Composition Commons^™

21 Modes, Adam Bodine

Senior Thesis Compositions in Music

21 Modes
by Adam Bodine

In three movements.

Performed by Quartet Nouveau
April 19, 2018
French Parlor, Founders Hall
University of San Diego

Batya MacAdam-Somer and Missy Lukin, violins
Annabelle Terbetski, viola
Elizabeth Brown, cello

21 Modes was inspired by curiosity. I wanted to know how many scales would result from reordering the half and whole steps of the major scale. As it turns out there are 21. I composed each of the three movements to explore the sonorities of each scale. The first movement is inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The aggressive eighth note string texture became …

The Sunlight Cycle, Michael Flynn

Masters Theses

The Sunlight Cycle is a work in four movements which evokes certain time periods within a 24-hour day. In order of number, the movements are meant to represent dawn, daytime, twilight, and night, respectively. Each movement transitions seamlessly into the next, with Mvt. 4, “Nocturnal,” transitioning back to the beginning of Mvt. 1, “Matutinal”. This cyclical nature allows for a performance of the cycle to begin with any of the four movements. Theoretically, the work can repeat indefinitely.

Musically, the work develops in three main areas: harmony, rhythm, and timbre. Harmonically, the work is tonal, featuring extended and altered triadic …

A Collection Of Three Pieces For Solo Instrument And Electronics, Carolyn Borcherding

Masters Theses

This collection of three musical compositions for solo instruments and electronics explores the interaction between acoustic instruments and electronic media with a specific focus on musical form. The musical form is apparent due to clear musical segmentations, and the coherence of each work is maintained by the inter-contextual relationships evident in the musical material. Each piece is divided into three parts: beginning, middle, and end. Each beginning sets up a strong relationship between the two media by using closely timed action-reaction gestures. The middle section diverges away from these reactionary gestures, while the ending then brings about a short return …

From Korngold To The Movies: Korngold's Influence On Film Scores, Michelle L. Grosser

Student Publications

During the 1920s, a new cultural movement called Neue Sachlichkeit (or New Objectivity) was developing in Germany and Austria. During the rise of Nazi Germany, the Neue Sachlichkeit movement protested by bringing back elements of the Romantic era in art, literature and music. One of the most recognizable composers of this time was Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 – 1957). Today’s listeners often hear Korngold’s concert works as being very similar to contemporary film scores; but in reality, Korngold wrote in his very distinctive harmonic and melodic style from the beginning of his career, before film scores came to be, and …

The Effect Of Post-Production On Storytelling In Narrative And Documentary Filmmaking, Natalie Pace

Senior Honors Theses

Documentaries and narrative films both tell stories in different ways. A common saying states that narrative filmmakers write one movie, shoot another, and edit a third. In postproduction, timelines are rearranged, montages are created, new dialog and voiceovers are written, and the score can alter the mood and meaning entirely. Documentaries can change even more over the course of their creation. Usually, the script of the documentary is not written until the edit, after most of the interviews and B roll have been shot. This paper examines whether documentary post-production makes more or less use of storytelling techniques than does …

Cultivating "Musical Wildflowers": A Look At Parcy Grainger's Linconshire Posy, Sierra Westberg

Scholars Day

The legacy left by Percy Grainger is that not only of his innovative compositional styles, but also that of his role as a “music-activator in a changing world.” By diligently seeking out, listening to, and recording the songs of often forgotten folksingers, Grainger gave a voice to those who society failed to acknowledge. Through the examination of one of his most wellknown works, Lincolnshire Posy, it will be shown that the encouragement of musical development in students of all ages can be beneficial to their understanding of the world around them while equipping them to then impart their knowledge to …

Anxiety And Alternative Facts: An Arts-Based Critical Social Improvisation Project, Rebecca Zarate, Nancy Beardall, Talaye Zarafshandardaky, Brooke Rutstein

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

According to Grayson and Meilman (2011) the stakes are too high in current campus culture to not acknowledge the social roots of mental health issues such as anxiety, and concerns of students as related to campus safety. This arts-based, music performance project responded to concerns on campus from recent political and social events. More specifically, it aimed to explore the concept of “alternative facts” and how this idea plays with the collective concepts of truth and falsifications. It explored applications of clinical improvisation and the concept of collective anxiety as a social phenomenon expressed through arts including music, dance, and …

Concerto For Horn And Orchestra And Sofia Gubaidulina's Serialism, Michael Paul Mitchell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work is in two parts. The first is a composition for horn and orchestra by the author, using a variety of styles that I have learned while at Louisiana State University and inspired by the pieces I have played on the horn. The second part is an analysis of Sofia Gubaidulina’s works that include twelve-tone serial techniques and the devices she uses in them and how her style changed through composing these three pieces, Piano Sonata (1965), Five Etudes for Harp, Double Bass, and Percussion, and Night in Memphis composed in 1968. After these pieces Gubaidulina leaves the …

Transcribing And Editing The Selected Works Of Robert Fleming Through Sibelius Music Software, Annaleise A. Lee

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Transcribing and Editing the Selected Works of Robert Fleming Through Sibelius Music Software

The Personal Tragedy In Paul Hindemith's Mathis Der Maler, Sharri K. Hall

Musical Offerings

Paul Hindemith is hardly remembered for his music prior to the 1940s. During the Nazi occupation of Germany in the early 20^th century, Paul Hindemith, reviled for his modernistic styles and relation to his Jewish wife, was forced to emigrate out of the Third Reich for his safety. Hindemith was known for his connections to New Objectivity, Gebrachsmusik, and tonality instability placed him in the wrong realm of composition in the Nazi’s minds. As Hitler rose to power in 1933, Hindemith knew he would need a composition to prove his worth amongst the Nazis. As such, Hindemith attempted …

Every Sweet Imagined Possibility: A Senior Recital, Ether Atkinson

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster for the senior recital of Esther Atkinson, titled "Every Sweet Imagined Possibility." Kristen La Madrid accompanied the performance. The performance took place on March 7, 2018, in the McBeth Recital Hall.

