Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Musical Gestures In Osvaldo Golijov’S The Dreams And Prayers Of Isaac The Blind And Their Relationship To The Kabbalah Sefirot, Jeremy Gdaniec

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Osvlado Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, scored for klezmer clarinet and string quartet, remains one of his most influential works since its premier in 1994. Inspiration for the work came from the writings of Rabbi Isaac the Blind, a prominent 13^th century figurehead in the branch of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah. In Kabbalah, symbols known as the sefirot are emanations of creation and the key to unlocking the divine secrets of the God-head. The analysis presented in this document combines musical gesture theory with Kabbalistic concepts for new perspectives on Golijov’s …

Let All The People Worship: Applying Inculturation In A Multicultural Community, Darrell St. Romain

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The United States of America is growing more diverse, and its houses of worship are embracing this diversity to engage congregants and build membership. There is a tool to help worshiping communities to espouse diversity of cultures, namely Liturgical Inculturation. Liturgical inculturation, as defined by Anscar Chupungco, is the process whereby the texts and rites used in worship by the local church are so inserted in the framework of culture, that they absorb its thought, language, and ritual patterns. Incorporating the goals and functions of liturgical inculturation, worshiping communities can begin to re-evangelize themselves and celebrate unity through diversity.

This …

Frozen Ii And Girls’ Spiritual Formation: How The Music Of An Animated Musical Resonates With Girls And Women, Cristen Mitchell

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Frozen II (2019) is a popular Disney animated movie for children and depicts striking spiritual elements while weaving in feminist practices such as justice and equity, and feminist theology through representations of female spirits and connection to the earth. Through this movie, its themes, and the historical exclusion of women in the church, this thesis seeks to show that representation of women in the divine is an important, and necessary part of the spiritual and psychological development of girls and women. The methods of this thesis include exploring the following synchronicities:

1. Parallels between feminist issues in the church and Walt …

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Making Old Things New Again: The Northridge Psalter, With Antiphons Based On Lessons From The Revised Common Lectionary, Bryan Scott Page

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Responsive psalmody is one of the primary musical vehicles for presenting the Psalms in worship by choir and congregation. Existing responsive psalmody features congregational antiphons with texts derived directly from the psalms. Working with the Revised Common Lectionary, this thesis presents fifty newly written and composed antiphons with texts derived from the accompanying RCL lessons. The goal of this method is to emphasize prophetic connections between the Old Testament lesson and Gospel lesson via the antiphons. This thesis also features a history of lectionary development, a detailed account of the creative process, rubrics for presenting the responsive psalmody in worship, …

Plenty Good Room: Using Negro Spirituals To Bridge The Racial Divide, Darnell Allen St. Romain

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

In 2020, the United States experienced a global pandemic and the murder of Mr. George Floyd. With the murder of Floyd, many churches were confronted with the racial divide in the United States. This thesis is a response of one community, the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano, Texas. Using the folk song of Black Americans, namely the Negro Spirituals, as the foundation of an ethical-theological framework, this thesis poses one way for addressing the anti-Black structure prevalent in the Catholic Church in the United States of America. This work progresses from despair to hope, addressing the link between …

Critical And Creative Response To The Art And Music Of Bjork, Acadia Joniec

Bryant University Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Generational Awareness Of Folk Figures In The American Midwest, Addison L. Jensen

Honors Thesis

The popular folklore of a region can clearly reflect how its citizens understand themselves and their nation. The goal of this study was to determine the number of individuals who can be considered “well-versed” in traditional folklore and to speculate on the possible reasons for the differences in recognition that arise. Five figures (Johnny Appleseed, John Henry, Paul Bunyan, Annie Oakley, and Rip Van Winkle) were selected to serve as a representative sample of folk characters that have been historically significant to the country. An online survey of 279 Midwesterners and interviews with various age groups in South Dakota, found …

Hearing Voice In Henryk Górecki's "Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs", Jason Jedlicka

Faculty Scholarship Symposium

Classical composer Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, subtitled ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,’ interweaves his devout Catholicism and interest in Polish folk music with three texts that deal with motherhood and loss of a child. Written for solo soprano voice and orchestra, the piece’s expressive clarity provides optimal space for the voice—in the many literal and figurative senses of the word—to illuminate the text.

