Welcome message from the co-chairs

Welcome back! We are excited to begin our tenure as co-chairs for SMR for the 2019–20 academic year. Following a successful 2018–19, which included numerous events such as professional development workshops, academic support and interest groups, and social events, we are eager to continue to offer our members similar activities in 2019–20 and expand the opportunities for academic and personal growth while at the University of Michigan.

The many events planned for this upcoming academic year reflect SMR’s commitment to fostering an enriching and supportive community for Michigan’s graduate students in music research. With the help of our social committee and the SMR Forum (SMRF)—the large group of organizers dedicated to planning academic and professional events—we will continue to increase the variety and number of events offered by SMR, from barbecues to conference-proposal writing workshops; from our long-standing weekly dissertation writing group to an autumn weekend of apple picking; and from inviting esteemed alumni for workshops to bittersweet goodbye parties for our members on their way to the next step of their careers. In addition to visiting our website for news on our society’s events, please be on the lookout for blog posts that reflect the diverse research interests and experiences of our constituency.

If you are an SMR member and have ideas for SMR, an initiative to suggest, or any other feedback, please let us know! If you are a prospective student and would like to find out more about us, please contact us at societyformusicresearch@umich.edu.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank William van Geest and Dorian Mueller, who run the SMR website, the music theory and musicology faculty, and SMTD dean David Gier for their continued advocacy on behalf of our organization.

With our best wishes,
Anna Rose Nelson and Alyssa Wells