MUSC 254W West-Coast Experimentalism in the Mid-20th Century United States

Explores avant-garde experiments with new musical resources by composers centered on the West Coast around the period from 1920 to 1960. The objective is for students to learn about new compositional practices of the time including alternative tuning systems, interactions between music and dance, new instrumental resources (found and invented instruments as well as expanded techniques on traditional instruments), and new approaches to compositional processes. Composers to be studied include Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, John Cage, Johanna Beyer, Lucia Dlugoszewski, and others. Weekly assignments include readings, listening, and analysis.