state that the music of women and homosexuals sounds different from that of straight men. I've only had to scratch the surface of it but those involved in the arguments usually get very vitriolic. Personally I'm not convinced. My advice? Run away.
I can't attest to whether it has any musical value, but I think that you're right about one thing: it won't make you a better composer.
On the feminist musicology thing, some people claim that you can tell the difference between a work written by a man and that of a woman. Perhaps 100-150 years ago but not today. Two of the pieces performed by the symphony this season have been by women. If nobody told me they were by women, I wouldn't have known. That being said, I knew they were by women and it didn't make me think any differently about them. Macrocosmically speaking one was good (successful), the other was not.
Monday, April 03, 2006 1:20:00 PM
<< Home