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Vermont Counterpoint (1982)

Steve Reich

in Writings on Music 1965–2000: 1965-2000

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about Vermont Counterpoint, which was commissioned by Ransom Wilson and is dedicated to Betty Freeman. It is scored for three alto flutes, three flutes, three ... More

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about Vermont Counterpoint, which was commissioned by Ransom Wilson and is dedicated to Betty Freeman. It is scored for three alto flutes, three flutes, three piccolos, and one solo part all prerecorded on tape, plus a live solo part. The live soloist plays alto flute, flute, and piccolo, and participates in the ongoing counterpoint as well as contributing more extended melodies. The piece can be performed by 11 flutists but is intended primarily as a solo with tape.Less

New York Counterpoint (1985)

Steve Reich

in Writings on Music 1965–2000: 1965-2000

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about New York Counterpoint. He says that New York Counterpoint is a continuation of ideas found in Vermont Counterpoint (1982), in which a soloist plays ... More

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about New York Counterpoint. He says that New York Counterpoint is a continuation of ideas found in Vermont Counterpoint (1982), in which a soloist plays against a prerecorded tape of him- or herself. In New York Counterpoint, the soloist prerecords ten clarinet and bass clarinet parts and then plays a final eleventh part live against the tape. The compositional procedures used include several that occur in my earlier music.Less

Electric Counterpoint (1987)

Steve Reich

in Writings on Music 1965–2000: 1965-2000

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about Electric Counterpoint, which was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival for the guitarist Pat Metheny. It was composed during ... More

This chapter presents Reich's thoughts about Electric Counterpoint, which was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival for the guitarist Pat Metheny. It was composed during the summer of 1987. The duration is about 15 minutes. It is the third in a series of pieces (preceded by Vermont Counterpoint and New York Counterpoint) all dealing with a soloist playing against a prerecorded tape of themselves.Less

Making and Breaking the Revolutionary Covenant

John Saillant

in Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753-1833

Support of the Federalist Party and opposition to the Democratic‐Republicans afforded Lemuel Haynes his first engagement with a public sphere beyond church congregations and revival audiences. He ... More

Support of the Federalist Party and opposition to the Democratic‐Republicans afforded Lemuel Haynes his first engagement with a public sphere beyond church congregations and revival audiences. He supported Federalists George Washington and John Adams, both of whom had some reputation in the early republic as enemies of slaveholding. New Englanders Ezra Stiles and Timothy Dwight, each man a president of Yale College, articulated a vision of blacks and whites united in a Christian postslavery society. This was a patrician vision that Haynes and black contemporaries like Richard Allen, leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, found convincing insofar as it suggested that a class of social and religious leaders would act to protect black rights. However, Jeffersonian ideology spread even into western Vermont; in 1818, Haynes was dismissed from his pulpit because of his Federalism and his criticism of the War of 1812.Less

American Genesis, American Captivity

John Saillant

in Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753-1833

A new racism arose in the early American republic that set aside the antislavery arguments of men and women who were, like Lemuel Haynes, rooted in eighteenth‐century modes of thought like Edwardsean ... More

A new racism arose in the early American republic that set aside the antislavery arguments of men and women who were, like Lemuel Haynes, rooted in eighteenth‐century modes of thought like Edwardsean theology and republican ideology. Haynes had always argued that blacks and whites must live harmoniously in an integrated society if Americans wished to be true to Calvinism and republicanism. In the early nineteenth century, many Americans became convinced that blacks and whites were so separate cognitively and physically that they could never coexist as equals. Haynes set himself against what he saw as divisive forces, including Universalism, a new Christian denomination led by Hosea Ballou. Haynes invoked as a standard for race relations the godly unity idealized in American Puritanism and expressed in early American texts such as the captivity narrative of Mary Rowlandson. In his last years, Haynes worked as an itinerant preacher but never held a reliable pulpit between his dismissal in 1818 from his Rutland, Vermont, church and his death in 1833 in Granville, Massachusetts.Less

Juries, Juries Everywhere (But Not Inside the Courts)

Albert W. Dzur

in Punishment, Participatory Democracy, and the Jury

This chapter turns from the normative to the practical case for more participatory democracy in criminal justice by examining the contemporary use of jury-like procedures in municipal policymaking ... More

