Digital Commons Network^™

Delphine Ugalde: Defying Gender Norms Both On And Off The Stage In 19th Century Paris, Michael T. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The social and professional networks that grew out of Paris’ vibrant theatrical and salon culture in the late 19th century supported a number of female artists in somewhat “non-traditional” roles. While the careers and influence of artists such as the sculptor Hélène Bertaux and singer-composer Pauline Viardot have been thoroughly researched in recent years, little attention has been paid to the life and work of the coloratura soprano, actor, pedagogue, and composer Delphine Ugalde. During her performing career, Ugalde was highly regarded for her ability to portray both male and female characters. After retiring from the stage, she engaged in …

Teaching Musically: Incorporating Dalcroze Pedagogy Into Flute Instruction For The Elementary-Age Student, Emily M. Stumpf

Theses and Dissertations

The current practice of flute pedagogy for the elementary-age student is often focused on skill-building: finger technique, tone development, and note-reading and rhythm skills. Often the teacher will delve into concepts of musicianship only after the student develops a high level of technical skill. I have found it is possible to include musical concepts such as expressive playing, developing an internal sense of rhythm, and improvisation at all stages of the learning process. When the flute teacher functions as the initiator of an aesthetic experience, the development of musicianship becomes just as important as skill-building.

The Dalcroze philosophy of music …

Analyzing And Comparing Selected Works For Violin And Piano By Chen Gang, Chen Guoquan And Bright Sheng, Liangjun Zou

Theses and Dissertations

Cross-cultural musical synthesis plays an important role in the creation of musical progress in the twentieth century. This dissertation is a study on the development of the use of Chinese folk elements in Western-style compositions by Chinese composers. Through analyses of different compositions by traditional Chinese composers, Chen Gang and Chen GuoQuan, as well as Chinese-born American composer Bright Sheng, the aesthetic variations produced by the synthesis of Western and Eastern music is examined.

Chapter One focuses on the development of Chinese violin music promoted by the efforts of several generations of composers. Chapter Two presents the background information of …

Experimental Music In Higher Education: Toward A Pedagogy Of Creativity, Philip Melancthon Snyder V

Theses and Dissertations

Experimental music is rarely taught in higher education music programs but it could nevertheless be useful for providing students a methodology through which to develop creativity. This document seeks to find common ground between the seemingly disparate worlds of classical music and experimental music in pursuit of revealing the usefulness of experimental music practice for musicians trained in the classical tradition. In seeming contrast to classical music, experimental music values include process, indeterminacy, and non-subjectivity. This document shows that these aspects, despite seeming exclusive to experimental music, are in fact integral to all music. This document will also discuss writings …

Solo Violin Works Influenced By Romanian Lăutari Music, Essena Liah Setaro

Theses and Dissertations

In Romania, professional Roma (Gypsy) musicians called lăutari developed a colorful and unique musical tradition. This study explores the music of the lăutari and its influence on five works for unaccompanied violin: George Enescu’s recently discovered Airs dans le genre Roumain (1926) and “Le Ménétrier” from his Impressions d’enfance (1940), Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 3 “Ballade” (1923), Helen Bowater’s Lautari (2003), and Roxanna Panufnik’s new composition Hora Bessarabia (2016).

Drawing from written sources, audio and video recordings, and transcriptions, this study first investigates the history, influences, and unique characteristics of the lăutari tradition and approach to violin playing. After discussing …

The Kingma System Flute: Redesigning The Nineteenth-Century Flute For The Twenty-First Century, Diane Elise Kessel

Theses and Dissertations

This project investigates the development and reception of the Kingma System flute, designed by Dutch flutemaker Eva Kingma. For some time now, flutists have been honing creative techniques to provide imperfect approximations of what composers have specified, but the Kingma mechanism achieves the exact effects desired with ease. Through her close work with composers and performers, Eva Kingma was able to create a mechanism that is comfortable to play, versatile in performance, and beautifully suited for contemporary repertoire. The Kingma flute is an invaluable tool for performers and an exciting new voice for composers, offering unprecedented musical possibilities and yet …

A Complete History Of Rico Reeds, Neal Postma

Theses and Dissertations

Rico is a household name among saxophonists and clarinetists around the world. Since the company’s inception, they have moved from importing several hundred reeds for Frank di Michele to sell to his friends to being among the largest manufacturers in the industry. This document traces the history of the company from its inception in 1928 to the date of its purchase by J. D’Addario & Co. in 2004. Through interviews, document reviews, and data gathering, this document explores the history of the company, the owners and managers, the products, and the events that led to D’Addario’s acquisition.

