Special Issue of the DMC Zine

Edited by Rachel Duffy and Eleanor Jones-McAuley

Contents

1. Editors' Welcome Rachel Duffy (Technical University Dublin, DMC) and Eleanor Jones-McAuley (Trinity College Dublin, DMC)
   

2. President's Note Anika Babel (University College Dublin, DMC)
   

3. Explorations in Fantasy: Sound in Dungeons & Dragons Michelle Jones (Maynooth University)
   

4. The Transgender Voice: How Ireland Can Turn Up the Volume Lee Harding (Dundalk Institute of Technology)
   

5. “Girls are not wares to give away”—at least not to “Turkish gluttons”: Gender and Orientalism in Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail Nina Suter (Trinity College Dublin)
   

6. Access Issues for Women Entering the Music Field Alice Borrett (University of Hull)
   

7. Unintended Consequences and Agentic Materials: An Arts Practice Response to Covid Shutdown Kevin McNally (Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick)

Editors’ Welcome

Rachel Duffy and Eleanor Jones-McAuley

We are delighted to present the first Special Issue of the DMC Zine, drawn from the proceedings of the 2021 SMI/ICTM-IE Postgraduate Conference.

This day-long event, held in memory of Dr David Connolly, saw over forty researchers from twenty-two institutions share their work through an online conference which showcased the breadth and vibrancy of the postgraduate research scene in Ireland and beyond.

It was a pleasure for the DMC to partner with the Society for Musicology in Ireland and the Irish chapter of the International Council for Traditional Music, who have so warmly welcomed the Collective into the research community. The virtual conference provided a welcome opportunity for researchers to connect and share ideas, during a year in which fostering connection within the research community has been especially important.

We hope to capture some of the magic through this Special Issue of the Zine, which includes a selection of papers and videos presented at the conference—as well as the three winners of the CHMHE prize. The wide variety of topics discussed, including ludomusicology, ethnomusicology, gender studies, historical musicology, composition, pedagogy, and social justice, is representative of the diversity and originality of the research on display during the conference.

Sincere thanks to all of our contributors for so generously sharing their work with us. We hope that you will enjoy this brief insight into what was a thought provoking and inspiring day.

President's Note

Anika Babel

With this inaugural Special Issue of the DMC Zine, there are many to be acknowledged. First and foremost, huge thanks go to the contributors who have so graciously shared their research. Alice Borrett’s deployment of social learning theory in her paper Access Issues for Women Entering the Music Field is riveting and reminiscent of the tangible strives towards inclusivity and diversity made by Christina Scharff and Anna Bull. Similarly, Lee Harding’s paper, The Transgender Voice: How Ireland Can Turn Up The Volume, urges us—as educators and musicologists—to foster a more equitable learning environment. To this end, both papers offer astute and innovative recommendations. Nina Suter, the overall winner of the 2021 CHMHE prize, cohesively tackles multiple perspectives on gender and Orientalism in Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail in her terrific presentation “Girls are not wares to give away”—at least not to “Turkish gluttons”: Gender and Orientalism in Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail. Michelle Jones, in Explorations in Fantasy: Sound in Dungeons & Dragons, theorizes the immersive effect of music and speech in the game Dungeons & Dragons. Explorations in Fantasy is a fascinating insight into data collected from Jones’ tremendous survey—which had 888 respondents across 42 countries. Kevin McNally reminds us that “the music is what happens” in his proactive approach to composing and performing in an age of lockdown. His presentation, Unintended Consequences & Agentic Materials: An Arts Practice Response to Covid Shutdown, details pioneering and awe-inspiring collaborative compositional techniques with gamelan gongs.

The Dublin Musicology Collective are beholden to the welcoming embrace of the Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI) and the Irish chapter of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM-IE). It was at the 2020 SMI/ICTM-IE Postgraduate Conference at the University of Limerick that the seeds for the DMC were sown. One year later, we were absolutely thrilled to be associated with this vibrant event—an occasion which always promises (and delivers) a rich exchange of knowledge. Warm thanks go to Lorraine Byrne Bodley, president of the SMI, for extending the invitation to the DMC to be associates of the 2021 SMI/ICTM-IE Postgraduate Conference—from which the stellar content of this Special Issue sprung.

To Patrice Keegan, Hannah Millington, Frank Charles O’Donnell, and Alison Shorten—my fellow custodians of the DMC—thank you for your continued wisdom and enthusiasm. Finally, enormous thanks go to the wonderful Rachel Duffy and Eleanor Jones-McAuley. The care and kindness with which Rachel and Eleanor enact their roles as co-editors is utterly admirable.

I am sure I speak for all involved when saying that I am proud to see this first Special Issue of the Zine out in the world. The DMC are grateful for the congenial circumstances that afforded the opportunity to publish these cutting-edge papers, honoured to host such diverse and original work, and deeply appreciative of the kind and generous manner in which this was achieved.

Enjoy!