A Content Analysis Of Beginning Guitar, Electric Bass, And String Bass Method Books, Michele Berlin

Masters Theses

Guitar instruction is an integral part of 21st-century best music education practices. This quantitative study compares six beginning guitar method books to beginning electric bass and string bass books. The books in the sample are Essential Elements for Guitar by Will Schmid and Bob Morris, Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method Grade 1 Expanded Edition, Alfred's Basic Guitar Method by Morty Manus and Ron Manus, FJH Young Beginner Guitar Method Lesson Book 1, Belwin 21st Century Guitar Method 1 (2nd edition) by Aaron Stang, and KJOS Guitar Sessions Book 1: A Comprehensive Method for Individual or Group Study by Kevin Daley. …

2017-2018 New Music Festival, Scott Wheeler, Lisa Leonard

New Music Festival

Twelfth Annual New Music Festival

• Scott Wheeler, Composer-in-Residence
• Lisa Leonard, Director

Friday, January 19, 2018 at 7:30 pm

• Spotlight I: Young Composers

Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 1:00 pm

• Master Class with Scott Wheeler

Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 4:00 pm

• Spotlight II: Scott Wheeler

Commissioned Work

Nightingale: Scenes from a Ballet by Scott Wheeler. The full score is displayed in the Creative Works collection.

Lake Pleasant, Ryan Blauvelt

Graduate Thesis Collection

Lake Pleasant, a work for wind ensemble, receives its title from the composer’s memories of visiting a cottage on a small lake that straddles the border of Indiana and Michigan. The primary influence of the piece derives from the howling sound produced by the echoes of traffic noise one hears while standing on the opposite side of the lake in the quiet of night. The recollection of this soundscape takes the musical form of nine clarinets spread throughout the audience accompanied by pairs of flutes, oboes, saxophones, trumpets, and a single piccolo. While the placement of performers in the audience …

Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2018, School Of Music,

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

On The Presence Of Christ, William A. Peacock

Graduate Thesis Collection

On the Presence of Christ is a musical work for septet (three strings, three winds, percussion) exploring Christ’s presence throughout all time as described in Scripture, wherein the individual movements are thematically grounded and arranged from ancient past to coming future. “In the Beginning” is based on Genesis 1:1-2 and John 1:1-5; “At the Throne” is based on Revelation 4:2-11; and “With His Saints Forever” is based in Revelation 21:1-5a and 22-23. I use these chosen Scriptures to guide my musical exploration, allowing my reflections and perspectives on them to give this music its substance and form My hope is …

In Old Bruges: Two Pieces For Chromatic Carillon, Emmanuel M. Dubois

Emmanuel Dubois Compositions

Op. 15/54: 1 score (iii + 6 pages) ; includes foreword

The two carillon pieces Op. 15/54, "In Old Bruges", are written for a non-transposing chromatic 48-bell instrument, ranging from c3 to c7, where c#3 is omitted, or, in organ notation, ranging from c to c4, where c# is omitted.

Movements:

1. Prelude – Sunday market (Three-part canonic palindrome)
2. Allegretto – Promenade

Hegemony, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

For piano and orchestra 1973 - revised 2018

Instrumentation: Flute 1, Flute 2 - Piccolo, Flute 3 - Alto Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Bb Clarinet 1, Bb Clarinet 2 - Eb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone - Tenor Saxophone, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2 - Contrabassoon, Bb Trumpet, Horn, Tromsone, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion 1, Percussion 2, Percussion 3, Percussion 4, Harp, Piano Solo, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3, Violin 4, Viola 1, Viola 2, Cello 1, Cello 2, Double Bass 1, Double Bass 2

Notes: This score is notated in concert pitch, all instruments sounding as written except piccolo, xylophone, …

Animè, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

For Piccolo/Flute, English Horn, Clarinet in Bb, and Bassoon

Animè (animated) is a 4 minute scherzo whose relentless 16th note moto perpetuo rhythm is interrupted only by short cadenzas by bassoon, English horn, flute, and clarinet. The wheels seem to come off towards the anarchic end with faster rhythmic subdivisions.

The work was recorded by Iwona Glinka and the Gdansk Trio.

"Animated"

This work is a revision of Logoriffic Tropes (2011).

Diversions, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

Instrumentation: Flute 1 (Picc.), Flute 2, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, Bb Clarinet 1, Bb Clarinet 2, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Horn 1, Horn 2, Bb Trumpet 1, Bb Trumpet 2, Trombone 1, Trombone 2, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Double Bass

Duration c. 6 minutes

Program note: This music references the dual meaning of the title: - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates (e.g. Divertimento); - a turning aside of your course or attention or concern; "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from the goal"

Transposed score …