The Florida State University College of Music is proud to host the 2026 joint meeting of the American Musicological Society Southern Chapter (AMS‑S) and the Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast/Caribbean Chapter (SEMSEC), taking place February 27–28, 2026, in Dohnányi Recital Hall (DRH) and Opperman Music Hall (OMH). This two‑day conference will bring together faculty and student researchers and performers from across the region.
This year’s joint meeting features twenty‑one scholarly papers across seven interdisciplinary panels, exploring topics ranging from cultural diplomacy to archival practices, film music, diasporic identity, Tallahassee’s musical communities, and more. The breadth of research presented, including numerous papers by FSU graduate students, demonstrates the College of Music’s enduring dedication to innovative work in the field of musicology.
Additional highlights include the renowned Rainbow Concert of World Music, featuring the internationally acclaimed Väsen Duo, and the annual SEMSEC keynote, a guided soundwalk, and lecture titled “Reconstructing the Soundscapes of the Apalachee‑Hispanic Community at Mission San Luis” led by Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Musicology at FSU, Dr. Sarah Eyerly.
During the Rainbow Concert, both chapters will also pay special tribute to Dr. Dale A. Olsen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology at FSU, a foundational figure in the field and a founder of SEMSEC. Olsen’s decades‑long career includes extensive global fieldwork, leadership roles in major musicological organizations, and numerous publications that shaped the study and performance of world music.
“We are thrilled to welcome AMS‑S and SEMSEC to Florida State University. This conference not only showcases the extraordinary research taking place in southern universities and colleges, but also invites participants to experience the dynamic musical cultures that define our region,” said Eyerly. “It is especially meaningful to honor Dr. Olsen, whose scholarship, leadership, and generosity have shaped musicology at FSU and beyond.”
As one of only a few doctoral‑granting institutions in musicology in the Southeast, FSU has a long history of hosting the annual meetings of both chapters. This year’s joint meeting, however, highlights FSU’s longstanding leadership in interdisciplinary music scholarship and performance, as well as its commitment to “Big M” musicology, an expansive approach to the study of music that encompasses all methodologies and approaches. The event also brings national visibility to the College of Music’s academic and performance programs and highlights the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary, community‑engaged, and globally informed scholarship.
Event Details
Dates: February 27–28, 2026
Location: Florida State University College of Music, Tallahassee, FL
Featured performance: Rainbow Concert of World Music with the Väsen Duo
Tickets: tickets.music.fsu.edu (complimentary for registered attendees)
Full Schedule
FRIDAY, 27 FEBRUARY
All sessions to take place in Dohnányi Recital Hall (DRH) in the Housewright Music Building (HMU)
7:45–10:15 Registration
Location: Opperman Music Hall Lobby (Kuersteiner Music Building – KMU)
8:15–8:30 Opening Remarks
8:30–10:00 Session 1: Musical Landscapes
Chair, Joseph Sargent, University of Alabama
“A Steppe Toward the Sublime: Wordless Choir and the Idyllic Sublime in Tiomkin’s Western Film Music”
Kayleigh Bagley, University of Florida (AMS-S)
“Frontier Imaginaries: Tin-Pan Alley Styled Songs of the Klondike Gold Rush”
Timothy Yu, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
“Struttin’ and Purrin’: The Performance Practice and Cultural Heritage of Wild Turkey Calling”
Jason Mitchell, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (SEMSEC)
10:00–10:15 Break
Refreshments available in the Opperman Mezzanine (KMU)
10:15–11:45 Session 2: Negotiating Identities
Chair, Warren Kimball, Louisiana State University
“Broadcasting the Nation: Radio Programming and Canon Formation in 1920s Puerto Rico”
Julian Duncan, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
“Operatic Censorship, Failure, and Success: Naples 1844–1845”
Andreas Giger, Louisiana State University (AMS-S)
“The Spirit of Music in Balkan Modernism: Close Readings from Inter-War Bulgaria”
David Salkowski, University of North Florida (AMS-S)
11:45–1:30 Lunch
1:30–3:00 Session 3: Archives and Representation
