Alexandrea Jonker is in her first year of a PhD in Music Theory here at the Schulich School of Music, supervised by Prof. Peter Schubert. Originally from Ingersoll, Ontario, she received a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory from Wilfrid Laurier University before going on to complete a Master of Music in Music Theory at Michigan State University. The focus of her master’s research was on connecting music cognition with aural skills research to create and implement more effective pedagogical methods.
Alexandrea has presented research at several graduate student conferences around North America, as well as the College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference, the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and the International Music by Women Festival in Columbus, Mississippi. She will also be presenting at the New England Conference of Music Theorists later this spring. Her research has been published in the conference proceedings from the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and her work on aural skills error detection will be published in the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy.
What made you choose McGill for your studies?
I actually met my supervisor, Peter Schubert, when he came to visit Michigan State University last year while I was finishing my master’s degree there. While he was visiting, we had a chance to sit down together and talk about research and music theory pedagogy (my main research interest), and I knew that I wanted to study with him. I looked more into the program here and talked with a few of the other professors and felt that the program really aligned with my goals in furthering my studies. Plus, I was excited to come back to Canada after living abroad for 2 years!
How has being a McGill student influenced you and your research?
I have really enjoyed my time here at McGill so far. The theory department is fantastic, both in terms of the professors and the students I get to learn alongside. I’ve been able to take a wide variety of classes, most of which are really far outside of my comfort-zone in music theory, which has been really rewarding and opened up a whole new area of research interests I didn’t even know I had. I’m looking forward to continuing my coursework and getting started on my own research to see where that leads me as well.
Explain the paper you recently presented in three sentences or less:
In this paper, I provided a narrative reading of “A Lover In Winter Plaineth for the Spring” by Vivian Fine by connecting the text of the song to features of the music. I argued that the two performers - a soprano and a violist - represent the two “characters” present in the text - the protagonist and the comfort of home for which they long. I examined rhythm and meter, register, and pitch material as primary musical elements that sonically represent the story of the poem.
What led you to this particular topic?
I think studying music by female composers is important, so when I was taking a 20th century analysis class last year, I decided to choose a piece by a female composer for my final project. After stumbling across an article in Music Theory Online about Vivian Fine (1913-2000), I did some further digging and found that, beyond this article, an article in the interdisciplinary journal Studies in American Humor, and one biographical book, nothing has been written about her or her music. After some more digging, I realized that her music is also rarely performed, and that recordings of her music are very difficult to find. In light of this, I decided to pick one of her pieces - actually, the first song from the first set of songs she ever wrote - as my focus. I’ve recently been interested in narrative approaches to music analysis, so I decided to use this as the main lens through which I would approach the piece.
How does your research add to what was already known?
As I mentioned, not much scholarly work has been done on the music of Vivian Fine despite the fact that she was an active composer for most of the 20th century (her first piece was performed when she was only 16 years old!). By analysing one of her earliest pieces, I hoped to provide insight into her early compositional style.
Have there been any challenges along the way?
The International Music by Women Festival was mostly geared toward composers and performers, with some scholarly paper presentations mixed in. That being said, I found it challenging to present my paper in such a way that I could communicate all of the aspects of the music that I found theoretically interesting and beautiful, while also making it accessible and interesting to those who might want to perform her music in the future.
What are the practical implications of your research?
My main goal with this research was to help get Vivian Fine’s music known, both to scholars and to performers. This song in particular is very atonal and could seem inaccessible to those who are less well-versed in this style. By providing a narrative analysis of the music, one that highlights both the text and the way the music helps portray and enhance the text, my research provides one way of interpreting this song. Ultimately, this provides a way for performers and listeners alike to understand and appreciate an otherwise difficult piece.
What are your next steps?
I’m currently working on completing my first year of coursework, with another year of coursework ahead of me. I’m planning to take the summer to prepare a couple of papers I’ve written for submissions to journals, and to study for/take the first of my language exams required for my degree.
What advice would you give to new students in your program?
My advice would be to find a support system. Whether that’s a buddy in the program, a friend from a previous degree, a sibling/parent, a significant other, your supervisor, another professor in the department… whoever. Having people to bounce ideas off of, read over applications or papers I’ve written, and just generally keep me motivated has been invaluable to me throughout the whole grad school process.
Where is your favourite place to study?
My office at home. I have a beautiful skylight and a large desk with limited distractions, to help me be productive.
Where in Montreal can you be found on a day off?
I can’t really remember the last time I took a day off… But I enjoy adventuring around the city with my boyfriend, cooking and baking, reading fiction novels, and going to Ontario whenever I can to visit my family and friends back home.
What is your earliest musical memory?
This isn’t from my own memory, but my parents like to tell the story of when my older sister started taking piano lessons when we were quite young and would sit down to practice. After she was finished, I would take a seat at the piano and try to play what she played, figuring it out by ear. My own earliest memory, I think, would be when I started taking fiddle lessons in Grade 4 and doing competitions around Ontario every summer. This was the first time I had the opportunity to perform publicly and was what made me decide to pursue music later in life.
If you hadn’t ended up in music, what would your alternate career path have been?
I would own a bakery. This is still my back-up plan if music theory doesn’t work out!
What was the last book you read?
The last book I finished was On Tyranny: 20 Lessons for the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder. It’s a short book and definitely worth the read! I’m currently working on Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, but I haven’t gotten too far yet.
If you were offered a return plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
This is such a difficult question. I think Croatia. My boyfriend’s family is from there, so it would be neat to go and see part of their family history (the town they came from, etc.). It’s also super beautiful, from the photos I’ve seen!
If you could invite any four notable figures from history (or alive today) to a dinner party, who would they be and why?
Another difficult question. Hmm… Henrich Schenker (a hugely influential music theorist that changed the way a lot of people think about music), Sam Harris (a neuroscientist who has talked to a lot of really interesting people and has a lot of thoughts about meditation), Ellen DeGeneres (I think she’s super funny), and Michelle Obama (the most powerful woman I could think of, plus I think she would have an interesting perspective on the world).
