Turns, Twists, & Expanding Spirals, The Society for Music Theory (SMT), 1977–2027

How might one weave a story of ideas and commitments, individuals and communities, in characterizing the Society for Music Theory 1977–2027? At the beginning, we were an intergenerational group, “coming of age” in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the varied imaginations of musicians—composers, performers, teachers and graduate students, thinkers and writers—sharing passionate persuasions and debates on ideas conceptual, practical-techné, analytical-theoretical, and instructional. Ours were idealistic manifestos of possibility, potential, and disciplinary integrity. What would the political, historical, and aesthetic import at this crossroads portend for its past, present, and future identities? Musicians, writers, teachers, and scholars have offered eloquent, insightful, and stimulating historically reflective and varied accounts of the Society for Music Theory within its 1977 to 2027 span, such as those by Steven Rings, Stephen Lett, Sumanth Gopinath, Leigh VanHandel, and Judith Lochhead.1 Perceptions and conceptions are rooted in specific times and modes of thinking, description, and engagement. We have spoken in critique and in celebration––here in this essay, I write in first person—about subjective and intersubjective encounters that remain contextual, intertextual, and fluid.