49^th Annual Meeting
February 26 – 27, 2027
University of Houston
Proposal Deadline: December 1, 2026

The Texas Society for Music Theory will hold its 49th annual meeting on February 26–27, 2027, at the University of Houston, with Jonathan Guez and Timothy Koozin serving as local coordinators. Joseph Straus, Distinguished Professor of the Graduate Center at CUNY, will deliver the keynote address, entitled “Analyzing Atonal Music: Why We Got Into It and What We Get Out of It.” The conference will be held in person and streamed online for distance viewing. Presenters are asked to travel to Houston. Those not presenting may participate in person or virtually.

The Society invites the submission of proposals on any aspect of music theory or music theory-related interdisciplinary research topics. Proposals may be formatted as 20-minute scholarly papers, posters, or 90-minute panel discussions and special sessions.

The Society invites undergraduate students to participate in a special lightning talk session dedicated to working projects. This session aims to inspire undergraduates to pursue research in music theory. Students will deliver a 10-minute talk on their project, followed by collaborative roundtable discussions to further develop their ideas and explore new possibilities. Students must work with a faculty mentor to prepare their abstracts. If you are a faculty member, consider inviting outstanding students to participate by submitting a proposal or attending the conference. More information will be available on the Society’s website.

TSMT also welcomes proposals for a special session or workshop suited for high school and college music theory classes to view together on Friday morning. If you propose one of these special sessions, be sure to include a statement explaining how it is relevant for this audience.

Papers and Posters: Please prepare two separate PDF files:

1. Anonymous proposal of no more than 500 words and supplementary materials of no more than 2 pages (may include diagrams, examples, works cited, bibliography, etc.). Include the proposal title; title words do not count against the word limit.
2. Author bio(s), no more than 50 words per author.

Panels and Workshops (90 minute duration): Please prepare two separate PDF files:

1. Anonymous proposal of no more than 500 words and supplementary materials of no more than 2 pages (may include diagrams, examples, works cited, bibliography, etc.). Include the proposal title; title words do not count against the word limit.
1. For a panel with more than one author, describe the theme of your session and why you think it would be of interest to the Society; include a description of each (anonymized) author’s contribution.
2. For a workshop, describe your theme for the workshop and why you think it would be of interest to the Society. In either the body of your abstract or as a supplemental table, provide a general outline of how you will conduct the workshop, with details such as when you use group work or specific types of activities.
2. Author bio(s), no more than 50 words per author.

Undergraduate Lightning Talk: Please prepare two separate PDF files:

1. Anonymous proposal of no more than 250 words. Authors are encouraged to submit up to one page of supplemental materials, which may include a bibliography and other related examples. Include the proposal title; title words do not count against the word limit.
2. Author bio(s), no more than 50 words per author, and Faculty mentor’s name, title, and institution.

The submitting author for each category is responsible for making sure that the proposal contains no identifying information in the documents.

Submit proposals by December 1, 2026 here: https://forms.gle/o4N7GxQ96G5Aw2cW9. Only complete submissions will be considered. Questions about submitting a proposal may be addressed to President Jennifer Beavers or the Program Committee Chair, Katrina Roush: Katrina Roush.

This year, TSMT is offering three awards: (1) the Colvin Award for best student 20-minute talk, (2) an award for best student poster, and (3) an award for the best undergraduate presentation. Each winner will receive a monetary reward. In addition, the recipient of the 2027 Colvin Award will receive an invitation to serve on the 2028 Program Committee.

Joseph Straus will be delivering a special pre-conference workshop entitled “Analyzing Stravinsky.” This event will take place on Thursday afternoon (2/25) and is free and open to conference participants. If you are interested in attending the workshop, there will be a registration link on the conference website. Details on exact time and location of the event will be updated on the website.

We encourage scholars to consider carefully when responding to regional paper calls, and to submit only to the conferences that one seriously intends to attend if accepted. Further, we strongly recommend that scholars submit the same paper or poster to no more than two regional conferences per year, so as to broaden presentation opportunities for all.

TSMT Executive Board Jennifer Beavers (University of Texas San Antonio), President David Heetderks (University of North Texas), President-Elect Kevin Clifton (Sam Houston State University), Secretary Andrew Davis (University of Houston), Treasurer David Easley (Oklahoma City University) Bryan Espinosa (Sam Houston State University) Rachel Mann (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) Andrew Vagts (Baylor University)

TSMT 2027 Program Committee Katrina Roush, chair (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) Zekai Liu (Eastman School of Music, winner of 2026 Colvin Award) Stefanie Bilidas (Texas Woman’s University) Angela Ripley (Texas A&M University- Kingsville)