Lauren V Coons
University of New Mexico, Music, Alumnus
- Lauren Valerie Coons is an intermedia composer, performer, dancer, writer, and music scholar from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a Master of Music degree in music theory & composition and musicology from the University of New Mexico... moreLauren Valerie Coons is an intermedia composer, performer, dancer, writer, and music scholar from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a Master of Music degree in music theory & composition and musicology from the University of New Mexico. In addition to her scholarly work in American experimental music, Lauren has composed and performed numerous intermedia and interdisciplinary works for a variety of audiences and performers. She is committed to cultivating a creative practice using composition as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, innovative approaches to improvisation, collaboration, and performance in social and community contexts.edit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This work examines the social practice element of contemporary indeterminate music. Through historical and critical research, and analysis of some contemporary indeterminate works, I provide a view of indeterminacy as a subversive... more
This work examines the social practice element of contemporary indeterminate music. Through historical and critical research, and analysis of some contemporary indeterminate works, I provide a view of indeterminacy as a subversive experimental music practice that challenges both the forms of alienation present in Western art-music culture and the concepts and power structures that have contributed to them. I compare and contrast indeterminacy with other terms and concepts related to “open works,” specifically aleatory, chance, and improvisation. A discussion of various philosophical viewpoints regarding the concept of the musical “work” and the role of the composer reveal ways in which indeterminacy challenges those enculturated notions which underlie various modernist alienations. Critical analyses of several indeterminate works by composers Christian Wolff, Mario Lavista, Tod Machover, John Zorn, and Carolyn Chen demonstrate some social practice strategies of countering or responding to alienation employed by contemporary composers.