Everette Scott Smith selected for national music lecture series

Everette Scott Smith, an instructor of double reeds and historical musicology at Southeastern Louisiana University, has been selected by the Society for American Music to represent Louisiana in a national lecture series. The series, titled ‘Sounding the Nation at 250’, is a nationwide initiative of lectures, recitals, and exhibits celebrating the musical heritage of the Americas in connection with the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

The Society for American Music selected only one music historian from each state for this program. Smith’s scheduled lecture-performance, titled ‘John Cage’s Rock Music: Ryoanji and the Art of Graphic Notation’, will take place on September 17 at the Hammond Regional Arts Center in Hammond.

The presentation will explore the visual art of graphic musical notation and environmental listening. It will include a collaborative performance of John Cage’s 1983 work ‘Ryoanji’ for oboe and percussion obbligato. During the event, audience members will be invited to participate in the music-making using simple percussion instruments, turning the performance into an immersive sonic environment. A display of graphic notation scores created by graduate students will also be available for viewing.