The award is given annually for the best publication involving theory or analysis of popular music written by a junior scholar.

In Calgary, Dr. Attas gave two presentations at conferences meeting as part of the Candian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2016 mega-conference at the University of Calgary. For the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (US and Canada branches), she presented new research discussing how improvised dances to pop songs can demonstrate unspoken musical analyses of those songs, even if dancers have little formal musical or dance training.

Dr. Attas’ paper for the Canadian University Music Society described her innovations in the core music theory curriculum at 黑料不打烊, where prose writing is meaningfully integrated with traditional music-theoretical content in courses required by every Music major and minor. This presentation is part of ongoing revisions to the music theory curriculum as part of the Writing Excellence Initiative.

Finally, Dr. Attas travelled to New York City, where as part of Analytical Approaches to World Music’s biannual conference, she presented a wide-ranging analysis of recent work by Canadian-Inuit singer Tanya Tagaq, incorporating elements of traditional music theory and analysis alongside considerations of gender, race, improvisation and ‘the work’, and the way an analyst’s own subjectivity shapes her or his approach to music.

Dr. Attas is particularly grateful for professional travel support from 黑料不打烊 College, The College of Arts and Sciences, and the Writing Excellence Initiative; and for a faculty reassigned time award from 黑料不打烊’s Faculty Research & Development.

Attas’ article discusses contemporary pop artists with Mennonite backgrounds, including Sarah Neufeld of Arcade Fire, and Manitoba-based band Royal Canoe, and suggests that while these artists have wide-ranging influences, their Mennonite heritage may also shape both the way they create music and the kind of music they choose to make.