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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan
@sam-reenan.bsky.social
470 followers 300 following 47 posts
Music theorist researching form and genre mixture in early 20c music. he/him/his. Author, Symphonic Spectacles (OUP 2025). All views my own
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · May 23
It’s publication day!

Symphonic Spectacles is officially out today with Oxford University Press @oxfordacademic.bsky.social

I couldn’t be more thrilled with how the book came out! You can find it for purchase at the link below, or read online with Oxford Academic.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Sep 2
Update: still cute, this is now a kitten account
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Sep 1
Macaroni (aka Big Mac) wants to know how handsome he is
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Sep 1
New job new cat
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Aug 15
Check out this must-read article by @garrt.bsky.social on the 150th birthday of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor!

(And, as always, support NPR and public media!)
garrt.bsky.social
Dr. Garrett Schumann @garrt.bsky.social · Aug 15
I'm so excited to share my new piece for @npr.org about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and the intricacies of his legacy - today is his actual 150th birthday!

I'm so grateful to my interview subjects: Samantha Ege, Curtis Stewart, Leah Broad, Michael Repper, and Sam Reenan

www.npr.org/2025/08/14/n...
150 years of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, overlooked icon of Black classical music
The British composer was a generational success story before his death at 37 — yet keeping that legacy in view has always been a challenge, even during his lifetime.
www.npr.org
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Reposted by Sam Reenan
bengeyer.bsky.social
Ben Geyer @bengeyer.bsky.social · Jul 17
Really happy to see this video article published. Thanks to @theorymeg.bsky.social for her incredible feedback and encouragement throughout!

This is public-facing scholarship but I still wanted to raise some serious questions about the way jazz theory is done. I hope you enjoy it!
theorymeg.bsky.social
Megan Non Brevis @theorymeg.bsky.social · Jul 17
Don't miss the newest SMT-V by @bengeyer.bsky.social — it's a fabulous exploration of what it means to improvise and how that impacts harmony and the ontology of jazz tunes. I was so grateful to be a part of shepherding this video from conception to completion.
vimeo.com/1039031010
SMT-V 11.4 "Improvising the Changes in a Miles Davis Rhythm Section," by Ben Geyer
Individual musicians can make different chord choices in each pass through a tune’s form. This variability sometimes results in harmonic disagreement between…
vimeo.com
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Reposted by Sam Reenan
robinjames.bsky.social
Robin James @robinjames.bsky.social · Jul 16
Since the Duke UP faculty board approved the final MS for Good Vibes Only for publication earlier this week, here’s the final(?) version of the book’s intro

Tl;dr - new form of biopower: no meat, just vibes

www.its-her-factory.com/2025/07/good...
Good Vibes Only – Latest Introduction
www.its-her-factory.com
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jul 10
Enigma (2019), movement 3, performed by Spektral Quartet in 2020

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cojb...
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: ENIGMA - Mvt 3
YouTube video by Spektral Quartet
www.youtube.com
sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jul 10
Spectra (2017) performed by International Contemporary Ensemble in 2018

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlJG...
Spectra
YouTube video by Josh Modney - Topic
www.youtube.com
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jul 10
And I encourage you to check out Thorvaldsdottir's composer website! My paper considers two of her string chamber works:

Spectra, for string trio (2017) and Enigma, for string quartet (2019)

www.annathorvalds.com
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Website of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir
www.annathorvalds.com
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jul 10
This paper analyzes string chamber works of the last half century to examine contemporary relationships
between chamber music and the natural world.

I focus on the music of Anna Thorvaldsdottir, who describes much of her recent music as "as an ecosystem of materials."

Read the abstract here:
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jul 10
Heading to Manchester, UK tomorrow for the Manchester Music Analysis conference hosted by the Society for Music Analysis.

If you'll be there, I invite you to check out my paper on Monday morning, titled "Chamber Music Ecosystems."

