Meeting Minutes

Business Meeting

SEM Improvisation Section

Oct. 6, 2021, 3pm EST

I. Call to Order, in attendance:

Brendan Kent, Siv Lie, Dhiren Panikker, Dave Wilson, Jing Xia, Tom Zlabinger.

II. New Business

a) Content of SEM Improvisation Section Annual Meeting (name changed from “business meeting” to “annual meeting”).

• Section updates

• Ice breakers (connect, socialize, and share works)

• Jam section

b) Soliciting the role of Chair.

c) Outreach possibilities (Facebook, twitter, university emails, etc.)

d) Setting up regular meetups for members (shifting times –afternoon and evening; varying formats—book talk, jam, etc.)

e) Designing Section logo (Siv); Creating an officers’ Whats App group

III. Adjournment, 4pm

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Business Meeting

SEM Improvisation Section

Jun. 29, 2021, 5pm EST

I. Call to Order, in attendance:

Brendan Kent, Siv Lie, Dhiren Panikker, Dave Wilson, Jing Xia, Tom Zlabinger.

II. New Business

a) Whether we’d like to host an online meetup of some sort over the next several months (and what could it be).

a. Tom: micro/informal speech (10-15min) for the meetups.

b. Tom, Brenton, Jing: jam + discussion

b) Plans for joining another Section’s meeting at the SEM conference

a. Siv: contacting with Dance, Movement, and Gesture Section.

c) Confirming when we’ll conduct our online/zoom Section business meeting

a. Before the annual SEM meeting

III. Adjournment, 6pm

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Monthly Business Meeting

SEM Improvisation Section

March 6, 2019, 12pm EST

I. Call to Order, in attendance:

Siv Lie, Dave Wilson, Dhiren Panikker, Scott Currie

II. Old Business

a) Approved sponsorship from SEM (Dave)

b) Bibliography Project

· Mark Lomanno said he will get back to us about compiling a bibliography

c) Syllabus sharing

· emailed Mark Laver, no news yet

d) ISM Conference

· Some confusion over the parameters of the pre-conference. A concert may be difficult to coordinate. Scott will connect with Alex on this topic

e) Online tools

· Dhiren, post links to front page of SEM Improvisation website

III. New Business

a) SEM 2019

· Dave: Importance of co-sponsoring panels and connecting with local musicians. Spoke to Meryl Krieger about getting in touch with musicians. Will reach out to saxophonist Greg Ward at Indiana about the possibilities of working together

· Scott: Saxophonist-ethnomusicologist Dave MacDonald might be a good ally though his connections at Indiana University and role as co-chair in the Local Arrangements Committee. Scott will reach out on this topic

III. Adjournment, 1pm

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Monthly Business Meeting

SEM Improvisation Section

February 6, 2019

3-5pm (EST)

I. Call to Order, in attendance:

Siv Lie, Dave Wilson, Alex Rodriguez, Dhiren Panikker, Scott Currie

II. New Business

A. Communication

- Unanimous agreement for monthly open office hour

- Alex: New slack members, 9 total. Reach out to new members individually and thank them.

- Scott: challenge of communicating through email list serve; once a month office hour would be more effective. Also, wouldn’t need to waste half of the meeting time at SEM for business.

- Scott: Consolidate info on the SEM google site

- Siv: Challenge of keeping track of different technological tools, particularly trello. Need to get used to using it ourselves.

- Dhiren: Need to figure out what kinds of conversations we want to have and then find the tools to make those happen.

B. Agenda Item (Scott): International Society for Improvised Music

- Pre-conference in Minneapolis, May 14-15th

- Siv, Dave, Dhiren, and Alex probably won’t be able to attend, but would like the improv section to be involved in some capacity

C. SEM Orchestra

- Scott: We need to keep the Saturday night spot; don’t want to be totally subsumed under the Improvisation section; improvisatory critique and practice as two sides of the same coin

- Dave: Creating a flow between the two as a way to break down the dominant epistemologies of SEM

