In 2000, two Georgetown alumni, Michael Bracy (C'90) and Jenny Toomey (C'90), helped create the Future of Music Coalition (FMC) – a non-profit organization specializing in education, research, and advocacy for musicians, with a focus on issues at the intersection of music technology, policy, and law. Over the last year, the Booth Family Center for Special Collections (Booth) has been in conversation with the FMC Board about acquiring their extensive archive. In February 2019, Booth signed the paperwork to become the official repository of this visionary organization.
To help celebrate the new acquisition and to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of FMC, the Friday Music Series will host a lecture, light lunch, and musical performance on Friday, September 20.
The lecture, which features various members of the Future of Music Coalition, is entitled “The Value of Music to US Society.” The lecture will begin at 10:30 am in the Barbara L. Jones Classroom in Booth on the fifth floor of Georgetown University’s Lauinger Library. Participants can then view the exhibition, curated by Professor Anna Celenza. The exhibition is currently on display in the Leon Robbin Gallery in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. Some of the original documents highlight several of the important chapters in the history of the FMC.
After a light lunch in the Library, at 12:15 participants will walk to McNeir Auditorium to hear Rebecca Gates perform. Rebecca Gates is a US based musician, curator, artist and audio editor. She has released five albums, three as leader of the critically acclaimed group The Spinanes (Sub Pop), toured internationally, and appeared as a vocalist on numerous records by artists as wide ranging as The Decemberists and Willie Nelson. Her record Ruby Series was hailed by Spin Magazine as “warm, thoughtful, and melodically gorgeous.”
The program ends at 1:30, followed by a brief question-and-answer session. This event is a partnership between the Department of Performing Arts and Lauinger Library Associates.