Digital Commons Network^™

Shostakovich, Soviet Cultural Policies, And The Fifth And Thirteenth Symphonies: A Contextual Evaluation, Nathanael Batson

Honors College

Dmitri Shostakovich is often regarded as one of the greatest symphonists of the mid-20th century, and with good reason. His music not only illustrates exceptional orchestration techniques and sounds but also contains some of the most emotionally powerful pieces of music in the concert repertoire. As a victim of Soviet persecution, both socially and musically, Shostakovich often spoke through his music. But there lies much debate over the validity of Shostakovich’s position in the Soviet Union, for according to some scholars, ‘there were no dissidents in Stalin’s Russia.’ This thesis does not serve to take a stance on the composer’s …

Bike Ride: An Audio/Visual Examination Of Liminal Spaces As A Ritual For Personal Growth, Myles Kelley

Honors College

On March 6th, 2023, I presented a creative thesis titled “Bike Ride” in Minsky Recital Hall. This experience was the culmination of my work beginning in the spring of 2022, and it featured a set of live small ensemble charts (informed largely by Jazz vocabulary) which I set to a collection of film photographs I took on late night walks through campus. In the production and execution of “Bike Ride”, my goal was to examine the emotional power of liminal spaces as they are defined in both Psychology and Photography. The resulting performance, which was re-exhibited in the Collins Center …

A Critical Application Of Communicative Concepts Concerning Creative (Songwriting) Processes, Alfred J. Wright Iii

Honors College

New Doors is a creative project consisting of a series of songs and poems reflecting music as an effective communicative practice that opens opportunities for creative processing and problem-solving, improving the human condition and experience. Throughout these works, the audience will observe a narrative of an individual who learns to become a better writer and communicator through songwriting techniques as he works through a transformative period in his life. As a result of these songwriting and poetic techniques, this collection of pieces explores themes of reflexivity, solitude and isolation, and self-discovery utilizing a creative process, presenting music and poetry as …

On The Fly Audio Processing For The Vocal Conditioning Unit, Tim Lester

Honors College

The Vocal Conditioning Unit was a device designed, constructed, and programmed as a senior design project in Electrical and Computer Engineering by Tim Lester and Grady White. The device’s intended goal was to perform a role similar to Auto-Tune, but as a standalone device similar to effects pedals used by guitarists and other musicians on stage. On-the-fly audio processing, however, was deprioritized in the design of the original device due to other design considerations. In this thesis project, the original design of the Vocal Conditioning Unit is analyzed, and critical functionalities of the device are identified. Then, the device is …

A Historical Comparison Of The St. John And St. Matthew Passions Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Emily Dunlap

Honors College

The St. John and St. Matthew Passions, based on the Gospels of the same names, are the only two existing passions by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach that have survived from the Baroque music world. However, the St. Matthew Passion is more well-known and recognized than the St. John Passion. Why is that? One of the reasons why this may be the case is because the St. Matthew Passion is a larger, more extensive work compared to the St John Passion in relation to its parts. The St Matthew Passion is equipped with an orchestra, a double choir, …

Exploring The Relationship Between Designing And Composing With An Analog Synthesizer, Felix Morrissey

Honors College

For my electrical engineering capstone, I designed and built a handheld analog synthesizer. This analog synthesizer is a musical instrument which uses electrical analog components to generate sounds with properties based on the user’s input. My goal when creating this device was to maximize its utility while remaining within the scope of the capstone project. After the synthesizer was built, I wrote and recorded several pieces of music which each utilized the synthesizer prominently. The aim of this process was to be able to explore the relationship between an instrument’s design and the quality of the music produced utilizing it. …

My Dance Of Life: Teshuvah, Sarah Meyer-Waldo

Honors College

This project resulted in a book of poetry divided into three sections. Each section is accompanied by a video of original choreographic work; each choreographic work is set to one of the original poems from each section. The question proposed for this project is, how can I act on my insights, reflections, and thoughts as I move through life, in order to engage more fully with my own mental/conscious experience?

Therefore, the purpose of this project is to explore how utilizing poetry and dance to engage with my mental landscape might be a means to catharsis, for full self- expression …

"As We Are" Creating, Directing, And Producing A Jukebox Musical During Covid-19, Amber Hagin

Honors College

From every moment of life there are lessons that can be learned from ourselves and those around us. ‘As We Are’ is a jukebox musical inspired by these lessons. This musical touches upon the power of friendships, self-love, spiritual connection, loss, and mental health topics such as body image, and addiction. ‘As We Are’ takes place in a modern setting accessed through the digital world during COVID-19. The purpose of this creative thesis was to produce a musical that could connect the lives of students during the distance forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This thesis discusses the trials and tribulations …

Songs Of Myself: An Exploration Of Identity Through Composition, Megan Howell

Honors College

Songs of Myself is an Extended Play (EP) of original music that I recorded entirely on my own, depicting my personal exploration of identity. Inspired by Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, a poem that describes the importance of all beings and explores the idea of identity and self-worth, the EP is comprised of seven songs: “Sunrise”; “Dawn”; “Autumn”; “Overcast”; “Storm”; “Dusk”; and “Sunset”, each of which describes a different aspect of my life and identity. “Sunrise” begins the EP, establishing the main theme that returns throughout the rest of the tracks. “Dawn” depicts the important of my family and my …