Though much has been written about this symphony’s emotional impact on listeners, little has been written about the piece from an analytical, interpretive point of view. In this talk, I perform a close analysis of the …

J. S. Bach's Use Of The Oboe Family In His Cantata Works, Benjamin Newman

Senior Honors Theses

J.S. Bach used more idiomatic practices for the oboe family in his vocal works. Bach combined his own musical inspirations with the practices used by other composers, giving the oboe a greater variety in its orchestral roles. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate Bach’s use of the oboe family in some of his cantatas and vocal works. This thesis provides an overview of the historical context of Bach’s works for oboe, a brief biography of the composer, information about the development of the oboe family, and relevant musical analyses featuring the oboe family from selected Bach works. An …

The Technical Code For Worship: Inquiry Of Technological Use In Corporate Musical Worship, Rayah Smith

Senior Honors Theses

There are many people who have researched and written on the topic of technology in corporate musical worship. The research reveals eight biblical principles for the use of technology in those contexts as follows: technology in corporate musical worship is meant to be practical; is meant to help the Church communicate; is meant to be driven by the Holy Spirit; is meant to be intentionally efficient; is meant to encourage a unified heart of worship to God; is meant to communicate the gospel; is meant to reflect and amplify God; and is meant to be done with hearts pleasing to …

Performing Original Arrangements Of Jazz Repertoire, Spencer M. Mackey

Honors Capstones

My goal with this Capstone project was to encapsulate my four years of music and jazz education at Northern Illinois University into a senior recital. I picked repertoire that spanned my whole college career and decided to arrange for jazz combo settings which is something I enjoy doing a lot. Arranging is an important concept in jazz music. My research for this project took a relatively simple approach; I listened to jazz music. Specifically, I listened to multiple versions of the tunes on my recital, compositions by the composers I was featuring on my recital, and other various recordings that …

Exploring The Bass Trombone, Liam Kantzler

Honors Capstones

The purpose of the capstone is to provide a performance on the bass trombone that explores many different styles of music. I will use different techniques to evoke many different styles, as well as performing pieces outside of the standard repertoire, and some that aren't written for the instrument. The process for this capstone began long before the project began, although the preparation for the performance included daily practice and study of each of the pieces. Many rehearsals were put together, including music for chamber music portions and a few to put solo parts with piano accompaniment. The performance itself …

String Project: Spring Concert, May 4, 2024, Benjamin De Kock, Cora Swenson Lee, Katherine Lewis

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts
May 4, 2024
Saturday Morning
11:00 a.m.

2023-2024 Performance Forum - May 3, 2024, William Penn, Paola Garcia, Julian Rauh, Ethan Sanchez, Pablo Camacho, Clarece Lamarr, Nia Morgan, Peter Pao, Yance Zheng

Performance Forum

No abstract provided.

Theological Songwriting, Jake William Dimas

Senior Honors Theses

Music affects people deeply. Because of this, Christian songwriters have a responsibility to write songs that are theologically accurate. To provide a comparison to the experiment that took place for this paper, Chris Tomlin’s biography, songwriting influences, and music are presented and discussed. The experiment began with exclusively Christian songwriters being given an initial questionnaire. A song prompt was then given to each songwriter, and once returned, the songwriter was given a questionnaire. This step took place once again for the other prompt. The songs produced by the songwriters were then analyzed, being compared with one another and with the …

“Elegy For A Flower” - Remote Orchestral Session/Score-Focused Film, Logyn Okuda

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Within the many aspects of a film exists the epicenter that is visual storytelling. Music production within film always becomes a point of discussion after the fact, as composers will use their musical expertise to aid the established vision of the filmmaker. Despite music technology having evolved to recreate the sound of an orchestra, the role of music remains the same. However, what if the roles were reversed? Through this endeavor, I sought out to find the impact of a multimedia work when music becomes the primary focus of storytelling. Explored in the past by Disney's "Fantasia" and Phillip Glass' …

Therapeutic Use Of Music For Geriatric Dementia Patients, Katelynn E. Roscioli

Honors Program Projects

Dementia impacts millions of individuals and their families worldwide, yet many caregivers remain untrained, unpaid, and unable to maintain their own health while caring for their patients. Despite the need for support, limited resources exist to aid these caregivers in combatting this progressive, debilitating disease. One possibility lies in practices rooted in music therapy, which have been shown to restore memory retention, personhood, and quality of life in dementia patients. However, individuals outside of music therapists, especially those with limited musical backgrounds, may not consider implementing music therapy within their care plan. To make this approach more accessible, a website …

The Kansas Band’S Musical Depictions Of Spiritual Quests, Elizabeth Romero

Master's Theses

The progressive rock genre has been an intriguing subject of study for the scholarly community, especially within the last 30 years. An understudied part of the progressive rock scene, however, is its manifestation in the United States through the band Kansas. The band from 1970’s Topeka is acknowledged by Mitchell Morris as troublesome for critics due to the hybrid use of European art music and blues influences. It is no wonder a large study of Kansas music has not taken place due to the maligning of the band by its critics as well as the controversial views regarding pretentiousness of …

2023-2024 The Class Of 2024 In Concert, Kenton Campbell, Sheng Yuan Kuan, Aneliya Novikova, Clair Ives, Clarece Lamarr, Amelia Dixon, Fabiola Parra, Yance Zheng, Angela Fiedler, Yu-Hsuan Feng, Jafet Diaz, Niloufar Mirzanabi Khani, Jon Cruz, Kari Jenks, Noah Suarez, Kyle Mechmet, Nataniel Farrar, Graydon Howard

Other Student Recitals

No abstract provided.

