CFP: Benjamin Britten at 100: An American Centenary Symposium, Illinois State Univ., Normal, Oct 2013

CALL FOR PAPERS: Benjamin Britten at 100: An American Centenary Symposium

{Recipients of a 2013 Britten Award by the Trustees of The Britten Estate}

Illinois State University
College of Fine Arts
School of Music
Normal, Illinois, USA
24 – 27 October 2013

The organizers of Benjamin Britten at 100: An American Centenary Symposium are pleased to welcome proposals for a conference and multi-disciplinary symposium to be held 24-27 October 2013. The Keynote address will be given by Dr. Lucy Walker (Director of Learning and Development, Britten-Pears Foundation; the Britten Thematic Catalog Project; editor of Britten in Pictures). Performances will include Britten’s War Requiem and numerous recitals of Britten’s chamber and vocal music as well as Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art.

In addition to focused attention on Britten’s compositional efforts in all genres, the keynote lecture and multiple paper sessions seek to address the following topics:

• his position relative to the so-called English Musical Renaissance headed by Ralph Vaughan
Williams;
• the various aspects of his nearly three-year residency in America and his relationship with the
British public during that time period;
• the operatic innovations with which he heralded an international revival of the English opera
tradition, largely dormant since Henry Purcell;
• the role of the BBC in his development as a composer and performer;
• his part in the founding of the English Opera Group and the Aldeburgh Festival of Music;
• his interest in and efforts toward the development of a repertory of works for children;
• his exploration of non-Western music, especially as exemplified in works for dance and the
operatic stage;
• his collaborations with the foremost instrumentalists and vocalists of the mid-twentieth
century;
• his attention to texts and themes from various generations and geographic locales;
• his response to folksong and the music of earlier centuries;
• his recital and lifelong partnership with tenor Peter Pears, particularly as it developed during
their American years.

300-word abstracts (maximum length) for individual papers of 20 minutes (plus 10 minutes for questions) should be e-mailed in .pdf form to symposium organizers Vicki Pierce Stroeher: stroeherv at marshall.edu and Justin Vickers: vickers at ilstu.edu

Deadline for abstracts: January 31, 2013.

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