Alkan USA Bicentennial Conference
November 9, 2013, Utah Valley University
Dr. Hugh Macdonald, Keynote Speaker
http://www.alkanconferenceusa.org

Established and emerging scholars are invited to participate in the Alkan USA Bicentennial Conference, held November 9, 2013 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The keynote address will be given by eminent Alkan scholar Dr. Hugh Macdonald, Avis Blewett Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis.

This one-day conference will feature paper presentations, performances, and lecture-recitals on Alkan’s life and work. Interdisciplinary proposals from musicologists, pianists, composers, historians, linguists, and researchers in a broad field of humanities are welcome. Presenters are eligible for up to $800 in cash awards.

Applications should be emailed to Dr. Hilary Demske at Hilary.Demske@uvu.edu, by September 20. Please include your name, a brief biography, submission category and project proposal, time required, and any additional materials needed. All decisions will be sent by October 1.

I. Papers
Paper topics may include any subset of Alkan’s music and musical culture, and will last 15 minutes with a 10-minute question and answer session. A $200 cash award will be given for the best graduate or advanced undergraduate student paper.

II. Lecture-recitals
Lecture-recital proposals are particularly welcome. Topics can highlight a specific piece or group of pieces, make comparisons with other piano composers, offer new transcriptions for chamber music settings, or include original compositions inspired by his music. Lecture-recitals will last 20-30 minutes with a 10-minute question and answer session. A $200 cash award will be given for the most creative lecture-performance.

III. Performances
Recital performances are invited. Solo, duet, and chamber performances are all encouraged, as well as original chamber music transcriptions and Alkan-inspired compositions. There is no formal competition, but two (2) $200 cash awards will be given to the two performances that are heard to most closely align with the spirit of Alkan’s music.

Awards Summary:
One $200 prize will be awarded for the best student paper.
One $200 prize will be awarded for the most creative lecture-recital.
Two $200 prizes will be awarded to performances that are heard to most closely align with the intent of the conference and the spirit of Alkan’s music.

All prizes will be chosen by the Organizing Committee and awarded at the closing banquet. Participants may be involved in all three categories.

Possible Paper Topics:
Musical Paris in the 1830s and 1840s
Chopin and Alkan
Liszt and Alkan
Orchestral elements in Alkan’s piano writing
Alkan’s music as a pedagogical tool
Jewish elements in Alkan’s music
Alkan and the pedal piano
Talks on specific pieces or styles
Talks on specific time periods in Alkan’s life
Recent Alkan resurgence

Possible Lecture-recital Topics:
Side by sides, comparing a piece by Alkan and another piano composer
Alkan interpretation possibilities
Theoretical exploration of piece
Historical exploration of piece
Compositional exploration of piece

Possible Performance Pieces:
Any piece composed by Alkan
An original composition inspired by Alkan