AMS LGBTQ Study Group

Dear AMS LGBTQ Study Group Members,

Warm greetings from your current co-chairs, Alex Nik Pasqualini and Lee Tyson! As the AMS Annual Meeting is just a few weeks away, we wanted to take this opportunity to officially introduce ourselves and share the exciting events we have planned for Chicago.

Your Co-Chairs and a Thank You

I, Alex (they/them), am a Ph.D. Candidate in Music & Sound Studies at Cornell University whose research is focused on the intersections of popular music, activism, and queer community building. Last year I presented at the group’s paper session, and as a young, queer, trans, first-gen scholar, I am excited to assist in leading the group into a new chapter.

Lee (they/them) works at Ithaca College’s LGBTQ Center as the Pride Fellow. Their work on trans vocality in popular music was featured on our Study Group’s 2018 AMS panel and they look forward to staying connected to queer music studies as co-chair.

We took on our co-chair roles after last year’s joint AMS/SMT meeting, during a significant time of transition for the Study Group. We want to share our deep gratitude for all of you who have supported us with your labor and insights to help us resume the group’s meaningful work. For those of you who have offered your time and who we have yet to connect with, we so appreciate your enthusiasm and your patience as we continue to find our footing and we are excited to reconnect in Chicago! Lee and I both look forward to working with more of you and sharing our collective experience in queer organizing, administration, leadership, and student engagement to help support queer music scholars at AMS and beyond.

LGBTQ Study Group AMS Events

This year and its location mark an important milestone for us: In 1991, the then-named Gay and Lesbian Study Group of the AMS gathered at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago for the Annual Meeting, further coalescing one year after the study group’s founding in Oakland. Thirty-three years later, the LGBTQ Study Group now celebrates its return to Chicago as an opportunity to reflect on these early efforts, think critically about the present needs of LGBTQ music scholars, and strengthen our collective network to attend to those needs in the future. To celebrate the occasion, we have planned a very special afternoon panel and workshop in place of our usual evening paper session, and we will dance the night away with DJ Tiffany and some special drag artist guests on Saturday evening! Here are the details:

AMS Affiliates Fair – stop by our table!

Thursday, 14/Nov/2024: 4:30pm – 6:00pm · Location: Salon 10

Queer at AMS: The LGBTQ Study Group Returns to Chicago
15/Nov/2024: 12:30pm-2:00pm · Location: Salon 10

Chair(s): Lee K. Tyson (Ithaca College), Alex Nik Pasqualini (Cornell University)

Presenter(s): Mitchel Morris, Judith Peraino, Suzanne Cusick, Lydia Hamessley

In 1991, the then-named Gay and Lesbian Study Group of the AMS gathered at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago for the Annual Meeting, further coalescing one year after the study group’s founding in Oakland. GLSG co-chairs Philip Brett and Lydia Hamessley announced the AMS’s warm response toward the study group; Mitchell Morris and Suzanne Cusick presented on the rich potential for applying then-emergent queer theoretical frameworks to musical contexts; and colleagues discussed the practical and political concerns around “coming out” in academic contexts. That GLSG meeting worked to affirm gay and lesbian musicological thought in a time when AMS presentations on sexuality and music were few in number, and offered a vital space for community building and mutual support. Thirty-three years later, the LGBTQ Study Group now celebrates its return to Chicago as an opportunity to reflect on these early efforts, think critically about the present needs of LGBTQ music scholars, and strengthen our collective network to attend to those needs in the future.

This session will feature a 45-minute panel of scholars present at that early meeting, including Lydia Hamessley, Mitchell Morris, Suzanne Cusick, and Judith Peraino, who will speak to these foundational efforts to support LGBTQ scholars and knowledge production. Following the panel, attendees will be invited to share their reflections on the past, present, and future of LGBTQ music studies in small groups, offering an opportunity for cross-generational scholarly engagement. Participants will engage in conversation around the contemporary research and pedagogical landscape for LGBTQ music studies, with attention to conditions of increasing hostility and violence toward queer and trans individuals, communities, and knowledge production. This session will offer an exciting moment for the study group to reflect on its history and imagine how the group can rise to meet the challenges LGBTQ music scholars face in the present.

LGBTQ Study Group Party
16/Nov/2024: 9:30pm-11:00pm · Location: Monroe

DJ: Tiffany Naiman

Featuring Drag performances by: Femme de Violette, Tilia Cordata, Just Alex

This year’s party features crowd favorites: Our very own DJ Tiffany, Co-President Alex’s drag alter-ego Just Alex, as well as drag queens Femme de Violette and Tilia Cordata 

LGBTQ Study Group Business Meeting and Conversation
16/Nov/2024: 12:30pm-2:00pm · Location: Monroe

Continuing our conversation from Friday afternoon, this business meeting will be focused on re-establishing the board and small group discussions about the future of the group and what types of initiatives and events would best support its members.

Support Our AMS Party, Queer Performers, and the Study Group!

We are extending an invitation for you to invest in both the group’s general costs over the next twelve months, as well as towards us having a fantastic party with some fun special guest performers that we would love to compensate well! Please consider donating to the LGBTQ Study Group and read on for a special offer for donating.

One of the initial goals of this study group was to provide a vital space for community building and mutual support. In the work Lee and I do in the classroom and with students, we are deeply committed to creating safe, inclusive, accommodating, educational, and accessible spaces for individuals of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Through our programs and events, we strive to uplift the voices of LGBTQ+ individuals, provide resources and support, and foster a sense of belonging within our community. However, we cannot achieve our goals alone. We rely on the generous support of donors to make this a reality each year. Your sponsorship would not only contribute to the success of our event but also your dedication to the continued work of this group. We are grateful for your commitment to finding the best means of continuing to productively engage in LGBTQ music scholarship at the level of the AMS, as well as to supporting the work of queer academics in any stage including those in early career, on leave, and independent scholars.

Buttons: A few years ago, we had buttons for sale! For a donation of $5 or more, you can pick up one of our RETURN TO CHICAGO buttons at our party on Saturday evening! See one of the drag artists at the door to show your donation receipt and receive your button that evening.

Donate to the LGBTQ Study Group here 

See you in Chicago,
Alex