D. ?

III. Adjournment (5pm)

Eighth Annual Business Meeting

SEM Special Interest Group for Improvisation

November 15, 2018

7:30-8:30pm

I. Call to Order, in attendance:

Siv Lie, Vivek Virani, Jay Loomis, Dave Wilson, Tracy McMullen, Judy Olsen, Scott Currie, Alex Rodriguez, Dhiren Panikker, Jay Arms, Robert Reigle (visitor), Dean Reynolds, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Meryl Krieger

II. Old Business

A. Announcement of new co-chair, Siv Lie

B. Farewell to Alex

III. New Business

A. Section Elections

§ Dave Wilson elected as External Liaison (two-year position)

§ Dhiren Panikker elected as Secretary-Treasurer (two-year position)

B. New Communication Tools: New digital platform to communicate and support improvised music research outside the meeting, particularly for those unable to attend SEM

§ Tanya Kalmanovitch

· Emphasize the role of improvisation as embodied praxis rather than exclusively scholarly research

· Syllabus and pedagogy sharing

· Taking on meaning of improvisation in North American setting as metonymy for whiteness, masculinity, and Eurocentricity

· Thinking more curatorial by supporting more proposals and panels

· Critiquing the “genreness" of improvisation

§ Vivek Virani and Judy Olsen: Does it always have to be about the critique of whiteness?

C. Other Proposals

§ Scott Currie, Dave Wilson, Meryl Krieger: We need to work against the default area studies model!

§ Scott Currie: Need more panel sponsorships. Only one workshop sponsorship this year, and our name doesn’t even appear on the program! We also need to engage with program committee and create more slots beyond our section meeting

D. Other Business, Scott Currie

§ Amendment to the charter to combine SEM orchestra and Improvisation Section

E. Final Announcements

§ Judy Olsen: Anyone interested in hosting performance/workshop at local institutions for Hungarian improvisers coming to New York?

§ Scott Currie: Opportunity for Improv Section to participate in pre-conference activities at ISIM in Minneapolis (May 14-15)

IV. Adjournment (8:40pm)

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Third Annual Meeting of the SEM Improvisation Section

26 October 2017

Denver, Colorado

6:30 PM

I: Call to Order (6:45 PM)

In Attendance:

Dhiren Panikker, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Lommano, Dave Wilson, Siv Lie, Sean Sonderegger, Scott Currie, Jing Xia, Ellen Waterman, Rajna Swaminathan, Ganavya Doraiswamy, Niko Higgins, Daniel Subodnik, Mehrenegar Rostami, Tanya Kalmonovitch, Parmela Attariwala, Ian Copeland, Justin Hunter, Meryl Krieger, Rujing Wang

II: Open Event, Improvising Pathways Through Academia

Participants:

Mark Lomanno, Northeastern University

Rajna Swaminathan, Harvard University

Sean Sonderegger, Wesleyan University

Ganavya Doraiswamy, Harvard University

Ellen Waterman, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Highlights:

Rajna: Interrogating scholarship and art music categories

Sean: Developing musical fundamentals: listening, groove, time, etc.

Ganavya: hegemonies of caste/privilege/art

Ellen: institutional de-investment in permanent positions

-making improvisation and ethnomusicology legible at the institutional level

-maintaining rigor

(Break, refreshments)

III: Business Meeting (7:55 PM)

A: Elections

- new co-chair: Siv B. Lie

B: Consolidating roles

- one liaison position: name TBA

- need to amend charter

C: Reflections on meeting

- good turnout but only 12 people at business meeting, why?

- how do we get more people in the door?

- gender diversity but not generational diversity (Scott Currie)

D: Increasing turnout

1) Get a bigger spaces

2) Involve guests

- more involvement in Q&A, introductions, etc.

- asking invited guests to stay through business meeting

- asking guests what they would like to see in future meetings

3) Meeting structure

- continuous 2-hour block, no break?

