Busy Beaver

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Scott Foglesong

I’m not sure that I even want to do this. The idea, having insinuated itself into my consciousness, pecks at me, like a yappy dog or a frustrated spouse. There is nothing for it but to carry out the deed and hope for relief.

So here goes: I propose to put together a list of all of my professional activities since September 2011, i.e. the beginning of the current academic year/concert season. I know I wear a lot of hats. But how many hats are there? And how long do I wear them? I will categorize my activities. In some cases I’ll be allotting them a rating based on how much work is involved; with classroom teaching, for example, I’ll include a rating for preparation (light, moderate, high) and grading responsibilities (also light, moderate, and high).

Collegiate Classroom Teaching

Fall Semester

  • Freshman-level Musicianship, SFCM. 4 hours per week, 16 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: light (mostly in class.)
  • Freshman-level Music Theory, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 18 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: moderate
  • Keyboard Harmony, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 12 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: light (all in class.)
  • Advanced Analysis, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 12 students. Preparation: high. Grading: high.
  • Introduction to Music, UC Berkeley. 6 hours per week, 75 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: extremely high.

Spring Semester

  • Freshman-level Musicianship, SFCM. 4 hours per week, 16 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: light (mostly in class.)
  • Freshman-level Music Theory, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 18 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: moderate
  • Keyboard Harmony, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 12 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: light (all in class.)
  • Advanced Analysis, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 12 students. Preparation: high. Grading: high.
  • Topics in Musical Analysis, SFCM. 2 hours per week, 10 students. Preparation: moderate. Grading: moderate.

Public Teaching

  • History of the Concerto, USF Fromm Institute. 2 hours per week, 375 students. Preparation: extremely high. Grading: none.
  • The Symphony Outside Germany/Austria, USF Fromm Institute. 2 hours per week, est. 400 students. Preparation: extremely high. Grading: none.

Public Lectures

  • September 29 – October 1: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes x 3 appearances (Davies Symphony Hall). Mozart Symphony No. 35 and Stravinsky’s Petruskha, and interviewed composer Thomas Adès onstage for the SF premiere of his work Polaris.
  • October 13: Talk, SF Public Library. 20 minutes preview of talk for October 16 to the SFPL staff.
  • October 16: Lecture, SF Public Library. 1.5 hours on the history of the San Francisco Symphony on records.
  • November 17 – 20: Pre-concert lecture, Philharmonia Baroque; 30 minutes x 4 appearances – Herbst Theater (SF), First Congregational (Berkeley), Menlo-Atherton Center for the Arts (Atherton). Music of the Italian Baroque: Vivaldi, Tartini, Geminiani, Scarlatti, Corelli.
  • December 16: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes (Davies Symphony Hall). Handel’s Messiah.
  • January 19-21: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes x 3 (Davies Symphony Hall). Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks concerto, Ravel Piano Concerto in G, De Falla El Amor Brujo, and Dallapiccola’s Piccola musica notturno.
  • February 8 – 10: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes x 3 (Davies Symphony Hall). Bruckner Symphony No. 5
  • February 19: Pre-concert lecture, Cal Performances; 30 minutes (Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley). String quartets by Debussy, Janacek, and Britten.
  • March 9 – 13: Pre-concert lecture, Philharmonia Baroque; 30 minutes x 4 – Herbst Theater (SF), First Congregational (Berkeley), First United Methodist Church (Palo Alto). Schumann Cello Concerto, Brahms Serenade No. 2, Mendelssohn The Fair Melusine.
  • April 12: Lecture, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. 1 hour; the history of the SF Symphony on records.
  • April 27-28: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes x 2 (Davies Symphony Hall). Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3, Sibelius Symphony No. 1.
  • May 6: Lecture, Wattis Room, Davies Symphony Hall; 1 hour; the history of the SF Symphony on records.
  • May 24-27: Pre-concert lecture, SF Symphony; 30 minutes x 4 (Davies Symphony Hall). Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1; Shostakovich Symphony No. 6

Appearances on Radio and Television

  • Monday, Sept. 12: My Favorite Things, on KALW-FM. One hour.
  • Friday, Sept. 16: 100 Years of the San Francisco Symphony, on KQED (PBS). First airing of a video documentary on the SF Symphony; I am a ‘talking head’ and worked on the musical selections for the soundtrack. Many more airings of the documentary since, including nationally on PBS and a DVD release.
  • Wed. Nov. 23: Interviewed on KDFC for promotional spot to be aired on Dec. 11 for my podcast series.
  • Tues. Dec. 6: Interviewed on KALW for promotional spot to be aired on Dec. 11 for my podcast series.

Audio

  • December 2011: 12-podcast series on the San Francisco Symphony’s recorded history. Published on the SF Symphony website as well as iTunes. To be available for the indeterminate future. Content: 6 1/2 hours, mix of recording selections and narration. Took about 2 years to create.

Published Commercial Writing

  • September 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • October 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • November 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • November 2011: Program Notes on the Salonen Violin Concerto, SF Symphony. (1800 words, 3 concerts and online)
  • December 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • January 2011: Lead Article “Making Music, Making Community” for SF Symphony. (3000 words, entire month)
  • January 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • February 2011: Article "A Symphony for All", San Francisco Chronicle. (900 words; newspaper & online.)
  • February 2011: Lead Article “The Symphony on Record” for SF Symphony. (3000 words, entire month)
  • March 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (400 words, 4 concerts and online)
  • April 2011: Program Notes, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (2000 words, 4 concerts and online)

Archivist Work

  • September 2011: submitted complete SF Symphony discography to the SF Symphony; thousands of entries, dated and researched.
  • September 2011: submitted a set of 35 SF Symphony recordings (excerpts mostly) for use on the SF Symphony’s historical timeline.
  • September 2011: submitted complete SF Symphony commercial recordings collection to the SF Symphony; at least one digital dub of every SF Symphony recording, made from original sources. Also includes a digital dub of every known broadcast transcription prior to 1972, save some restricted to private collections, together with miscellaneous materials dating back as far as the 1930s. The collection required several years to amass.
  • August-September 2011: collaborated with video documentarians to create the soundtrack for 100 Years of the San Francisco Symphony.

There.

I think that’s it.

No wonder I get so tired sometimes!

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