Dena Epstein Committee Annual Report 2021
submitted by Bret McCandless
Current Roster
- Laurie Sampsel, out-going chair (2021)
- Bret McCandless, in-coming chair (2022)
- Anita Breckbill, member (2023)
- Tamar Barzel, member (2024)
List of Previous Goals and Progress Made
- Grant award to applicants, prioritizing applications for research into Black/African-American music.
- Award granted to three recipients, from a pool of ten applications:
- John Bimbiras (awarded $2,340) for research on transnational Dominican musicians in New York City during the early to mid-twentieth century
- Clifton Boyd (awarded $2,060) for research on the role of vernacular music theory in the institution of barbershop music, through the lens of race and gender
- Marc Rice (awarded $1,300) for research on the relationship between Black jazz and dance bands active in Kansas City and the Black business community, social organizations, and political activities that supported them
- Award granted to three recipients, from a pool of ten applications:
- Appoint new member of the committee
- Tamar Barzel was appointed as a new member of the committee
- Disseminate the call for applicants widely and to a broad group of music-related associations
- The call for applicants for the FY 2021-2022 award was disseminated to the Music Library Association, Theatre Library Association, American Musicological Society, the Society for Music Theory, the Society for American Music, the American Society for Theatre Research, the Dance Studies Association, and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.
List of Future Goals
- Review Applications and Grant the Award
- The granting of the award (totaling $8,200) will hopefully go to a variety of applicants, including members from other fine arts professional organizations, as prioritized in the FY 2019-2020 strategic plan
- The closing date for applications is September 10, and the committee has received three completed applications at the time of submission of this report
- Revise documentation for the application process and review process
- This will help the committee meet the goal to develop and sustain the necessary resources to ensure the vitality of the Association, its programs and services.