I have a problem (?)
11I just had 3 conference papers accepted at 3 different conferences. One in Vienna, one in Krakow (Poland), and the other in New York City. All are important. The paper in Krakow might be more important than Vienna, but Vienna is more important for my research than Krakow. But, I would have to leave Vienna early to get to NYC. I can likely get back to Vienna someday for future conferences. I don’t have funding for any of these yet and will likely have to make a decision between them 
Any recommendations based on the cities?
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Wish I knew. Nice conundrum.
I’ve been to both, but a couple decades ago, and when I was mostly concentrating on doing everything for as little money as possible. On that front, Krakow is a lot cheaper (hotels, restaurants) than Vienna. If you’re really pinching pennies, you can stay in Bratislava (Slovakia) for a lot less than Vienna and it’s only an hour away across the border. If you’re trying what I tried, pay to get in a 24-hour Vienna dance club and just stay up all night. (Note: not recommended if you’re over the age of, say, 22.)
They’re both beautiful. If you were talking about Warsaw (or most other big cities in Poland) we’d be talking about the Soviet brutalist architecture, but Krakow mostly managed to keep its old buildings. Vienna obviously also has amazing architecture, palaces, all of that.
@luvche21 Haven’t been to Vienna, but I was in Krakow last summer. Can confirm: Poland was quite inexpensive, even in the downtown old city / tourist area. The main square area is grandiose and the people we met were happy to struggle through directions for the best pierogi stand.
@dave Thanks for the tips!
I’m not too old, but old enough to know that staying up all night in a dance club is not of any interest to me whatsoever lol.
Just curious, did you need any papers to cross the border from Slovakia? That’s not a bad idea, and I could use my Eastern European language skills easier there too!
@meverett Glad to hear you enjoyed it, I think I would really enjoy Krakow. I’m hoping to do some research someday on folk music in eastern Europe, so for me it would be fun just for that!
@dave
Awesome problem to have.
https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/04/28
@sligett Ha, I’m pretty sure I read that one as a child, but had no idea it was a city back then!
I have no input, but …way to go!!!
Most things in NYC are very expensive, so if cost is an issue at all I’d consider dropping it. Not that you can’t find ways to do NYC for cheaper, but that’s harder and harder to do.
That being said, I live here and I love it very much, and if you know where specifically in NYC (it’s also very big) I can probably give some reasonable recommendations.
I have not been to the other cities but both are on my bucket list.
@Kawa That conference is at Steinhardt (35 W. 4th Street), but the more I look at it, the less of a chance I’ll be there since my colleague is likely going and can present for me. This conference happens there every year, so I’ll likely go another time.
NYC is awesome. But $$$ if course.
But … More opportunities to get to NYC than the other two. For most of us.
The other two seem more exotic and rare as destinations (to me).
I’d do whatever is best for my career. Unless running around like crazy to get to all three doesn’t matter or help the career that much.
Or unless you hate some aspects of these conferences and want to cut back.
If you can afford (afford both $- and career-wise) to do whatever most pleases you, then do that.
Really nice conundrum to have earned.
Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the hell out of whatever you finally decide on!
@f00l Thanks! This is probably one of the proudest points in my career so far (especially mixed in with some upcoming publications), it’s been a nice high to be on.
The problem is that each have their pros and cons (even without the $ aspect). Each of these conferences would be fun (way more fun than the other more boring ones that I normally go to), since they are more closely related to my research. At least I’m at the point of deciding between a bunch of good things!
@luvche21
Can you tell us something about your research?
@f00l classic Hollywood film music. Music theory analysis of scores from the 30s to the 60s, all by Max Steiner. Films like Gone with the Wind, King Kong, Casablanca, and 247 others. Working on a corpus study of all of his films.
@luvche21
omg what a wonderful thing to spend your life’s work on
Envious. It sounds so fine.
/giphy casablanca
@f00l oh, it’s so much fun! I really landed the best job in the world (and ven outside of this research).
Since Steiner wrote 251 films, this is going to take my colleague and I 15 to 20 years to complete. I get to look at the original handwritten manuscript scores too! We’ve already found quite a few hidden gems in the mix, and we’ve only analyzed 30 or so scores. Sometimes the films are horrible, but the score is wonderful. Steiner really put his all into it. The project really landed in my lap too, and it’s basically going to get me tenure through this research!