View the program and register here: www.sma.ac.uk/mcrmac2025/
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 24
Can’t wait for this!!
burnschelsea.bsky.social
Chelsea Burns @burnschelsea.bsky.social · Jun 24
Cover art for my book is in! Excited to see this coming together, with Tarsila do Amaral's "Sol Poente" on the front. Available for pre-order now, shipping from Oxford University Press in September! global.oup.com/academic/pro...
The Exotic Self: Mexican and Brazilian Modernists Abroad and at Home by Chelsea Burns, from Oxford Studies in Music Theory. A black background with simple text and Tarsila do Amaral's 1927 painting "Sol Poente" on the front.
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Reposted by Sam Reenan
garrt.bsky.social
Dr. Garrett Schumann @garrt.bsky.social · Jun 23
Who are the musicologists recently/currently working on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 23
The chapter relies heavily on scholarship by Jeffrey Green (a biographer of SCT) and doctoral dissertations by Catherine Carr (Durham U) and Jewel Taylor Thompson (U of Rochester).

Also, Benedict Taylor's book on the Hiawatha trilogy in the Oxford Keynotes series comes out later this summer!
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 23
Here's a direct link to that chapter: academic.oup.com/book/59824/c...

Happy to share a PDF, if you're interested!
Repetition and Spectatorship in Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast
Abstract. Conceived as a symphonic cantata, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast (the first work in the trilogy The Song of Hiawatha, op. 30) fuses the cantata’s tradi
academic.oup.com
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 23
Thanks Erin!

My chapter on Hiawatha's Wedding Feast considers how different views of the work's form allow for shifts in interpretive perspective. By analyzing the symphonic form-functional qualities of the work, I propose that it can be read as an interracial critique of the act of spectatorship.
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 21
This chapter establishes a theoretical foundation for considering the book's repertoire by critically examining three framing concepts:

Structure, Spectacle, and the Symphony

The chapter begins with a vignette concerning the 1953 performances of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Song of Hiawatha, op. 30
cover image of the novello score of the Song of Hiawatha, op. 30
sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 21
Interested in trying Symphonic Spectacles before you buy?

You can read Chapter 1, "Structure, Spectacle, Symphony," for FREE on Oxford Academic now until July 21.

Follow this link: academic.oup.com/book/59824/c...

And remember that you can purchase your own discounted copy with code

AUFLY30
A graphic notice inviting you to read the free first chapter of Symphonic Spectacles at the link https://academic.oup.com/book/59824/chapter/511160563
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 6
I have been a Graeter's evangelist since grade school, thanks to a family trip to Cincinnati and well-stocked Connecticut freezer aisles!
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 6
Thank you! It's a dream opportunity. I got to know Steve during the process!
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 6
www.uc.edu/news/article...
CCM welcomes new music theory faculty member Sam Reenan
UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Sam Reenan, PhD, as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Music Theory. His faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. ...
www.uc.edu
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sam-reenan.bsky.social
Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 6
It is also bittersweet news.

I’m so grateful for all I’ve learned from my friends, colleagues, and students at Miami, where I’ve been fortunate to develop lasting friendships and to be inspired by the brilliant students that set a high standard for musical artistry, engagement, & thought.
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · Jun 6
Life update! 📣

This fall I will begin a new position as Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the vibrant community of faculty and students at CCM over the past few months. Excited for this next opportunity!
Geno, our golden retriever, looking at Nippert Stadium Geno on the UC campus, wearing a bearcats bandana Geno outside CCM's main entrance
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Reposted by Sam Reenan
uncpress.bsky.social
UNC Press @uncpress.bsky.social · May 28
HACK! Replace 15 minutes of doom scrolling with 15 minutes of reading a book from a university press 📖
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Sam Reenan @sam-reenan.bsky.social · May 28
If you’re interested in Symphonic Spectacles, you can now use the discount code AUFLY30 for 30% off global.oup.com/academic!

You can also read the book online if your institution provides access to Oxford Academic:

academic.oup.com/book/59824
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