- shorter business meeting

- why do we have to follow a traditional model? (Scott Currie)

- allocate time for brainstorming next year’s meeting

4) Expanding bibliography on section page

IV: Closing Announcements

A: Meryl Kreiger: SEM career development

- podcast for non-faculty careers outside academia

- suggestions for guests on podcast

VI: Adjournment (8:45 PM)

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First Annual Meeting of the SEM Improvisation Section

4 December 2015

Austin, TX, USA

7:00pm

I. Call to order. In attendance:

Mark Lomanno, Mark Laver, Siv B. Lie, Dave Wilson, Otto Stuparitz, Jason Robinson, Pete williams, Nancy Grace, Kelsey Klotz, Charles Sharp, Rachel Carrico, Meryl Krieger, Carolyn Chong, Judy Olson, Scott Currie, Robert Labaree, Amanda Scherbenske, Gabriel Solis, Michelle Kisliuk, Scott Marcus, Tracy McMullen

II. Last Year’s Business

A. Section Application

a. Improvisation Section application approved in February 2015. Collective effort by board members, along with Alex Rodriguez and Scott Currie. Andrew Weintraub who oversaw the application process, said that the Improvisation Section application was unanimously approved, and was one of the most comprehensive that he had ever scene.

B. Officer Reports

a. Mark Laver – co-chair, secretary/treasurer, communications

b. Siv B. Lie – organizational liaison

i. Working with other organizations to establish opportunities for collaboration

c. Dave Wilson – local scenes liaison

i. First successful off-site improvisation session.

ii. Offered opportunities to connect with local improvisers.

iii. Highly successful event that sets a valuable precedent for future conferences.

C. SEM 2014

a. Individual papers but no sponsored panels

b. Improvisation as theme in the Seeger lecture.

c. In 2015, we’ve had several officially affiliated events – sponsored panels and a workshop.

IV. New Business

A. Zotero Bibliography – Open Call

a. Current bibliography is comprised mostly of Mark Lomanno’s own bibliography.

b. Call for participation would be an effective way of formalizing and expanding this project.

c. Bibliography will be organized via tags – performance, pedagogy, intercultural improvisation, etc.

d. Project will only succeed with community contributions.

e. Scott Currie – Zotero seems like a difficult format to use.

f. Scott Currie – tagging every entry seems very daunting and time consuming.

g. Scott Currie – can anyone edit? A: Editors are approved by a moderator, but not anyone can add entries without prior approval.

h. Maryl Krieger – how to access the site? A: Link on the Section website.

i. Mark Lomanno volunteers to tag entries.

j. Scott Currie – possibility of institutional support for tagging entry.

k. Mark Laver – There might be support through Grinnell College.

l. Mark Lomanno – Some tags are automatically imported. Much of the work of tagging will actually be troubleshooting and proof reading.

m. Jason Robinson – Encourages an open call beyond ethnomusicology.

n. Scott Currie – Expanding possible affiliations with other societies, including SMT and SAM.

o. Mark Lomanno – Digital collaborations on this project could lead to ongoing, person-to-person relationships.

p. Charles Sharp – A collaborative bibliography may not go as far, especially if institutional funding doesn’t go through.

q. Mark Lomanno – The collective effort will also include collecting syllabi.

r. Scott Currie – Collaboration and collective effort will make for a richer and more comprehensive resource.

s. Jason Robinson – ICASP in Guelph is collecting and sharing syllabi.

t. Maryl Krieger – Building on existing resources, such as the Guelph material.

u. Charles Sharp – Consider listing names and contacts for collaborators working with the local scenes liaison.

v. Scott Currie – The improvisation section and SEM orchestra have conflicted with one another this year. The SEM Orchestra was founded to ensure that there would be opportunities for improvised music-making at the conference, so conflicts between the Orchestra events and Improvisation Section events undermine our shared interests and goals.

w. Mark Lomanno – the bibliography project should raise the profile of improvisation studies in the society, and will highlight the fluidity and flexibility of the field.

B. SEM 2016

a. Mark Lomanno – suggestions for potential panels or other events?

i. Robert Labaree – have there been any connections sought with historical musicology in terms of improvisation studies?

ii. Gabriel Solis – Does AMS have an improvisation special interest group? We might consider submitting a panel to AMS.

iii. Robert Labaree – Period studies in historical musicology makes collaboration across sub-specialties more challenging.

iv. Pete Williams – Improvisation and disability is a growing area of study, and would be worthy of a panel.

