This November, Andrew Malilay White (class of ‘12) will present his research on the composition and social construction of nineteenth-century yodeling styles at the 2017 meeting of the Society for Music Theory in Arlington, Virginia.
The society's annual meeting is the premiere venue in the field for “live” presentation of research; speakers are invited only after blind peer review of their proposals with an acceptance rate of approximately 20%. Andrew is in his third year as a PhD candidate in music theory at the University of Chicago—one of the top 2-3 doctoral programs nationwide. His primary interest is nineteenth-century improvisatory piano practice methods and the relationship between musical structure and bodily skill.
Andrew majored in music theory and history as well as piano performance at Notre Dame, completing honors requirements for both concentrations. He spent his junior year at Oxford University through Notre Dame’s study abroad program. Before beginning his doctoral studies, he received an MM degree in solo piano performance from New York University where he received a Steinhardt Dean’s Scholarship. “I’m grateful for having gotten such a comprehensive education at the music department at ND,” he says. “I’m always juggling a lot of topics at once and trying to find connections between really different ideas, and it wouldn’t be possible without the well-roundedness I got from my time here as an undergrad.”
Andrew recently has begun visiting campus again as a newly appointed member of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Advisory Council.
Originally published by at music.nd.edu on October 11, 2017.