The Life And Legacy Of Samul Feinberg, Solomon Eichner

Theses and Dissertations

Samuil Feinberg (1899-1962), a modern day Liszt, has not been given the credit he deserves. Living under the Stalin Regime, he was neglected and repressed. This pianist, composer and pedagogue lived an artistic life that is worth studying and reviving. Heavily influenced compositionally by Scriabin, Feinberg played an important role in continuing the Russian revolutionary avant-garde style between 1915 and 1930. Feinberg went through two compositional periods, the first being a more virtuosic experimental style and the second a more conservative, contrapuntal and folk influenced style. Feinberg had a deep connection to Bach and transcribed many of his pieces in …

The Eccentric Compositional Style Of Mark Applebaum: An Analysis Of His Acoustic Percussion Works, Richard Shane Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

Mark Applebaum is an American composer and Professor of Composition at Stanford University who has made significant contributions to contemporary music. His music has been performed all over the world and his popularity as a composer continues to increase. The experimental nature of his music and his continual innovation and creativity makes his music worthy of study. However, there has been no scholarly research done on his music. Because of this void, a study of his music is needed and would be valuable to both performers and scholars alike.

The oeuvre of Mark Applebaum is vast and includes music written …

An Analytical Study Of The Britten Violin Concerto, Op.15, Shr-Han Wu

Theses and Dissertations

Benjamin Britten is known for his opera, vocal and symphonic works. His violin concerto was composed around the time of the second world war. During that time, there were many great violin works produced by composers such as Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Barber, etc., and their violin concertos are still considered staples of the violin repertoire. However, Britten’s violin concerto is not performed as often as other twentieth-century violin concertos. Although the popularity of his violin concerto is increasing in recent years, there is relatively little scholarly work devoted to it. The goal of this paper is to provide guidelines for performers …

The Electric Marimba: A Study Of Selected Works For Marimba With Electronic Effect, Brett Bernard Landry

Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of the last century, literature for the solo marimba has been greatly expanded by a wide variety of composers to include nearly every contemporary style and genre. One such area of expansion is the use of electronic effect, defined as the augmentation of the acoustic marimba using looping and delay technologies in live performance. This study illuminates the history of electronic effect technology and briefly describes the technological options employed in the genre of marimba with electronic effect. Concepts specific to the genre are also addressed; specifically, the terminology of rhythmic delay and harmonic delay. To introduce …

Creating And Implementing Community-Based Performance Programs: A Guide For The Applied Studio Teacher, Lauren Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

As performers, many professionals in the fields of chamber music and orchestral playing participate in educational and community programming. In an effort to help graduates meet these new challenges, 21st century music schools are creating diverse performance and education experiences for their students to gain skills for success beyond graduation. Until recently, not many music schools offered opportunities for students to learn and develop skills in the area of community programming. In the current music school curriculum, there exists a largely untapped potential for applied teachers to create and institute community performance-based programs for their students. Participation in these programs …

A Performance Practice Guide For Select Baroque Transcriptions For Clarinet, Michael Brady Hough

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to provide a performance practice guide of selected works from the Baroque period that are transcribed for clarinet.

The Baroque period has an important but often overlooked wealth of literature for clarinet players. Although there are few original works for the clarinet that were composed during this period due to the clarinet's later development, there is still much that clarinet players can learn from this important body of work.

Performance practice of Baroque transcriptions is particularly significant. For instance, taking music written for a string instrument and transcribing it for a wind instrument brings …