This talk addresses how musical labor and music as a commodity shape social relationships on a civic scale. Musical practices are inevitably shaped and reshaped to serve power structures. Capitalism and music’s materialization through acoustic reproducibility in the 20th century has transformed the ways we can participate in what is a complex social practice. Assigned roles of musician, listener, producer we interact in a strictly controlled marketplace. In 2014, Randall co-created a project called Pittonkatonk as a way to interrogate this position and propose an alternative space of musical engagement. Pittonkatonk promotes music as a public good and music-making as a catalyst for positive social change. Randall’s talk describes some of the key economic conditions to which Pittonkatonk was responding, how they sought to address these conditions, how the project has worked in practice, and how it has developed over the years. Richard Randall will be speaking at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, in FA-Casadesus Recital Hall. Free to the public.
This event is hosted by the Binghamton University Department of Music. For more information visit the web, call 607-777-2592 or become a fan on Facebook.