This chapter turns from the normative to the practical case for more participatory democracy in criminal justice by examining the contemporary use of jury-like procedures in municipal policymaking and in restorative justice programs. Reformers such as Dienel and Fishkin have employed citizens’ juries and deliberative polls in complex urban planning and environmental management matters. Both procedures recruit representative groups of citizens, provide information, facilitate dialogue, and seek to obtain reflective opinions useful for policymaking. Restorative justice programs like Vermont Reparative Probation also incorporate lay citizen participation to spark thoughtful dialogue between offenders, victims, and supporters. Differing in scope and process from the traditional jury, these jury-like experiments consider a wider range of issues and involve all participants in a multifaceted conversation. These experiments, this chapter argues, underscore the jury’s contemporary relevance and potential, yet they also demonstrate the comparative advantages of the traditional jury. The jury trial has created a distinct, durable, and public role for citizens; though circumscribed, lay decision making on the jury makes a concrete impact on real lives and incrementally shapes criminal justice more broadly.Less

In the Land of the Puritans

Sam Aleckson

in Before the War, and After the Union: An Autobiography by Sam Aleckson (Samuel Williams)

Williams leaves South Carolina for Vermont and discusses the abundance of pie there. Analysis of the character of northern citizens.

Wrong Impressions

Sam Aleckson

in Before the War, and After the Union: An Autobiography by Sam Aleckson (Samuel Williams)

Williams analyses misunderstandings between Northerns and Southerns and points out the Northerners frequently think things are worse than they are for Black people in the South, and as an example he ... More

Williams analyses misunderstandings between Northerns and Southerns and points out the Northerners frequently think things are worse than they are for Black people in the South, and as an example he points out that the only time he encountered the “n word” was in Vermont, not South Carolina. He also shares his thoughts about divorce.Less

Epilogue

Sharon Mirchandani

in Marga Richter

This epilogue reflects on Marga Richter's music, suggesting that her zest for living, coupled with her dedication to her art, makes her a role model for younger composers and performers. As she takes ... More

This epilogue reflects on Marga Richter's music, suggesting that her zest for living, coupled with her dedication to her art, makes her a role model for younger composers and performers. As she takes old age in stride, Richter has not thought of retiring and remains focused on composition. She continues to spend summers in Vermont and enjoys the beauty around her and visiting with professional colleagues, friends, and family. This epilogue describes Richter's musical style, which has remained fairly constant throughout her life, and argues that her works are characterized by dissonance, slowly unfolding free forms, ostinatos and layering, and a loose tonality. It also considers Richter's ties with feminism and her views on gender roles.Less

Coleridge and Vermont Transcendentalism

Samantha C. Harvey

in Transatlantic Transcendentalism: Coleridge, Emerson, and Nature

Chapter 8, reveals that, in addition to Coleridge's enormous impact on Emerson and Boston Transcendentalism, his influence extended even further into the nineteenth and early twentieth century via a ... More

Chapter 8, reveals that, in addition to Coleridge's enormous impact on Emerson and Boston Transcendentalism, his influence extended even further into the nineteenth and early twentieth century via a second strand of Transatlantic Transcendentalism: “Vermont Transcendentalism.” James Marsh's restructuring of the University of Vermont curriculum according to Coleridgean principles revolutionized higher education, and many of Marsh's students became important public intellectuals, including H. J. Raymond, founder of The New York Times, and John Dewey, a founding figure in the philosophical movement of Pragmatism. Coleridge's influence on Vermont Transcendentalism transformed American nineteenth- and early twentieth-century letters, constituting a multi-generational link in Transatlantic Transcendentalism and ensuring his relevance for over a hundred years after the first editions of Coleridge arrived on American shores.Less

Introduction

Stephen Lehmann and Marion Faber

in Rudolf Serkin: A Life

The book revolves around the life of musician Rudolf Serkin, who was a prominent figure in American culture in the twentieth century. The great man's naturally reticent personality, combined with a ... More

