Recent Studies of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1999–2020)

This essay surveys criticism on Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, from 1999 until 2020. Work in this area has continued to expand over the past two decades along with broader establishment of the field of early modern women's writing. Shifting away from biographically centered analyses, recent scholarship has demonstrated the formal and stylistic innovation, rich intertextuality, and material history of Pembroke's writings, as well as Pembroke's literary influence and the creative significance of her editorial work. Pembroke's writings also foreground important issues related to form, genre, and textual transmission in the early modern context, including musical performance. The essay concludes by outlining some areas for further work. Pembroke's engagement with transnational networks warrants further exploration, as does the question of how Pembroke scholarship might further contribute to field-changing conversations about race in premodern studies. Digital scholarship has the potential to further illuminate the complex circulation and reception history of Pembroke's writings;future scholarly and pedagogical work on Pembroke will likely also be shaped by online tools and modalities expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent studies that have demonstrated how Pembroke's writings complicate established categories of gender, form, and authorial and editorial practice are also opening up important avenues for further study in relation to book history, the new formalism, and gender and queer studies. [M.H., K.L., C.D.] [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of English Literary Renaissance is the property of University of Chicago Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

VIRTUAL ROBOTIC MUSICIANSHIP: CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES

In the last few decades, robots have fostered unique possibilities for musical performance and composition, allowing novel interactions with musicians and memorable experiences for the audience. Robotic musicians can be built in many shapes and have diverse functionalities, making robot musicianship a fertile research field. However, building physical robots requires access to electrical and mechanical components, as well as laboratory equipment, which can make them financially unfeasible in peripheral countries. Moreover, building physical experimental devices quickly raises the problem of disposing of broken or outdated parts. Finally, the COVID-19 crisis has decreased access to laboratories and forced social isolation, which further harms physical robots’ development. In this position paper, we argue that the current technology for robot simulation can be used to provide most aspects of physical robots, with considerable advantages related to the financial cost, the environmental impact, and the possibility of testing and sharing robots using the Internet. We also discuss previous work on virtual presence, which indicates that both the performers and the audience can feel being present in the same space as the virtual robots. Lastly, we anticipate challenges and research opportunities in this field of research. Copyright: © 2021 the Authors.

2022 ACDA Western Region Conference: Overview/Special Events

The article discusses 2022 American Choral Directors Association Western Region Conference held in Long Beach, California from March 2-5, 2022. Topics discussed include proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test to enter the venue required by Terrace Theatre, performance of vocal band vocal band Nation led by conductor Timothy C. Takach and performance of ensemble Tonality.

Analysis of the Usefulness of Critique Documents on Musical Performance: Toward a Better Instructional Document Format

Today, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for remote and asynchronous lessons for musical performance is rapidly increasing. In these lessons, teachers listen to recordings of musical performances and then return textual critique documents to the performers. However, the common document formats that exist in other fields are not widely known in the field of performance instruction. To address this issue, we launched a project in 2020 to collect and publish a dataset of critique documents. This study describes a statistical analysis of the dataset to investigate which types of elements are useful for performers. The multilevel modeling results revealed that the content of the critiques differed more depending on the teacher than on the musical piece or the student. Particularly, the number of sentences about giving practice advice is a key factor for useful critique documents. These findings would lead to improved forms of critique documents and, eventually, to the development of educational programs for teachers. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Masks and concert protocols

The article focuses on the masks and concert protocols as cases and severity of COVID-19 pandemic fluctuate geographically and impacting rehearsal facilities. Topics include Bell Barrier Veil mask for players of serpents, COVID-19 vaccination checking of audience members by San Francisco (CA) Early Music Society, & virtual performances by Boston (MA) Early Music Festival.