Please join Marc Hannaford (University of Michigan) as he presents a workshop on "Music Theory in Context: Creative Implications of George Russell’s Theory of Tonal Gravity."

Hannaford's research centers on “fugitive music theory”— a network of Black music theorists and theoretical practices historically excluded from music theory’s white-centric institutional history. Professor Hannaford’s archival research—including work at UMass regarding former Five College faculty—aims to revitalize the work of marginalized music theorists. In doing so, he challenges the field to reconsider who counts as a music theorist, and what kind of work counts as music theory.

Workshop description: George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, which he completed with a fourth published edition in 2001, offers a plethora of theoretical concepts oriented toward creative freedom of expression. Russell began this work in the 1950s and earlier published versions influenced the development of institutional chord-scale theory. However, chord-scale theory as it appears in most jazz programs strips Russell’s work of its philosophical and spiritual tenets and experimental attitude. My research on Russell’s theory and its place in a larger genealogy of music theory grounded in Black American musical life repositions it as a radical and potent music theory for both analysis and creative practice. This workshop will focus on texts that contextualize the creation and reception of Russell’s work, as well as demonstrate how its primary components can serve creative expression. The result is a contextualized view of music theory in relation to Black music as well as renewed appreciation for what Russell’s work offers the contemporary musician.

Please visit the workshop website for readings for advance preparation and to learn more about Hannaford and his visit to the Five Colleges.

This visit is sponsored by the Five College Lecture Fund, the UMass Amherst MSP Research Support Fund, and the Mount Holyoke Department of Music.