Research, Scholarship & Education
Dissertation Abstract
Working thesis title: "Historiography and the problem of the year 1600; Performance practice in the lighter vocal forms of Sigismondo d'India." My research uses the little known lighter vocal forms of Sigismondo d'India to examine larger issues in the fields of musicology and historical performance practice, regarding when the Renaissance period 'ends' and when the Baroque 'begins.' I will look at this specific repertoire as an integral link between sixteenth- and seventeenth-century practice, standing between madrigals and monody. Furthermore, I propose to examine what implications my research will have on contemporary performance practice, based on sessions I conducted where early music colleagues sight-read d'India's two volumes of villanelle. By compiling the results of their questionnaires, I am formulating a method for approaching the lighter forms, in relation to periodicity. I suggest that the reason d'India's lighter forms are rarely performed and little studied is that they do not fit into our neat, discreet notions of periodization. A (re)introduction of them to the canon would blur and nuance the lines between sixteenth- and seventeenth-century styles, with an inherent critique of periodicity. The vast majority of d'India scholarship focuses either on his monodies, or polyphonic madrigals. However, I will be looking at the lighter forms precisely because they are less obviously stile nuovo or antico; here we can really test the ends of Renaissance and the beginnings of Baroque practice, which coexisted in a way that I postulate was totally natural to d'India, his contemporaries, and also should be to modern performers. D'India's villanelle blur the lines between genres and musical eras in a way that should be instructive to contemporary musicologists and performers.
Education
| 2007 - present |
PhD Candidate in Music by Thesis, University of York, UK: Historical Performance Practice (Voice)
Recipient of the Lady Roslyn Lyons MA Scholarship, and the International Student Award |
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| 2003 - 04 | PhD Candidate, Eastman School of Music; University of Rochester: Musicology (Vocal Performance) | |
| 1998 - 01 |
MTS, Harvard University; The Divinity School: Medieval Studies, Gender Studies
Bok Center Graduate Writing Fellowship winner |
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| 1993 - 97 | BA, Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music: dual majors in Musicology with honours (Vocal Performance), and Religion |
Research Events
23 October 2010
University of Leeds Music departmentRMA STUDY DAY: The University of Leeds and The Royal Musical Association announce a Postgraduate Study Day on Collaborations in Practice Led Research which aims to explore the role of collaboration within practice-led research in music and hopes to examine the creative process within the setting of collaborative partnerships. Suzanne and Emily Kalies wil give a lecture-recital based on the January 2010 premiere of noitcelfeRReflection as part of The Link Project at Sensorium. More information can be found here.
25 September 2010
Oxford University, Faculty of Music, St. Aldate's, OxfordRMA/ SSCNM CONFERENCE: A Royal Musical Association Study Day in association with the Sixteenth-/Seventeenth-Century Music Network: Re-examining the Transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque. A Forum for Student-Led Research Panel discussion chaired by Peter Holman, Reinhard Strohm and Richard Wistreich. Sue is a member of the SSCMN and will give a paper at the conference; see the RMA site for more information.
7 - 9 January 2010
University of York, Music department, HeslingtonRMA CONFERENCE: York hosts the annual Student Research Conference of the Royal Music Association - Convergence and Confluence: Exploring shared ground in musical research. Sue will co-chair a panel discussion on "Ownership of the Musical Work," chair a paper session on "Convention and Genre," and read a paper on Jesuit Music drama for a colleague. I am also on the Committee as Programme Coordinator and Website Coordinator. To learn more, please see this link.
8 January 2009
16:00 - King’s College, LondonPAPER PRESENTATION: Sue gives a talk at The Annual Gender and Medieval Studies Conference, Locating Gender at King’s College, London, 8-10 January 2009, Council Room, Strand Campus. For more information, follow this link.
11 December 2008
17:30 - York Minster Library, Alcuin Room, YorkPAPER PRESENTATION: Medieval Religion Research Group, York Centre for Medieval Studies. Suzanne Fatta (Music, York), “Subversion, Suffering and Gender Fluidity in the Mystical Writings of Francis of Assisi and Angela of Foligno.” For more information, follow this link.
Teaching Experience
| 2008 - 10 | Tutorial Assistant, Writing Tutor, and Teaching Assistant (Intro to the Fundamentals: Writing About Music); York Music Department | |
| 2006 - 07 |
Adjunct Professor, Canisius College, Buffalo, NY
- Fine Arts/ Music Department, Sacred Musics of the World - Religion Department, Zen and the Meditative Tradition | |
| 2001 - 03 |
Teaching Fellow, Harvard Music Department
- Core Course, Music of the Swing Era, under Prof. Robert Levin Recipient of the Bok Center Teaching Award of Distinction - Teaching Assistant, Harvard Music Department, Core Course, Soundscapes, under Prof. Shelemay |
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| 1994 - 96 |
Teaching Assistant, Tutor, Oberlin Conservatory of Music
- Introduction to Music History 101, under Prof. Sylvan Suskin - Introduction to Music History 100, under Prof. Suskin - Music of the Baroque Era, under Prof. Steven Plank |
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| 1993 - 95, 99 |
Music Instructor and Camp Counselor, Camp Encore/ Coda; Sweden, ME; summers
- private voice lessons, vocal performance classes, vocal chamber groups and jazz choir, introductory music history, all levels of music theory, camper concerts producer, Music Librarian |
Sample syllabi
Zen and the Meditative Life
Department of Religious Studies, Canisius College
This course will give a brief overview of the entire Buddhist tradition, leading up to a focused examination of Zen Buddhism as practiced in China and Japan primarily, as well as in Korea, Vietnam and the West; other meditative traditions will be studied, notably Christian practice. The history, practices and beliefs of the Zen tradition will be situated in and studied through their broader cultural context. Please note, this is not a how-to-do-it course! (If you’re interested in doing meditation, I can help you find outside organizations). Students will learn how to read critically, to write clearly and question constructively in this class. Most classes will be lectures; we will also have discussion sessions and audio-visual viewings. Students will also keep a Zen journal, which will help us reflect on the unfortunate portrayal of Zen in popular culture and imagination, especially in marketing.
Sacred Musics of the World
Department of Fine Arts, Canisius College; Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of York
This class will give an overview of sacred music traditions from around the world. We will look at liturgical music, songs for private devotion, popular music, rock & folk protest songs, and the correlation between dance and performance in religious music. Also, we will examine the distinctions between sacred, religious, mystical, shamanistic and liturgical musics. Students will learn how to read critically, to write clearly, to listen to music and question constructively in this class. Most classes will be lectures; we will also have discussion sessions and audio-visual viewings. An ability to read music is not a requirement for this course, non-musicians are welcome. We will emphasize all music traditions equally and on their own terms in this class, each topic will be situated historically and culturally in its own context. We’ll also examine how people use sacred music to negotiate a nexus of identity, and how politics, social change and social justice come into play. Hands-on listening will round out each class. Students are encouraged to bring their own expertise to class.
Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World
Music department (core course), Harvard University
Prof. Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Many musical traditions at the turn of the 21st century cross geographic boundaries. Nowhere are diverse music traditions more prominently represented in public performance and maintained in private practice than in North America, where centuries of immigration and an increasingly multiethnic population have given rise to a complex musical environment. “Soundscapes” explores a cross-section of the different musical styles that coexist and interact in today’s society, examining their relationship to their historical homelands and to their present-day settings.