Content Considerations In High School Musical Theater Show Selection, Mark David Lefeber

Theses and Dissertations

Many high schools present musical theater productions annually. In some cases, high school students present material that could be considered controversial or uncomfortable for performers, their directors, or audiences. The purpose of this study was to examine content issues of musicals that high school theater directors must consider when selecting a show for high school performance. Topics analyzed included: sexualization of characters and sexism, references to sexual activities including kissing and simulation of sexual acts; profanity, racially-defined Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) roles, racism, LGBTQ characters, gun violence, the use of alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, direct religious messaging …

Researching & Designing Marketing Materials For Rachel Messer & Connor Dale, Isabelle Bauer

Honors Projects

Isabelle Bauer’s Honors Project, “Researching and Designing Marketing Materials for Rachel Messer and Connor Dale” is split into two components. First, the research paper titled "The American West as a Cultural Phenomenon" explores the fascination with the American West and its integration into various aspects of American culture, particularly in music, film, and art. The essay discusses the historical significance of the West and its transformation into a cultural obsession. Focusing on the resurgence of Western aesthetics in modern country music, the project’s second component involves the creation of marketing materials for country artists Rachel Messer and Connor Dale.

The …

A Bright Point In A Dull Day: A Qualitative Exploration Of Middle School Students’ Perceptions Of Music Ensemble Participation, Kailee Amburgey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music participation, specifically in an ensemble setting, is known to promote learning and social skills and to contribute to a well-rounded overall education. With this in mind, this qualitative, constructivist grounded theory study explored the impacts that participating in chorus, band, or orchestra has on students’ overall experience in middle school, with a focus on joy and identity development. The researcher interviewed fifteen students about their personal experiences and feelings about their lives as middle schoolers and musicians. The findings, shared in six theoretical concepts tied to the research question, reveal important facets of these students’ experiences that shed light …

Fin De Siècle Russian Topos And Rimsky-Korsakov’S The Golden Cockerel, Jaidan Ursich

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Russian composers, including Glinka and The Mighty Five, helped establish a Russian nationalistic style in art music through the implementation of idiomatic folk music gestures and other commonly employed musical elements. Scholars, including Richard Taruskin, Barry Bilderback, and Pieter Van Den Toorn, have identified many of these elements, particularly the use of the octatonic scale and folk music material (thematic quotations and associative rhythmic patterns), however, they have not provided clear codification of a Russian topic. Likewise, the music of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov has been largely ignored when compared to that of his contemporaries, though most research indicates he was heralded …

Music Isn’T Just A Special: Amplifying Music's Power In Fostering Social-Emotional Skills In Students, Angelina Davis

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researcher investigated how Dream Academy and Little Foot Elementary educators view music's impacts on social-emotional learning and what they thought could be done to improve it. Based on an analysis of the data and the relevant research literature, the researcher used what they have learned to formulate an action that responds to the impact of music on social-emotional learning in a way that inspires, informs, or involves a particular audience. This is an important issue for students and teachers because music education allows educators to teach social-emotional skills. It is argued that music fosters social-emotional …

Sounds Of Progress: Western Art Music In The Age Of Enlightenment And Romanticism, Phoebe Robertson

ATU Faculty Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

Bedeviled Beauty: My Journey Through White American Theater Institutions, J'Aila C. Price

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Game console: Oculus Quest

World: American Theater Institutions

Player: Minority

Place: United States

Level: “Ain’t no way.”

This thesis explores the contrast between the Westernized philosophies ingrained in my education and my identity as a Black female artist. It sheds light on the difficulties of pursuing higher education in the arts and the gaps that arise from limited exposure to culturally diverse Black resources, revealing the systemic issues in Western performance education. The paper also discusses the insights gained from my journey as a Black female artist, focusing on my thesis performance of Blood at the Root, which is …

Will The Future Of Video Game Music Require Real Composers?, Nathan Barrett

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In order to gain a better understanding of video game composition and whether or not real composers will be required, I will explore a variety of categories within the field of game composition and sound design. General categories of focus will cover, 1) Basics, Standards, and Tropes for Game Composition 2) How Games Compositions Have Evolved 3) Creative Uses of Music inside of Games 4) Innovative Techniques for Game Compositions, and 5) The Ethics of Procedural Music and it's use in games.

Production Process Of Music Videos And Significance Of Understanding Music, Amanda Grace Dalmacio

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper provides information about music videos, perspectives from film scholars and authors, information about what the process of making a music video looks like, and an interview (appendix pg.11) from a documentary that was filmed to get a personal view on the production process of music videos.