đź“… Date: Friday, February 21, 2025
đź•’ Start Time: 4:00 PM
đź“Ť Location: Harkness Chapel, Classroom
👥 Who: Free – open to the public
Our weekly Friday afternoon colloquia feature current research presentations by distinguished visiting scholars, as well as by our own faculty and graduate students in musicology, historical performance practice, and music education.
Following each session, receptions offer a valuable opportunity for social interaction, helping to foster a strong sense of community, camaraderie, and mutual support within the department.
About the Talk
“Exalting Natural Genius: Francesco Geminiani's Pedagogy of Harmonic Creativity”
With the publication of his 1752 Guida Armonico, Francesco Geminiani condemned the confining and repetitive harmonic progressions of contemporary compositional pedagogy and promised to liberate composition students through an idiosyncratic method by which “it is impossible for even the most Ignorant to err.” This presentation discusses the historical context of Geminiani’s critique, contrasts Geminiani’s pedagogical goals with the reception of the Guida from the 18th century to the present, and demonstrates a digital implementation of the Guida which facilitates the composition process with digital sort, filter, and edit functions. Composition
About the Speaker
Jonathan's research integrates the histories of music pedagogy, theory, publishing, and economics to illuminate the ways that material concerns have both inspired and constrained artistic choices. They recently presented a lecture-recital on the role of violin duos in the career of Louis Spohr as well as a recital of French Baroque music for the Boston Early Music Festival Online Fringe Concerts. Before moving to Cleveland in the middle of a pandemic, Jonathan spent several years teaching at Bard High School Early College in Manhattan and performing throughout the Northeast. Jonathan directed the BHSEC Chamber Ensemble, which performed a vast array of music including works by Lully, Bach, and Haydn with period bows; excerpts from Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with student choreographies developed in a workshop with Meredith Monk; and premieres of student compositions on nearly every concert. Jonathan has served as concertmaster for period orchestras in performances including Handel's Samson and Messiah, Vivaldi's Teuzzone, and led the string band in many of Continuo Collective New York's 17th-century opera projects. Jonathan is a PhD student in Musicology at Case Western Reserve University and also serves as General Manager for Trobár.
Safety Protocols: University Health and Counseling Services is committed to protecting the health and well-being of our campus community. Find the most current guidelines and resources on the (UH&CS) COVID Information page.