v. Michelle Kisliuk – The formats that are available at SEM don’t set up the kinds of intellectual interaction that we really want. Roundtables are good, but the formality dampens the creative and playful atmosphere. If we can find other kinds of structures or improvisatory formats that can establish a new category of session, that might be desirable. A panel on contrasting concepts of improvisation. The idea of race and ethnicity and identity seems relevant. Definitions of improvisation tend to be very particular. Probably 90% of the kinds of music that people study tend to be improvisatory. So what does a focus on improvisation allow?

vi. Mark Lomanno – Putting together the section application proved how prevalent improvisation has been in the discipline of ethnomusicology. Foregrounding improvisation would not only be beneficial to the interests of the section, but also to the interests of the society.

b. Mark Lomanno – Request for connections to forums or venues that support improvisation in Washington D.C. for 2016?

i. Jason Robinson – Cuneform Records.

ii. Dave Wilson – Resolving conflict with SEM Orchestra – The Orchestra rehearses every night, so conflicts are inevitable. What if we hosted the concert at an outside venue, followed by an open jam session.

iii. Meryl Krieger – programming the concert offsite

iv. Charles Sharp – The SEM Orchestra and the Improvisation Section might not fit comfortably aesthetically.

v. Mark Laver – The SEM Orchestra is valuable in part for it’s onsite visibility.

vi. Amanda Scherbenske – What is the mandate behind the jam session? Is it to connect with a local scene? A: Yes

vii. Charles Sharp – Keeping the possibilities (in terms of venue and musical tradition) for the offsite event open needs to be a priority.

viii. Pete Williams – Perhaps the section business meeting could incorporate involvement from the Orchestra.

ix. Mark Lomanno – Proposes roundtable during section meeting on diverse traditions of improvisation.

x. Pete Williams – We might couple the roundtable with a concert featuring artists from those traditions, and including those artists in the discussion.

xi. Amanda Scherbenske – How do we facilitate dialogue between institutions and networks that deal with improvisation? A: Siv’s as organizational liaison is to foster those kinds of cross-institutional conversations.

xii. Mark Lomanno – One of the most important aspects of section status is the extra hour, because it allows us to ensure that we can enable the kind of programming that we’d like to see.

IV. Election of Officers

A. Co-chair—Alex W. Rodriguez

V. Member Year-In-Review

VI. Adjournment

Please email any comments regarding necessary revisions to <SEMimprov@gmail.com>.

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Fifth Annual Meeting of the SEM Special Interest Group for Improvisation

15 November 2014

Pittsburgh, PA USA

12:30pm

I. Call to order. In attendance:

Mark Laver, Michael Heller, Scott Currie, Matt DelCiampo, Dave Wilson, Tamar Sella, Alex W. Rodriguez, Jeremy Levine, Rick Deja, Chris Tonelli, Ofer Gazit, William Scally, Siv Lie, Tom Greenland, Kariann Goldschmitt, Ellen Waterman, Ken Prouty, Ryan McCormack, Darren Mueller, Judy Olson, Juniper Hill, Evan Rapport, Mark Lomanno, Meghan Forsyth, Rob Wallace

II. Reports on recent SIG activities

A. Sponsored roundtable session on Improvisation: Powering and Empowering Pedagogy, featuring presentations by Mark Laver, Richard Mook, Alex W. Rodriguez, Ted Solís, and Tom Zlabinger at 2013 SEM Conference.

