Student Spotlight – Benjamin P. Skoronski

Benjamin Patrick Skoronski
Master’s degree in musicology
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Why did you choose the Fred Fox School of Music?

I chose the Fred Fox School of Music in order to study with the excellent musicology faculty, whose research interests parallel closely with my own. Dr. Matthew Mugmon shares my historical impetus, driven by an interest in archival research. He is interested in modernism and its reception in the United States, especially as it pertains to minority musicians. Dr. John Brobeck represents my secondary research interest of early music, in my case focused largely upon Baroque polyphony.

What is your research topic?

It comes as no surprise that women have been seriously underrepresented in music scholarship and the arts in general only until very recently. As such, the narrative of Music History is dominated by men, primarily composers. While these figures remain important to the trajectory of the historical narrative, our understanding of that narrative is one-sided as many equally significant women have been lost to the footnotes and appendices of our historical accounts. I was drawn to this research topic to contribute a fresh perspective to the conversation, examining the role of female-led music clubs in the dissemination of modernism in 1920’s America.

Comment on Facebook

One thing that needs to be considered in this time of major climate change concern is the carbon emissions of flying in artists from overseas. The carbon emissions of flying Stockholm-Tucson roundtrip come to about 3 tons per economy class passenger. That is comparable to the carbon emissions produced by the average American in 1 year of driving. Could a US-based organist have played this recital (shorter travel distance and lower emissions)? Or, is Hammarstrom already on tour in the US (thus consolidating multiple recitals into 1 overseas trip)? There is also the option of offsetting flight emissions. Saying this as a DMA grad of the UA organ program and as an astronomy educator who’s following the astronomy field’s efforts to mitigate climate impact.