Chair, Maria Ryan, Florida State University
“Preserving Latinx Musical Heritage in Florida: Archival Insights into Music and Culture”
Ana Uribe Law, Florida State University (AMS-S)
“Reflections on Collaborative Methodologies in a Community Archiving Project in South Africa”
Lyndsey Copeland & Leonard Boetles Gewers, Carleton University (SEMSEC)
“Sounding the Past, Singing the Future: Afro-Brazilian Feminisms, Ancestrality, and the Politics of Listening in Contemporary Music”
Lidiana de Moraes, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
3:00–3:15 Break
Refreshments available in the Opperman Mezzanine (KMU)
3:15–4:45 Session 4: Cultural Exchanges and Performances
Chair, Silvio dos Santos, University of Florida
“‘We Never Knew What Friends We Had’: Billy Joel as Cultural Diplomat”
Kendall Waters, University of Florida (AMS-S)
“Two Hundred Years of Lisa Cristiani: Analyzing Four Performances in East Siberia, 1849”
Emilia González Dorantes, Louisiana State University (AMS-S)
“Meredith Monk and Mythmaking: Transportive Ritual in the Games and Education of Girlhood”
Maya Johnson, Florida State University (AMS-S)
4:45–5:00 Break
Refreshments available in the Opperman Mezzanine (KMU)
5:00–6:00 Business Meetings
Locations: SEMSEC (DRH) & AMS-S (Lindsay Recital Hall, KMU)
7:30 Rainbow Concert of World Music featuring the Väsen Duo
Ticketed: tickets.music.fsu.edu (complimentary for registered attendees)
Location: Opperman Music Hall
9:45 Bus departs from College of Music at Florida State University
Location: 122 N Copeland St
9:52 Bus arrives at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tallahassee
Location: 101 S Adams St
SATURDAY, 28 FEBRUARY
7:30 Vehicle Onsite at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tallahassee
Location: 101 S Adams St
8:00 Bus departs from DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tallahassee
Location: 101 S Adams St
8:07 Bus arrives at College of Music at Florida State University
Location: 122 N Copeland St
8:00 Refreshment available
Opperman Music Hall Mezzanine
8:30–10:00 Session 5: Rethinking the Score
Chair, Brett Boutwell, Louisiana State University
“The Transcriber as Analyst: Revisiting Luciano Berio’s Mahler and Verdi Transcriptions”
Thomas Peattie, University of Mississippi (AMS-S)
“Mel Bonis and the Art of Self-Representation”
Christy Sallee, University of Florida (AMS-S)
“From Exercise to Transcendence: A Computational Revision of Liszt’s Etudes S. 136, S. 137 and S. 139”
Luis Z. Pro Villamonte, University of Florida (AMS-S)
10:00–10:15 Break – Refreshments available
Opperman Mezzanine (KMU)
10:15-10:20 Introduction of Keynote
Denise von Glahn, Florida State University
10:20–11:20 Keynote: “Reconstructing the Soundscapes of the Apalachee-Hispanic Community at Mission San Luis (Tallahassee, FL)”
Sarah Eyerly, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
11:20-1:30 Box lunch and Sound Walk at Mission San Luis
12:00 Bus leaves for Mission San Luis (bus located on Copeland St.)
12:15 Sound walk
1:00 Bus departs Mission San Luis to return to campus
1:30–3:00 Session 6: In/Exclusion in Musical Communities
Chair, Jason Mitchell, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
“Weaponized Melodies: Musical Semiotics and the Westboro Baptist Church’s Parodic Protest”
Brandon Dye, University of Florida (AMS-S)
“We Are the Dead: The Year Zero ARG and the Evolution of Fan Technoculture”
Jeremy Polley, University of South Carolina (SEMSEC)
“Performing Greekness in Diaspora: Embodiment, Authenticity, and Cultural Identity at the Tallahassee Greek Food Festival”
Panagiotis Christeas, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
3:00–3:15 Break – Refreshments available
Opperman Mezzanine (KMU)
3:15–4:45 Session 7: Aesthetic and Interpersonal Interpretations of Anti-Hegemony in Tallahassee, Florida
Chair, Alex Carrico, University of South Carolina
“Dark, Twisted, and Beautiful”: Negotiating Alternativeness in Tallahassee’s Musical Underbelly
Ray Lenhart, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
“Wading Through Noise: Micro-Ritual and Neo-Tribality in Tallahassee’s Free Improv Jam Scene”
Daniel Cobbey, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
“Red Scare Rebellion: Anti-Hegemonic Praxis in Show Organizing”
Zachary Moreau, Florida State University (SEMSEC)
4:45-4:50 Announcement of AMS-S Student Paper Prize Winner
4:50-5:00 Closing remarks
5:15 PM Bus departs from College of Music at Florida State University
Location: 122 N Copeland St