The book revolves around the life of musician Rudolf Serkin, who was a prominent figure in American culture in the twentieth century. The great man's naturally reticent personality, combined with a reluctance to be interviewed in public until much later in his life, has necessitated the reconstruction of his life through alternative sources. These include accounts from family members, friends, and associates and are complemented by Serkin's own voluminous personal correspondences. The book is structured into two parts. The first section provides a chronological account of Serkin's life from his European roots until his move to the United States. The second part of the book examines three key aspects of his work — his art and career as a pianist; his activities as a mentor and his ties with the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia; and his work as the cultural director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Vermont.Less

The Novels of Mari Tomasi

Carol Bonomo Jennngs and Christine Palamidessi Moore

in American Woman, Italian Style: Italian Americana's Best Writings on Women

Mari Tomasi was born February 1, 1909, in Montpelier, Vermont. She wanted to study medicine; her sister was a nurse, and her brother and four of her cousins practiced medicine in Vermont. But when ... More

Mari Tomasi was born February 1, 1909, in Montpelier, Vermont. She wanted to study medicine; her sister was a nurse, and her brother and four of her cousins practiced medicine in Vermont. But when her father died she abandoned that goal and decided instead to become a teacher. Writing seemed to be her major interest, and before she took her degree, she left Trinity College to become a freelance newspaper and magazine writer. Mari Tomasi was deeply aware of the treachery of the granite that brought Italians to Vermont. Mari Tomasi's theme that the strength of endemic concepts in Italian character regenerates what might be corrupted in America.Less

John Dewey: His Life and Work

Larry A. Hickman

in John Dewey Between Pragmatism and Constructivism

This chapter presents an overview of John Dewey's life and work. John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont, the third of four sons of Archibald Sprague Dewey and Lucina ... More

This chapter presents an overview of John Dewey's life and work. John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont, the third of four sons of Archibald Sprague Dewey and Lucina Artemesia Rich Dewey. In 1949, on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday, Dewey was hailed by the New York Times as “America's Philosopher”. He died at his apartment on New York City on June 1, 1952. During his long and productive life, Dewey wrote widely about psychology, philosophy, art, and social issues. The chapter focuses on three general topics that are recurring themes in Dewey's work. The themes are: (1) his concept of the purpose and process of human learning; (2) his understanding of truth as a process, instead of something absolute and unchanging; and (3) his faith in democracy as the only means of social organization that can foster individual fulfillment, and its implications for education and the arts.Less

Adamant Food Co-operative and Putney Food Co-operative

Anne Meis Knupfer

in Food Co-ops in America: Communities, Consumption, and Economic Democracy

This chapter looks at the Green Mountains of Vermont, where the oldest and third oldest food co-ops in the United States are located. The Adamant Food Co-operative (started in 1935) is the oldest ... More

This chapter looks at the Green Mountains of Vermont, where the oldest and third oldest food co-ops in the United States are located. The Adamant Food Co-operative (started in 1935) is the oldest food co-op in a village with a population of sixty-eight. It is reminiscent of an old general store, which sells various practical goods along with hardware, organic produce, and a fine selection of wines. It was able to survive through its rich traditions and the dedication of its members. The other Vermont co-op is the Putney Food Co-operative, which belongs to a different kind of community. Putney was a haven for hippies, artists, and other nonconformists during the 1960s. In contrast to Adamant's, Putney's co-op was more political, as it participated in boycotts and deliberated on which foods should be sold.Less

The Vermont MIDI Project: Fostering Mentorships in Multiple Environments

Sandi MacLeod

in Composing our Future: Preparing Music Educators to Teach Composition

Drawing on lessons learned through the formation and implementation of the Vermont MIDI Project, this chapter uses one of the longest running student composition projects in the United States as a ... More

