William Robin, Ph.D. 2016

Advisor: Mark Katz

Dissertation Title: A Scene Without a Name: Indie Classical and American New Music in the Twenty-First Century

Find it in the library here.

Dissertation Abstract:

As the American symphony orchestra and opera house experience ongoing economic crises in the early 21st century, critics and observers often point towards an inspiring solution: a rich, entrepreneurial culture of contemporary classical music, one populated by youthful ensembles, record labels, and other new institutions. My dissertation is a social history of a particularly successful strand of new music—neither avant-garde nor experimental in its aesthetics and ideology, comfortably ensconced in a commercial marketplace, and in ongoing dialogue with popular music—through the lens of its institutions and their development. New institutions make aesthetic and social statements: they revolve around groupings of similarly minded artists, both reinscribing old scenes and forming new communities. Drawing on archival research, reception history, interviews, and ethnography—and guided by sociological tools including actor-network theory—I will investigate the intertwining of sociality and economics in these institutions, and how those phenomena shape their musical practices. 

Three case studies each examine a different organization central to contemporary classical music: the composer collective Bang on a Can; the record label New Amsterdam; and the ensemble yMusic. Since its founding in 1987, Bang on a Can has transformed from a small presenter of marathon concerts in downtown New York to a large-scale non-profit. My chapter examines the early years of Bang on a Can’s development, focusing on how it forged a particular narrative about new music, created a sustainable funding and presentation model, and established an aesthetic identity through curation and programming. A second case study addresses New Amsterdam Records, a label launched in 2008 by young composers to promote what they call “post-genre” music. In only a few years, the mission of a small label can expand and transform, as it moves outward from participating in classical music culture towards staking ground in the wider popular music industry. My third case focuses on the ensemble yMusic, which commissions new works from colleagues and acts as a back-up group for indie-rock bands. When yMusic visits Minnesota to perform in a cross-genre music series, or participates in a residency program at Duke University, it establishes local connections that re-articulate and also confront its established ensemble identity. Addressing how contemporary music travels—and how translocal developments interact with local music scenes and forms of patronage—sheds light on the economic and social implications of these new institutional models. Together, these three case studies demonstrate that new music is predicated on a collaborative and communal institutional network, one also shaped by the broader forces of neoliberalism. 

Dr. Robin is currently Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Maryland’s School of Music. He is under contract with Oxford University Press for his first book, Industry: Bang on a Can and New Music in the Marketplace, which builds upon his dissertation work. He has also published several articles on contemporary classical music and American psalmody. He also contributes regularly to public-facing writing venues such as The New York Times and NewMusicBox.  

Pruett Fellow, 2012