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Susan Boynton is an associate
professor of music and
chair of Music Humanities.
Her research focuses on
liturgical music in medieval
Western monasticism, monastic
education and the
role of women in medieval
song. The recipient of two
Fulbrights, a Rome Prize, an
American Council of Learned
Societies Fellowship and a
membership at the Institute
for Advanced Study, she has
been teaching at Columbia
since 2000. Boynton earned
her bachelor’s from Yale and
her Ph.D. from Brandeis.
Where did you grow up
New York City.
What did you want to be
growing up
When I was in high school, I
was interested in being a pianist,
but I liked writing about
music, so in college, I thought
I’d be interested in being a
music historian, a classicist or
something like that.
Do you still play piano
Yes. I have a grand piano at
home. I do some informal
performances. I’ve done little
concerts here and at home.
What kind of music did you
listen to growing up
I listened to classical music.
My father sang in a lot of
choirs and was a very good
piano player. My grandmother
was a voice teacher and a singer.
I heard a lot of early music
and choral music growing up,
so I grew interested in that.
How did you come to
Columbia
I used to teach at the University
of Oregon. That
was my first job after I
got my doctorate. I was
invited to apply for a
job here in 2000, and
that was it. I was very
glad to come home to
New York. The West
Coast seemed very far
away. My whole family lives
in New York.
What classes will you teach
in the fall
Music Hum and a new pedagogy
class that’s for music
department graduate students.
It’s combined with a
professional development
program including classes on
C.V. writing, grant writing,
the job market, publications
and so forth.
Where do you see Music
Hum fitting into a rounded
liberal arts education
Music is very much part of a
liberal education. When people
learn to analyze a painting
in Art Hum, the object is visual;
in Music Hum, it’s a sonic
object. Music is the text. As in
Lit Hum, where people learn
to read texts closely and take
apart a text, they learn that
with music in Music Hum.
Texts are not limited to verbal
texts. Texts also are visual and
musical.
What are you working on
I recently finished a book on
a Jesuit in the 18th century
who was studying medieval
manuscripts of music in Toledo
Cathedral from 1750–55
and working with a calligrapher
who made incredible
facsimiles of the manuscripts.
The Jesuit was involved in
many different things, and I
was just focusing on that one
aspect of his work. His work
started as a political project,
a Spanish government commission
to transcribe archival
documents that they would
use in negotiations with
the Vatican regarding the
crown’s claims on ecclesiastical
property both in Spain
Five Minutes with … Susan Boynton
and in the new world. As
a larger historical project,
it concerned the history of
Spanish patrimony and cultural
legacy.
Where do you live
Broadway and 111th Street.
Are you married Do you
have kids
I am married to Jens Ulff-
Moller, who also teaches at
Columbia. We have a 2-yearold
daughter.
Did you and your husband
meet at Columbia
We met at a medieval conference
in Kalamazoo, Mich.
It’s this huge conference
every year in May when the
dorms at Western Michigan
are available. It now has
about 4,000 people a year.
People from Europe, the Pacific
Rim, all over the world
come to Kalamazoo.
To non-medievalists,
it’s probably weird,
but to any medievalist,
it’s a
household name.
I actually know
a number of
people who met
their spouses
in Kalamazoo.
What is something your
students would never guess
about you
I used to dance ballet.
How do you recharge
I do yoga.
If you could be anywhere
in the world, where would
you be
It’s a tie between Rome and
Madrid. I spent a lot of time
at the Academy in Rome. My
second book is on this Jesuit
in Toledo, and because the
materials are preserved mostly
in Madrid, I spent a lot of
time there too.
What’s your favorite
place in New York City
The promenade by the
Hudson near West 100th Street
in Riverside Park.
What’s your favorite food
Indian.
What on your resume are
you most proud of
The Rome Prize, a fellowship
to go to The American Academy
in Rome for a year.
What music are you listening
to
Lately, a lot of children’s
music! We also watch a lot
of DVDs of ballet and opera.
Right now, my favorite is an
amazing DVD of The Rite
of Spring and The Firebird of
Stravinsky with wonderful
reconstructions of the original
choreography and a fantastic
orchestra performance.
Can you recommend a musical
event in New York
The concert series of early
music at The Cloisters in a
beautiful chapel, and a series
at Corpus Christi Catholic
Church on West 121st Street.
Interview and photo:
Ethan Rouen ’04J
To watch Boynton discuss how
students benefit from New York’s
rich cultural offerings, go to
www.college.columbia.edu/cct.
july/august 2010
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