Later this year we’re putting on a Kong Kong concert with a live showing of the film, and re-scoring it for a modern orchestra size and instrumentation (it’s 86 years old!!).
Even though the job doesn’t pay as much as I’d hoped, it’s livable and work is a blast!
@luvche21
That King Kong live-orchestra showing sounds wonderful.
I hope you invite Peter Jackson and Co. If you want him there.
And I hope he shows up.
/giphy King Kong
@f00l It’s going to be an excellent event. We might end up being a series of clips from the film with narrations and history of the film/composition throughout. Still working out the details.
p.s. That is now my favorite gif. Yoink!
@luvche21
I think the original KK is still PJ’s lifelong fav film isn’t it? That why I thought he might get hooked into this.
@f00l I feel like I’ve heard that before. It’s a good watch, even now, even if just for a historical context of what the world was like. The first wall to wall score for a film too. Before Steiner’s score in this film, film producers thought that audiences would be confused if they heard music in a film and didn’t see a musician on-screen. Clearly times have changed.
We’re wary of getting too much press for this, since we’re going for fair use for the performance, and Warner Brothers (who owns rights to many (all?) RKO films) tends to be rough to work with. Will definitely consider inviting PJ though, that would be awesome!
@luvche21
From Wikipedia:
He was going in a Ray Harryhausen stop-motion direction then (elementary school age)!
PJ supposedly paid well into 6 figures for some original theatrical release KK posters and other original mementos.
Also, another connection: the LOTR trilogy was shown/performed, with close-captioned dialogue on-screen, and live orchestra and choral accompaniment handling Howard Shore’s superb (to me) score, by some excellent orchestras. Some of the footage of several of these orchestral events can be seen on YouTube.
So I would think PJ might be interested if he has the free time.
@luvche21
Take a look at this. 2 min I think. It kinda cuts off awkwardly.
@f00l thanks for all the info! I’ll look into inviting him, because that would be the cherry on top of the concert that is already the cherry on top of the film music symposium we’re hosting that weekend.
Can’t watch the video right now, but I’ll check it out later. Luckily, film screenings like this are getting more and more common!
Congrats - a nice problem to have.
I’d ask the power people in your department and department chair (and maybe the dean) their view on which would do you the most good at this stage of your career (eg the tenure issue - but unless you have a relationship with them that you can be that blunt, be careful how you ask). You need to look at the prestige of the conference from the point of view of the people who will be judging your tenure packet. Once you have figured out that rank order, if there isn’t agreement, then I’d chose next by which one would help you the most with respect to furthering your own research (eg network connections, others you might want to co-author with later, etc.) between their top two choices for prestige if they don’t agree. I hate to say it but being untenured, the “fun” factor needs to come in third.
@Kidsandliz Thanks for the tips, it sounds like you’ve been down this road before?
The fun factor isn’t a deciding factor for me right now, but really all of them would be fun.
I don’t know if you read any of my conversation with @f00l above, but Steiner has connections in both Vienna (he was born there and his father was relatively prominent) and in NYC (he worked on Broadway as an orchestrator for Gerswhin).
I had a conversation late yesterday with an administrator (in the level below my dean, and he’s a significant reviewer for my tenure) who wants to help me go to all three. I caught him for a few minutes and asked for advice (partially a sneaky way for me to make sure administration knows more about the research I’m doing). He is extremely supportive, and offered to look for funding that I normally wouldn’t have access to. I’m in an odd department that doesn’t do this kind of research near as much as I do, so he’s been helpful.
But, it’s looking more like my research partner can present for me in NYC (he got a paper accepted there as well). Which leaves Vienna and Krakow which is sounding more and more feasible. So if I can find funding, this is going to be the best route in the end. I get the paper published from the NYC conference proceedings, learn a good amount of practical information from the Vienna conference, make international connections in Krakow and can start preparing the Krakow presentation for a future publication.
@luvche21 Sounds like a plan and it is great they are trying to help you find funding. Tenure is largely political once you have passed the minimum bar.
@Kidsandliz yes, it’s definitely political here. I’ve tried really hard to find that balance of not joining sides when arguments arise and showing that I actually do care about local issues. I think I’m in the right path. I didn’t have much criticism from my initial review (the halfway point here). Next year I turn in my packet for review!
@luvche21 Just remember small pond, power hungry fish who wish they were big fish in the big pond. Since they can’t be they make sure everyone knows they are the big fish in the small pond. Too many fish. Pond not big enough. Don’t be fish bait.