Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Bit About Virgil Thomson in Kansas City

One of the stranger roles I occasionally find myself in since beginning college teaching is that of the public intellectual. Every once and a while, someone from the newspaper, a local website, or even an area high school will call or e-mail me with a pressing question about music history (particularly American music history) or a request for an interview. I'm happy to help out and only request to see the final product because it is always entertaining to see how my words are used.

Another such opportunity presented itself right before Thanksgiving when a writer for The Pitch, Kansas City's Alternative Weekly Newspaper, decided to write an article celebrating Virgil Thomson's 112th birthday. His angle was that Kansas City largely ignores its own composers, particularly Thomson who was born and reared here. I've always loved Thomson's music, which I find even more American than Aaron Copland, so I was happy to spend 20 or so minutes discussing his place in American musical history. You can read the results for yourself.

2 comments:

Andy Forbes said...

That's pretty cool, Andrew. You are an officially recognized Expert! Now, will you use your powers for good or for awesome?

Andrew said...

Totally for awesome. Good is for wusses.