We are pleased to solicit proposals for the second annual Cascade Song Festival, a weekend devoted to the study and performance of song. The organizers are music theorist Stephen Rodgers (University of Oregon) and musicologist Stephen Rumph (University of Washington), along with sopranos Camille Ortiz (University of Oregon) and Carrie Shaw (University of Washington). The festival will take place at the University of Washington, Seattle, on January 15-18, 2026. Events will include a recital by the internationally acclaimed soprano Louise Toppin (University of Michigan) and pianist John O’Brien, a masterclass by Toppin, and a keynote presentation by music theorist Matt BaileyShea (University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music), as well as performances by U of O and UW faculty and students.
We invite submissions on all aspects of song, with a special welcome to literary scholars, composers, and performer-scholars. Submissions on popular song, musical theater, cabaret, and other genres are also welcome. The festival seeks to foster creative interactions between performance and scholarship, and we welcome both traditional papers and lecture demonstrations. All presenters will be allotted 20 minutes, with 10 minutes for questions.
Topics may (but need not) include:
- the interaction of song analysis and performance
- collaborations between performers and scholars of song
- underexplored song repertoires
- the semiotics of song
- novel ways of understanding the relationship between text and music
- interdisciplinary work that combines musicological, literary, and performance-based perspectives
- poetic misreadings
- constructions of gender and social identity in song and song performance
Please send an abstract of your presentation (maximum 350 words), without your name, to cascadesongfestival@gmail.com. In the email, include your name, affiliation or location, and a brief sketch of work in song research and/or performance. Abstracts are due July 1, 2025.
Cascade Song Festival * January 15-18, 2026 