B. Bibliography of Improvisation Resources

1. Lomanno describes Zotero bibliography

2. Scott Currie asks, does it spam your inbox? Answer: No

3. Started off by George Mason University, nonprofit (Kariann Goldschmitt mentioned)

IV. Proposals for future activities

A. Continued sponsorship of papers/panels/roundtables

1. No sponsored panels accepted this year (but many improvisation papers)

2. Judy Olson on Bulgarian music/dance improvisation

3. Dave Wilson proposed co-sponsored panel with Euro SIG

4. Mark Lomanno proposes aggregating improvisation-related conference papers

B. Conversion to Section status

1. Scott Currie in favor of section status, in part because sponsoring panels has been ineffective

2. Juniper Hill proposes alternative format/participatory events as Section

3. Judy Olson notes that dues are possible

4. Scott Currie seconds Juniper's recommendation to stay outside of boxes

5. Scott Currie suggests working with SEM Orchestra

6. Ellen Waterman suggestions a conversation on curriculum reform in ethnomusicology

7. Ken Prouty suggests intervention in NASM ethnomusicology requirement as advocacy role--strongly worded statement?

8. Unanimous vote in favor of section status

9. Dues? $5 minimum students, $10 faculty

10. Scott Currie Suggests appointing a treasurer

C. Publication opportunities

1. Critical Studies in Improvisation

2. Ethnomuisoclogy Review

3. Jazz Perspectives

4. Analysis of Traditional Music

5. International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation postdoc annually through 2020

IV. Election of Officers

A. Communications (change to secretary-treasurer)--Mark Laver

B. Local scene liaison--Dave Wilson

C. Organizational liaison--Siv Lie

V. Additional

A. Michael Heller promotes 20th anniversary Vision Festival--July 7, NYC

B. Meeting adjourned

Please email any comments regarding necessary revisions to <SEMimprov@gmail.com>.

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Fourth Annual Meeting of the SEM Special Interest Group for Improvisation

16 November 2013

Indianapolis, IN, USA

12:30pm

I. Call to order. In attendance:

Mark Laver, Charles Sharp, Michael Alleman, Sean Sonderegger, Meryl Krieger, Greg Campbell, David Racanelli, Ellen Waterman, Sally Childs-Helton, Mark Lomanno, Kelsey Klotz, Alex W. Rodriguez, Tom Zlabinger, Tamar Barzel, Sarah Town, Juniper Hill, Rob Wallace, Scott Currie, Rick Mook, Tom Greenland, Catherine Foley, Carlos Odria, Beau Bothwell, Ted Solis

II. Reports on recent SIG activities

A. Joint SEM/SMT Roundtable on Improvisation as Object of Study and Critical Paradigm (with contributions from Julie Cumming, Roger Moseley, Bruno Nettl, Laudan Nooshin, August, Sheehy, Paul Steinbeck, and George E. Lewis) at SEM/AMS/SMT 2012.

B. Presented and sponsored sessions: Various Takes on Improvisation (Jason Robinson, Carlos Odria, Mark Laver) and Improvisation as Embodied Cultural Practice (Ellen Waterman, Mark Lomanno, David Borgo, Judith Olson) at SEM/AMS/SMT 2012.

C. Adopted new organizational charter

D. Sponsored 2013 roundtable for SEM Indianapolis: Improvisation, Powering and Empowering Pedagogy (Mark Laver, Richard Mook, Ted Solis, Tom Zlabinger, Alex W. Rodriguez).

IV. Proposals for future activities

A. Continued sponsorship of panels/papers

1. Improvisation in cross-cultural perspective

2. Practice-based research

3. Various members expressed interest in becoming a Section in order to sponsor larger events

4. Consider co-sponsorship with other SIGs

B. Sponsor panels at regional chapters

1. Mark L. described success at Niagra chapter in 2011

2. Members indicated regional affiliations

C. Other events that Improvisation SIG could sponsor at SEM

1. Performances (formal and/or informal)

2. Workshop or lecture-demo

3. Short workshop or presentation during business meeting

4. Suggestion: collaborating with improvising musician organization Music for People

D. Other forms of advocacy

1. New page for posting improvisation-related syllabi

2. Tom Zlabinger volunteered to share his Improv Compendium bibliography

3. Crowdsourced document will be created to add syllabi and bibliographic resources

E. Other Conferences

1. International Society for Improvised Music conference at The New School, June 5-8 2014

2. Performance Studies Network International Conference at The University of Cambridge July 17-20, 2014

F. Publication opportunities

1. Critical Studies in Improvisation

2. Ethnomusicology Review (peer-reviewed articles, deadline in early March) and the Ethnomusicology Review Sounding Board (published year-round)

V. Election of officers

A. Mark Lomanno elected Incoming Co-Chair, replacing Outgoing Co-Chair Scott Currie

B. Alex W. Rodriguez (Communications Officer) and Mark Laver (Chair) continue in current positions

Please email any comments regarding necessary revisions to <SEMimprov@gmail.com>.

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Third Annual Meeting of the SEM Special Interest Group for Improvisation

3 November 2012

New Orleans, LA, USA

12:30pm

Held jointly with SMT Improvisation Interest Group