Hip-Hop's Diversity And Misperceptions, Andrew Cashman

Honors College

The misperception that hip-hop is a single entity that glorifies wealth and the selling of drugs, and promotes misogynistic attitudes towards women, as well as advocating gang violence is one that supports a mainstream perspective towards the marginalized.1 The prevalence of drug dealing and drug use is not a picture of inherent actions of members in the hip-hop community, but a reflection of economic opportunities that those in poverty see as a means towards living well. Some artists may glorify that, but other artists either decry it or offer it as a tragic reality. In hip-hop trends build off of …

Music Can Foster Communication Skills In Middle School Students, Haloye Camille Payabyab Johnson

Honors College

Music is important to the development of well-being, and it is part of the reason I am who I am today. In my thesis, I will be discussing how music shaped me, and why I think it is important in the lives of our youth. I will specifically be focusing on how music serves as a form of communication, particularly in the lives of middle school students. I will be discussing how music can be a comfort to students as they transition to adulthood. I will give examples from my childhood development and from data collected through interviews with two …

Pursuing Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Revitalization Through Song, Sophia Crockett-Current

Honors College

Passamaquoddy-Maliseet is an Algonquin dialect spoken by the Passamaquoddy and Maliseet Indigenous Peoples in Maine and Canada. With an estimated 500 speakers, most of whom are over 60, it is highly endangered. There have been attempts to preserve Passamaquoddy-Maliseet that focused on direct translation through use of recorded interviews with Passamaquoddy People, namely the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language portal pmportal.org and Jesse Walter Fewkes' cylinder recordings of Passamaquoddy people in the 1890s Passamaquoddy People. However, this method is ineffective for revitalization; it did not help to establish new speakers, and due to Passamaquoddy-Maliseet’s more contextbased language structure, direct translation often destroys the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’S First And Sixth Symphonies, Isabel A. Bohrer

Honors College

Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky was a great composer of the Romantic Era, and is admired as much—if not more—today as he was during his lifetime. Despite his successes, Tchaikovsky is seen as rather inept in adhering to symphonic forms. This paper contrasts the first and last symphonies that Tchaikovsky wrote, and compares the First Symphony’s adherence to symphonic forms and the Sixth Symphony’s weaker adherence to symphonic form. While both symphonies are well written, the Sixth Symphony is a much more emotional, dramatic, and skillfully crafted work. This is in part due to Tchaikovsky no longer feeling that he needed to …

Autism: A Song Of Understanding, Hannah Babcock

Honors College

Autism: A Song of Understanding is a musical composition inspired by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which summarizes the entire spectrum through three common categories of symptoms: language, social, and behavior. The piece consists of three movements from the perspective of the child and the fourth movement takes the parent/guardian/outsider’s perspective. Language starts in the early morning when a beeping alarm clock is silenced with a groan. The parent walks in and tries to rouse the child (Alex) out of bed. Alex responds, attempting to repeat the parent’s good-morning greeting. After failing to resolve the misunderstanding, Alex uses their self-stimulatory behavior …

For Beste Of Bon And Blod: Three Medieval English Lyrics Composed For A Cappella Satb Choir, Cain Landry

Honors College

For beste of bon and blod is a three-movement choral composition written for advanced or professional SATB choir, a cappella. The work is comprised of three Middle English texts, Nou goth sonne under wod, Foweles in the frith, and Erthe tok of erthe, and the Latin chant Regina Cæli. The three Medieval lyrics, while having been written over two centuries by anonymous authors, were chosen to work together to form a cohesive narrative describing the crucifixion of Christ through his resurrection.

The piece uses techniques of emotional expression, motifs, and text painting to draw out the emotional intensity of the …

The Case For Instrumental Music Education: The Academic, Physical, And Social Benefits For Students, Kayla M. Peard

Honors College

Music is an integral part of our lives. There are countless examples of how learning music affects intelligence in students, but that is not music’s only benefit. Music is an academic discipline available in schools in which students’ simultaneously develop cognitive abilities, physical abilities, and social skills. This is particularly evident in the instrumental music classroom.

Through the studying of instrumental music and playing in ensembles, students learn countless lifelong skills that help them develop into intelligent, creative leaders. The cognitive abilities of the students grow and expand the longer they study music. Furthermore, it has been proven that their …

A Cultural Exploration Via The Mediums Of Music And Poetry, Colin S. Kolmar

Honors College

In order to prove the effectiveness of educational explorations conducted in extra-institutional settings, this thesis focuses on information collected in unconventional learning environments. The information gathered during these experiences was subsequently synthesized and conveyed via non-traditional scholastic mediums. This particular extra-institutional learning experience involved the investigation into jazz and hip hop music styles through cultural immersion. In order to achieve the desired result, I traveled to New York City to witness jazz and hip hop performances in venues situated in the city of origin for both styles. My New York research experience also included visiting museums and libraries dedicated to …

Technology & Middle School Philosophy: Applications In Music Education, Emily Ann Cain

Honors College

No abstract provided.