Kramer received his B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University (1965) and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Music from the University of California, Berkeley (1967 and 1969). His composition teachers included Karlheinz Stockhausen, Roger Sessions, Leon Kirchner, Seymour Shifrin, Andrew Imbrie, Richard Felciano, Jean-Claude Éloy, Billy Jim Layton, Edwin Dugger, and Arnold Franchetti. He studied theory with David Lewin, criticism with Joseph Kerman, and computer music with John Chowning.
Kramer was Professor of Composition and Theory at Columbia University from 1988 until his death in 2004. He also taught at the Oberlin Conservatory, Yale University, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He held visiting appointments at Wesleyan University, King's College of the University of London, the Canberra School of Music, the University of Western Australia, the Rockefeller Study Center in Bellagio (Italy), the Center for New Music and Technology (Berkeley), May in Miami, the ISCM Summer Workshop for Composers (Poland), and the European Mozart Academy (Poland). He served four years as Program Annotator of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, was Annotator of the Cincinnati Symphony since 1980, and a collection of his program notes, Listen to the Music, was published by Schirmer Books. He was the Cincinnati Symphony's Composer-in-Residence and New-Music Advisor from 1984 to 1992 and served as artist in residence of The Moebius Ensemble since 1997. He produced and hosted several local and national radio programs and represented American Public Radio three times at the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris.
His notable students include Robert Carl.
Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum.
Two funds were named in honor of Kramer upon his death: The Jonathan D. Kramer Memorial Fund for Young Composers, and The Jonathan D. Kramer Legacy Fund.
My Conviction
Jonathan Kramer Lyrics
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teenagers and say kids, be free, be whatever you are, do whatever you
want to do, just so long as you don't hurt anybody. And remember kids,
I am your friend.
I would just like to say that it is my conviction
That longer hair and other flamboyant affectations
Of appearance are nothing more
Into the gaudy plumage
Which is the birthright of his sex
There is a peculiar notion that elegant plumage
And fine feathers are not proper for the male
When ac------tually
That is the way things are
In most species
Jonathan Kramer's song My Conviction expresses his opinion on the conformity of male appearance in society. The song starts with a call for parents to encourage their children to be themselves as long as they do not harm anyone, with the singer identifying himself as a friend of the kids. Kramer then begins his argument by stating that it is his conviction that men should be allowed to have longer hair and other flamboyant forms of appearance, which he sees as an emergence from the "drab camoflage" of masculinity. He describes this as a "gaudy plumage" that is the "birthright" of the male sex.
Kramer then challenges the notion that elegant plumage is not proper for males, pointing out that it is actually the norm in most animal species. The song implies that society's expectation of a certain way of presenting oneself is a product of human-made constructs that need to be challenged in order to allow men to be their fully expressive selves. The song's message is ultimately one of encouragement to men and boys to embrace their individuality and to challenge societal norms that restrict them.
Line by Line Meaning
You know kids, I wish every mom and dad would make a speech to their teenagers and say kids, be free, be whatever you are, do whatever you want to do, just so long as you don't hurt anybody. And remember kids, I am your friend.
I believe parents should encourage their children to express themselves freely as long as they don't harm anyone. Children should be reminded that I am their friend.
I would just like to say that it is my conviction
I am confident about what I am going to say next.
That longer hair and other flamboyant affectations
Hairstyles and other exaggerated modifications.
Of appearance are nothing more
They are simply a physical representation.
Than the male's emergence from his drab camoflage
A man's way of breaking free from his dull surroundings.
Into the gaudy plumage
Displaying the bright and colorful attributes they possess.
Which is the birthright of his sex
Such traits are inherited by males of their species.
There is a peculiar notion that elegant plumage
A strange opinion exists that fancy appearance,
And fine feathers are not proper for the male
Including nice clothing, is not suitable for men,
When ac------tually
When in reality,
That is the way things are
It is the norm
In most species
In the majority of animal groups.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Galt Mac Dermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind