Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Abstract Visions, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

American Visions is a musical portrait of six mid-century American Abstract Expressionist painters.

Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) uses twisted, elegant lines in 'biomorphic' forms in his abstract paintings along with an overlay of colors, synthesizing Surrealism with abstraction. Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) is identified with the use of fluid shapes, abstract masses, and lyrical gestures. She used formats on which she painted, generally, simplified abstract compositions.staining into raw canvas Willem de Kooning (1904–1997) painted in a style that came to be referred to as "action painting” .The female figure is an important umage.. Mark Rothko (1903-1970) evolved to a style best known …

The Muted Woman: A Lovey-Dovey Themed Recital, From A Man's Point Of View, Raven Williams

Honors Theses

This senior thesis consists of a vocal recital, accompanying program notes, and research regarding the struggles of women composers as music evolved through its Ancient, Baroque, Classic, Romantic and Contemporary periods. The recital includes a compilation of love songs by French, Italian, English, and German composers, in particular Gabriel Fauré, the often-forgotten Stefano Donaudy, Samuel Barber, Roger Quilter, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Joseph Haydn. This paper incorporates biographical information, analysis, performance history and cultural insights into the overshadowed women composers that prospered around the same time period as the men of the former. Specifically, Nadia Boulanger, Nannerl Mozart, Alice Mary …

Stories Retold: Exploring Real-Life Stories Through An Analysis Of William Vollinger's Art Songs For Lyric Soprano And Piano, Katie Mersch

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This document explores the art songs for lyric soprano and piano of contemporary composer William Vollinger (b. 1945). Vollinger’s penchant for storytelling inspires his song compositions and the myriad of different stories he relays. In the majority of Vollinger’s art songs for voice and piano, he features the real-life stories of ordinary people and interweaves moral messages. Moreover, all song texts analyzed appear in prose rather than metered poetry, follow the linear narrative structure of short stories, and originate from a variety of unconventional sources.

Freytag’s Pyramid, a diagram created to analyze dramatic structures, serves as a useful model for …

Exploring The Eclectic Piano Works Of Mathew Fuerst, Seung Kyung Baek

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce its readers to contemporary classical composer Mathew Fuerst through an analysis of his five piano works: Three Etudes for Piano (1999), The Drift of Things (2009), Nocturne (Walking Along the Danube at Night in Budapest) for two pianos (2013). This resource provides Fuerst’s biography, his compositional style and briefly explores György Ligeti, one of the great influences on Fuerst’s compositional style. Each of his piano pieces is discussed in terms of genre, expressive issues and techniques, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, and texture. This study is a resource for pianists who consider analyzing …

When Did You Stop Singing?: Elementary Boys' Attitudes And Self-Efficacy Toward The Act Of Singing, Eric D. Wyler

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The “missing males” epidemic is one which has baffled music educators and researchers for decades. Many research studies have been conducted to explore why boys choose to not be involved in choral ensembles at their middle and high schools. These studies list numerous retention/recruitment strategies; however, the problem remains. Many boys decide before they reach middle school whether they like to sing. The purposes of this study are to examine elementary age boys’ attitudes toward singing and determine at what grade level, if any, there is a significant difference in boys’ attitudes, to search for a relationship between boys’ attitudes …

Prairie Land, Prairie Heart, And Prairie Spirit: An Introductory Analysis And Performance Guide Of Gwyneth Walker’S Prairie Songs, Kiya Fife

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Largely known for her choral compositions, American composer Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) has composed hundreds of songs for solo voice. Walker’s songs demonstrate her unique compositional style which blends many characteristics of American music, including strong rhythms, open sonorities, and influences of rock, jazz, blues, and American folk music. With each work, Walker’s goal is not only to communicate to the audience, but for the music and poetry to deliver a specific musical imagery. Walker believes that the message of a song is not solely the poetry, but that the central images of the poem are the message. Walker believes …

Student Engagement In Higher Music Education With Online Learning Components: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Xinwei Liu

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Higher education underwent an unprecedented transformation from conventional face-to-face education to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2020-2021 academic year, most universities throughout the U.S. had moved educational programs online, so professors and instructors, with and without previous remote learning experience, were suddenly expected to shift to synchronous or asynchronous classroom settings. Facilitated through Learning Management Systems (LMS), many teaching and learning practices took place in web-based environments. Some schools allowed a combination of in-person or hybrid classes by complying with evolving COVID-19 protocols (e.g., use of hand sanitizer, social distancing, facial coverings). These novel implementations raised …

Mozart's Operas For Harmonie: Three Contemporary Arrangements Compared, Jacob R. Ludwig

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This thesis examines three approaches to arranging Mozart's operas for Harmonie by Johann Nepomuk Went, Josef Triebensee, and Joseph Heidenreich through an analysis of selections from their arrangements. It consists of two chapters. Chapter One discusses the historical background of the Harmonie ensemble in Vienna and an introduction to the complicated publishing history of Mozart's original works for the Harmoniemusik ensemble. A summary of the scant biographical information about the three arrangers of the works to be studied concludes Chapter One. Chapter Two covers the arrangements of Mozart's operas by Johann Nepomuk Went, Josef Triebensee, and Joseph Heidenreich. The Harmonie …

The Gambler’S Son: A Performance Companion Guide Of Dr. Tyler Goodrich White’S Opera, Patrick Mcnally

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This document is intended to be a practical tool for anyone interested in performing or developing a deeper appreciation for the opera The Gambler’s Son by Tyler Goodrich White. Premiered and produced by UNL Opera in October, 2019, The Gambler's Son is based on Mari Sandoz’s Son of the Gamblin’ Man and Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit. The document presents brief biographies of the composer Tyler Goodrich White and his wife, the librettist, Laura White. A discussion of the work's inspiration and evolution includes a review of the process by which the two works of literature were melded into …

A Contemporary Adaptation Of America’S Musical Heritage: The American Folk Set By Steven Mark Kohn, Trey Meyer

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Steven Mark Kohn’s American Folk Set is comprised of contemporary arrangements of fifteen historic American folk songs, conceived as art songs for the vocal recital stage. This collection serves as a prime opportunity for performers to discover the expressive potential of the Art Song Repertory through folk settings that exude drama. Drawing from his background and experience as a composer, Kohn’s settings combine musical elements from classical Art Song, musical theatre, popular, and folk music. His settings musically depict tales from the lives of those who originally conceived the folk songs. This performance guide offers insights into Kohn as a …

Interpersonal Practices In Individualized Voice Teaching: A Mixed-Method Study Of Pedagogical Similarities And Differences Between Teachers Of Singing And Speech-Language Pathologists, Brianna Smith

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The interpersonal teaching practices of teachers of singing and speech-language pathologists are examined in this mixed-method research study. The aim of this research is to identify common teaching themes and to determine how the disciplines of voice pedagogy and speech-language pathology agree and vary regarding interpersonal interactions with voice users (i.e., students, patients, and clients).

This research aims to identify the areas of overlap and disparity in the fields of voice pedagogy and speech-language pathology to determine where one field might positively influence the other. First, based upon standards set by speech-language pathologists and teachers of singing, this research identifies …

"Old Wine, New Bottles:" The Impact Of Schoenberg's Verein On The Arrangement Practice Of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 (Movement I), Rebecca Nederhiser

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this document is to provide historical and cultural context to the chamber arrangements formed in Arnold Schoenberg’s (1874-1951) Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen (Society for Private Musical Performances) and their impact on the orchestration practice of modern-day arrangers Iain Farrington and Peter Stangel. Using Gustav Mahler’s (1860-1911) Symphony No. 4 for comparison, the researcher will evaluate a reconstructed version of the work by Society member Erwin Stein, alongside two 21st century arrangements by Iain Farrington and Peter Stangel, who took creative inspiration from the Verein. From these versions, orchestration choices by each arranger will be compared …

Chasing Expression: Tracing Notated And Performative Devices That Create A Bel Canto Style At The Piano, Paul Zeller

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Discussions of interpretation and performance practice often address specific historical periods, offering analyses of musical practices within a predetermined set of dates, such as ornamentation in the Baroque period, articulation as applied in the Classical era, and phrasing “the long line” in the Romantic era. Such a sectionalized approach yields many valuable insights on how to perform the music of specific composers, but it fails to consider the development of notational practices and performative idioms across different historical eras. Studying the ways in which musicians of different eras applied the same set of musical devices within a specific style could …

A Performer’S Guide To The Unaccompanied Horn, Solo Horn And Fixed Media, And Horn And Piano Works Of James Naigus, Jordan Redd

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The horn music of James Naigus is widely known in the horn community. Naigus’ ties to prolific horn composers Paul Basler and Jeff Agrell has placed him next in line to etch his name in horn history. James’ idiomatic melody and harmony has gained popularity at a rapid pace over the past ten years. The accessibility of his music for players of all ages has led to many commissions and performances of his work all over the world.

This writing summarizes the unaccompanied horn, solo horn and fixed media, and horn and piano works of James Naigus. Inside, the reader …

Mapping Of Research Publications On Ethnomusicology Through The Lens Of Web Of Science, Puspanjali Hazarika, Atrayee Kashyap

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study attempts to define ethnomusicology as the study of people making music through the lens of mapping of research publications. People make sounds that are in ways or other sometimes considered as “music,” stretching into a specific cultural domain. This study delves into the idea of different types of music publications as a contingent cultural category. The necessary data were collected from the Web of Science database during 1996-2020 and analyzed accordingly.

Advanced Technologies In Music Production And Collaboration, David Besonen

Honors Theses

My Honors Senior Creative Project was to compose and produce a short album of original music alongside talented musicians here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) as well as around the world.

Isometric Exercises And Stretching Warm-Up Program For University String Musicians: An Intervention Study, Emma Porter

Honors Theses

In this study, the purpose of this investigation was to find the effects of reducing pain through combining isometric and stretching warm-up exercises for stringed instrument musicians. In Lee’s et al. (2013) study, it showed that about 75 % of musicians have work-related musculoskeletal disorders and experience pain because of playing. In this study, they also saw that string players have the highest prevalence of both musculoskeletal disorders and pain while playing (Lee et al., 2013). In Nawrocka’s et al. (2014) journal article, the study showed the correlation of more pain in musicians that did not meet the recommended criteria …

Best Practices For Preschool Music Education: Supporting Music‑Making Throughout The Day, Jentry Stoneman Barrett, Rachel E. Schachter, Danni Gilbert, Mathew Fuerst

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Active engagement in music has numerous academic and social benefits for young children and music-making is included in many early childhood standards and preschool curricula. The purpose of this article is to provide quality resources for classroom teachers to use in providing music-making activities for young children, ages 3–5. Although teachers may use music in their classrooms, we provide resources and suggestions for more intentional and extended integration of music-making. Specifically, we identify best practices for preschool music education based on key standards and research as well as with common music pedagogies. We then turn to concrete examples of how …

Modelling Acoustics In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Archaeological analyses have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes; however, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences. GIS and Virtual Reality (VR) now enable archaeologists to also measure the acoustics of ancient spaces. To move toward an understanding of synesthetic experience in ancient Maya cities, we employ GIS and 3D modelling to measure sound propagation and reverberation using the main civic-ceremonial complex in ancient Copán as a case study. For the ancient Maya, sight and sound worked in concert to create ritually-charged atmospheres and architecture served to shape these experiences. Together …

Saffron Paths: A Suite Of Asian Pieces, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

Flute Violin Cello Harp (optional piano)

Saffron Paths traces an imaginary musical journey though the Near East and Asia with stops in Persia, India, China, Korea and Japan, blending elements of Western and Eastern musical usage. It is designed as a suite that, in addition to a complete performance, individual movements can be performed separately.

Shiraz, inspired by a poem of Hafez (1325-1388), features a heterophonic melody and additive rhythms used in Arabic and Islamic music.

Bengali Night incorporates some aspects of classical Hindustani music including the tambura drone and Raga suggested by the Lydian mode.

Chinoserie (European imitation of …

Alceste: Tragédia-Opéra En Trois Actes, A Revisitation, Randall Snyder

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

The history of opera constantly swings from emphasis on drama to that of music. In developing opera based on their interpretation of Greek drama, the Florentine Camarata stressed the dramatic element. The idea that words must have dramatic purpose and clearly understood were impulses moving music away from the polyphony of the late Renaissance to the monodic writing of the early Baroque. During the subsequent century the theatrical and virtuosic elements were emphasized at the expense of their dramatic relevance. . With Gluck’s reform operas the focus once more shifts to the dramatic.

The opera Alceste, with music by …

A Comparison Of Self-Reported Anxiety And Depression Among Undergraduate Music Majors And Nonmusic Majors, Danni Gilbert

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to compare anxiety and depression levels reported by music majors and nonmajors at a small, private liberal arts university. Study participants completed the Burns Anxiety Inventory and Burns Depression Checklist. Anxiety and depression levels were significantly higher among music majors, and there was a strong, positive relationship between anxiety and depression. Regardless of major, self-reports were not affected by year in school. Implications for additional mental health resources and strategies for improving music major health and self-care are discussed, along with a need for increased music faculty awareness of perceived anxiety and …

A Musical Analysis Of The Improvisational Bebop Style Of Nat Adderley (1955-1964), Kyle Granville

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley was an American jazz artist active in New York City, Florida and Europe throughout his extensive musical career. A prominent cornet player and composer, Adderley was highly respected by many of his peers in New York City, Florida, as well as all over Europe. He spent a lot of time during his career performing with and composing for many renowned jazz musicians: Horace Silver, Oscar Pettiford, Johnny Griffin, Yusef Lateef and most notably his older brother, Cannonball Adderley. Collaborations with these notable musicians and many others, help cement Nat Adderley a well deserving spot in the jazz …

Effects Of The Met: Live In Hd On The Democratization Of Opera In America, Anna Wigtil

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The Met: Live in HD satellite broadcasts of live opera performances began in 2006 and have since become popular with audiences around the world. While this could be an excellent avenue to democratize opera and make it available to new audiences, the available data indicates that most Live in HD viewers are already opera enthusiasts and have previously attended live opera performances. This thesis examines the history of the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcasting efforts, the demographics of American opera audiences, trends in Live in HD’s repertoire, and strategies to increase Live in HD’s appeal to a broader, more diverse …

Transcendentalist Sympathies: A Contextual Study Of The Wound-Dresser, Jared Hiscock

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

My document takes as its subject The Wound-Dresser by American composer John Coolidge Adams (b. 1947). Published in 1988, this twenty minute work for baritone voice and orchestra remains Adams’s sole contribution to the non-operatic solo voice repertoire.

In The Wound-Dresser Adams grapples with the historical churning of his own times by looking to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Charles Ives. A brief biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson begins the document in order to elucidate Emerson’s connection to Adams and Whitman. I then introduce Walt Whitman, the author of the text used in The Wound-Dresser and suggest that Whitman’s …

“This Is How We Do It”: A Descriptive Analysis Of The Musical Elements And The Black Church Cultural Influences In Adolphus Hailstork’S I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes: A Cantata For Tenor, Choir, And Chamber Orchestra, Alfonzo Cooper Jr

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This document analyzes Adolphus Hailstork’s cantata, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, featuring text from Psalms 121, 13, and 23. The author contends that Hailstork uses cultural musical elements of the Black Church throughout the entire composition. Beginning with a brief biography of the composer, the author then provides a movement-by-movement examination of salient musical features and Black Church cultural traditions Hailstork employs to highlight the text of his selected psalms.

Advisor: William Shomos

The Brass Music Of Gwyneth Walker: An Overview, Kevin Madden

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

Gwyneth Walker (b.1947) is an American composer known primarily for her choral music. Dr. Walker’s catalog contains over 350 works for all types of ensembles. Research exists about Dr. Walker’s music. It is in the form of reviews, notes, and journal articles. There have been three major research papers on her music. They are Carson Cooman’s 2005 essay “Defining a Personal American Quartet Tradition: The Four String Quartets of Gwyneth Walker”, Tana Rene Field-Bartholomew’s 2007 DMA dissertation “A Performer’s Guide to the Songs of Gwyneth Walker” focusing on her solo songs, and Vicki Lynne Burrichter’s 2003 DMA dissertation, “The Choral …

The Synthesis Of Jazz And Chinese Folk Songs As A Model For Jazz Pedagogy In China, Runkun Li

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This document presents a method of jazz instruction that synthesizes elements of the jazz language with traditional Chinese folk songs. This research first analyzes the characteristics of Chinese folk songs, such as the melodies, rhythms, and pentatonic features. An overview of Chinese jazz history indicates that the lack of resources, educational opportunities, and differences in cultural music performance practice contribute to the stunted growth of jazz education in China. Since Chinese folk songs are pervasive in Chinese culture, they offer an appropriate source on which to apply idiomatic jazz elements, such as swing feel, chromaticism, enclosures, blue notes, syncopations, anticipations, …

Invention Through The Harmonics Of Stefano Scodanibbio: A Method Of Creative Improvisation For The Contemporary Double Bassist, Christian Chesanek

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

This document is an inclusive method for the double bass and comprises etudes and exercises inspired by Sei Studi (1981/83) composed by the Italian double bass virtuoso Stefano Scodanibbio (1956-2012). The etudes and exercises in the method are based on the analysis of seven categories of harmonic gestures that exemplify Scodanibbio’s “Avant Garde” style. The seven categories, each with its own chapter, feature selected harmonic gestures extracted from the Sei Studi. The seven categories include: 1) natural harmonics, 2) trilled and tremolo harmonic gestures, 3) pizzicato/arco and normal note gestures, 4) mixed normal and harmonic note gestures, 5) artificial …

A Performer’S Guide To And Analysis Of David Heath’S Out Of The Cool, Rumania, And Coltrane, Lindsey O'Connor

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this document is to provide an introduction to and analysis of the three jazz-inspired early works of British composer David C. Heath (b. 1956), all arranged for saxophone by the composer—Out of the Cool (1978), Rumania (1979), and Coltrane (1981). By examining Heath’s relatively unexplored repertoire for saxophone, this research aims to encourage further research and performance of his music.

Heath is a freelance composer and flutist currently residing in Edinburgh, Scotland in the United Kingdom. He has written major works for notable performing artists such as The Ascension (1994) for flutist James Galway, African Sunrise/Manhattan Rave …