Drawing on lessons learned through the formation and implementation of the Vermont MIDI Project, this chapter uses one of the longest running student composition projects in the United States as a departure point for discussing student composition, collaborative teaching and learning, and a host of other topics. This chapter describes how the program began, grew and sustained itself through the use of the Internet to disseminated information, share compositions, and provide/receive feedback from many experts in far-flung locations. Beyond technological concerns, the chapter also discusss how live performing ensembles have been used to expand the scope and mission of the work of the project. The chapter concludes by extrapolating the key components of the VMP as a model for similar school-based programs could be developed and implemented. Probably one of the best-known school composition programs is that of the Vermont MIDI Project (VMP). The chapter talks about the lessons learned in the fifteen years of the project's existence. It addresses common problems and their solutions. These include: lack of expertise in composition pedagogy, lack of personal experience composing, lack of time for planning, lesson development and implementation, and lack of access to computers. The chapter briefly outlines the history and mission of the VMP discussing the role of technology and mentoring in the project. It presents the mentoring guidelines of the project and examples of mentor comments. Finally the chapter discusses the benefits of partnering with pre-service educators and a model of how that has been done.Less

Composition in International Settings: Broadening Pre-Service Perceptions

Patricia Riley

in Composing our Future: Preparing Music Educators to Teach Composition

This chapter explores videoconferencing as a tool for providing access to varied populations as well as for developing a “world view” of educational practices within music through virtually-direct ... More

This chapter explores videoconferencing as a tool for providing access to varied populations as well as for developing a “world view” of educational practices within music through virtually-direct engagement. Using composition as a unifying activity, this chapter explores international partnerships that allow students and teachers from around the world to share ideas, composition, the process of composing, and performances of their works. The possibilities of this medium and its usefulness in exploring unique cross-cultural connections are discussed. To that end, the chapter also looks at issues of social equity and technological access. Finally this chapter suggests ways to present a variety of experts (lecturers, performers, and others) in the classrooms via technology so that pre-service teachers see the value of these experiences and become encouraged to try similar activities in their own future classrooms. Videoconferencing can offer one a tool for connecting varied populations engaged in composition activities. The chapter describes a project in which pre-service music educators in Vermont taught students in Mexico and Japan over the Internet using videoconferencing. A second project involved an international partnership that allowed children in the US and China to collaboratively create music compositions via videoconferencing. These engagements serve as models of collaborative practice and as ways of exploring cross-cultural connections that encourage pre-service teachers to try similar activities in their future classrooms.Less

The Other Grant: Lewis A. Grant and the Vermont Brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness

Carol Reardon

in The Wilderness Campaign

This chapter focuses on how Lewis A. Grant and the Vermont Brigade's contributions to the Wilderness campaign went relatively unnoticed within the army and among Vermonters back home. Grant's ... More

This chapter focuses on how Lewis A. Grant and the Vermont Brigade's contributions to the Wilderness campaign went relatively unnoticed within the army and among Vermonters back home. Grant's soldiers suffered 10 percent of the army's casualties in the Wilderness but saw their accomplishments and sacrifice obscured by a chorus of praise for Winfield Scott Hancock's Second Corps. The chapter reconstructs the superior performance of Grant's men and analyzes the response to that performance within the army and behind the lines.Less

The Many Fates of the Fort Jackson Garrison

Gary W. Gallagher

in Mutiny at Fort Jackson: The Untold Story of the Fall of New Orleans

This chapter illustrates how very little is known about Thomas Graham's life before he enlisted in Company B of the 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery on February 28, 1861. Graham was then 22 years old, ... More

This chapter illustrates how very little is known about Thomas Graham's life before he enlisted in Company B of the 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery on February 28, 1861. Graham was then 22 years old, and volunteered on the first day the regiment started to recruit. His Confederate military record was uneventful until the mutiny. After that night, Graham becomes a larger figure in the historical record, and his life hints at the motivations of the mutineers as well as the perils they faced after their rebellion. At some point in the spring or summer after the mutiny, he enlisted in the 8th Vermont Volunteers. The Vermonters had started recruiting soon after they arrived in New Orleans, hoping that Unionists would replace some of the losses they had suffered from disease.Less

The Town of Springlake

Sam Aleckson

in Before the War, and After the Union: An Autobiography by Sam Aleckson (Samuel Williams)

Williams’ family moves to Springlake and they are assisted by his employer. Neighbors teach them about pie and expectations for meals. Neighbors bring them food. Discussion of the snow and sketches ... More

Williams’ family moves to Springlake and they are assisted by his employer. Neighbors teach them about pie and expectations for meals. Neighbors bring them food. Discussion of the snow and sketches of various neighobrs and acquaintences in VermontLess