AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER
ANNUAL MEETING
MINUTES OF THE BUSINESS MEETING
Saturday, 27 March 2004
Chapter Joint Officers: Deborah Kauffman, Jonathan Bellman
Meeting presided over by Deborah Kauffman
Minutes taken by Jonathan Bellman
1. Call to Order
Deborah Kauffman called the meeting to order at 12:50 pm, and read a motion introduced in absentia by Oliver Ellsworth to adjourn. The motion was tabled.
2. Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the previous meeting held in Tucson (12 April 2003) were amended. Antonia Banducci questioned the meaning of item #4 (report from the AMS Council meeting in Columbus) and asked to introduce the report that she had submitted last year. The minutes were approved, with that changed, by all present. [reproduce report here]
3. Treasurer’s Report
Deborah Kauffman reported that chapter funds came from the $10 registration fee for non-students, and last year’s $97 per capita check from the national AMS (which was never cashed). After paying for expenses for the meeting (including copying, catered coffee breaks, and misc. supplies), the chapter should have about $20 left. Kauffman also noted that she applied for and received a grant of $150 from the AMS Chapter Funds to help pay for the rental of parts for the performance of the chamber arrangement of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde that was presented the evening of March 26 in conjunction with our meeting.
More funds are expected from the national AMS in the form of the 2003-2004 per capita payment that has not yet been received. Kauffman has made sure that the necessary forms have been submitted and has queried Bob Judd, but has not received a reply. She suggested that, should the funds come through, the money could possibly be transferred for next year’s meeting, or they might be divided between the 2 student representatives to help defray their costs of attending the national meeting in Seattle. Antonia Banducci moved that any left-over funds be distributed to student representatives. Tom Riis seconded, and the motion passed.
4. Report from AMS Council
Kauffman (the chapter representative to the council) reported that most of the discussion at the AMS Council meeting had to do with how the AMS should act regarding the issue of Fair Use, whether to take an official stance on the issue of copyright laws. It was voted to form a committee formed to study the issue, with Mitchell Morris as chair.
The council also discussed issues of diversity, but no action was taken.
5. Choose Student Representatives
AMS rules regarding student representatives and their duties were read. Because our one student representative (Marie Sumner Lott) will be graduating, two new student reps need to be chosen: one for a 1-year term and one for a 2-year term, so that their terms will overlap.
Six candidates expressed interest and were introduced: Laura McCormick (University of Arizona), Karen Stirnitzke (Northern Arizona University), Lewis Pilot (University of Colorado), Lezlie Botkin (University of Colorado), Lisa M. Cook (University of Colorado), and Trudi Wright (University of Colorado). Each candidate spoke briefly about his or her background. A written poll was taken, with members voting for 2 candidates. Karen Stirnitzke was elected for the 1-year term, and Lewis Pilot was elected for the 2-year term.
6. Host institution for next year’s meeting
Jim Leve offered to host the 2005 meeting at the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. The University of Denver would like to host it in 2006; Arizona State University would like to host in 2007; Brigham Young University would like to host in 2008.
7. Rules of procedure
Alan Luhring reminded the chapter that the 2 rules already approved were as follows:
1. No chapter dues shall be charged.
2. Chapter officers are to be elected from the host school.
Last year, two other rules were added:
3. Host institutions are requested to keep conference registration fees to a minimum.
4. Papers for annual meetings are to be accepted according to the following priority: (1) faculty and independent scholars within the region; (2) students within the region; (3) students within the host institution; (4) faculty and independent scholars outside the region; (5) students outside the region.
Carlo Caballero pointed out that the rules for selecting papers runs directly against the by-laws of the national AMS, which requires that papers for any AMS meeting, national or regional, be selected solely on the basis of merit. Alan opined that the chapter has been run as it has in order to support collegiality; however, he would not stand in the way if younger members decided to change the way things are done (“I’ve washed my hands of it! I don’t give a damn!”). Antonia Banducci suggested that continuity would be better served by adopting by-laws and a website; she also expressed doubt that some more structure would negatively affect collegiality. Harrison Powley said that there are chapter archives housed at BYU, and that by E-mailing the librarian there we could get copies of the materials, if need be. Suzanne Moulton-Gertig offered to set up a list-serve for the chapter, so that discussion of the issue could continue by email. No further action was taken on changing rules or establishing new ones, but there is a communal sense that procedures need to be tightened up and codified.
8. It was moved by Alan Luhring and seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:50.
Respectfully submitted,
Jonathan Bellman