Timothy Johnson, Associate Professor of Music and Chair of Graduate Studies, was invited by the University of Connecticut to give a presentation in its Music History and Theory Colloquium. His presentation was on "Neo-Riemannian Transformations and Hexatonic Systems in John Adams's Nixon in China."
Dr. Johnson's talk, attended by professors and graduate students in the music theory and history programs, dealt with advanced harmonic constructions drawn from recent developments in music theory. He also related this harmonic approach to historical and political contexts related to the opera and its depiction of Nixon's trip to China in 1972 that opened relations between the People's Republic of China and the West. For this presentation Dr. Johnson adapted material from his recent book about the opera and its broader context, published by Ashgate (2011).
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20120404112933608