Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Pedagogical Piano Works By Four Contemporary Composers: Emma Lou Diemer, Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, Karen Tanaka And Chee-Hwa Tan, Manuel Alejandro Molina Flores

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This research document aims to help diversify the pedagogical piano repertoire by featuring four contemporary composers living in the United States: Emma Lou Diemer, Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, Karen Tanaka, and Chee-Hwa Tan. Their commitment to the creation of pedagogical works at the elementary, intermediate, and early-advanced levels gives students the opportunity to develop their piano technique while learning beautifully crafted pieces. The present document covers the life, formal education, important influences, and the compositional style of each composer. Additionally, it includes selected pieces at the late-elementary and early-intermediate levels where a discussion about their pedagogical benefits is included. Lastly, a …

Fife And Drum As A Secondary Ensemble Within The Public Schools, Travis Lee Nestor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Acknowledging the framework of music education within the American public school system, this research will develop a process for creating and integrating the traditional fife and drum ensemble into the public school schedule as a secondary performance ensemble, specifically as applied to the public school system within the state of West Virginia. The research will provide a template that educators can follow that will aid them in designing the course; building student interest and participation; then finally to creating an official course that students can register to take within the school schedule.

Ultimately, this research looks to provide a process …

A Guide To Chinese Art Songs From 1970 To 2010, Tingyu Yan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study aims to provide a repertoire guide of Chinese art songs for the pedagogy and research of musicians. The world is becoming more open to accepting and embracing different social and cultural elements, and diverse musical styles and repertoire are now being showcased internationally. There are more opportunities for musicians who wish to perform their homeland's music in public concerts around the world, and repertoires from different languages (e.g., Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and Czech) are more widely seen. However, there is still a lack of repertoires in other languages not very common internationally, and one of them is the …

The Percussionist's Guide To Music Theory Fundamentals, Mckenna M. Lee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The research priorities that I have established as a theorist, percussionist, and an instructor of both, have led me to a master's thesis project combining music theory practices within the study and performance of percussion repertoire. As the graduate assistant of the percussion department at West Virginia University, I have been teaching applied orchestral percussion lessons and leading percussion ensembles. In my experience, a number of first-year percussionists in the studio at WVU have had a limited background with reading definite pitches on the staff, and struggle with sight-reading and pitch identification, therefore making their Written I and Aural I …

A Study Of Six Selected Piano Variations By Czerny, Hao Zhang

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This research paper is focused on the piano variations by Carl Czerny (1791-1857), with discussion and analysis of six among his 180 sets of piano variations. These six sets of variations include: Les charmes de l'amitié (Charms of Friendship), Op. 55; Variations on a Theme from Oberon, Op. 134; Introduction and Variations on La muette de Portici, Op. 208; Variations brillantes sur un thème favori de l'opéra Hans Heiling de Henri Marschner, Op. 341; Variations on a Motif by Ch. L. Hoffmann, “Souvenir de Boieldieu,” Op. 352; and Eisenbahn Variationen (Variations on a Waltz by Strauss), Op. 431. These …

American Art Songs In The 21st Century: A Catalogue Of Selected Works, Islei Mariano Correa Hammer

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This research explores American art songs of the 21st century. The paper provides a listing of 54 composers based in the United States and the art songs they composed from 2000 to 2023 which are available either through publishers or the composers’ websites. The research is divided into three categories: art songs with piano, chamber works with voice, and works for solo voice and large ensemble. The paper also includes biographies of each composer. This research provides singers, voice teachers, and collaborative pianists a useful resource to gain familiarity with the American art-song repertoire of the current century.

Analysis And Performance Of Osvaldo Golijov’S Hebreische Milonga, Gerardo Sanchez Pastrana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most important and well-recognized composers of the 21^st century. His works are unique because of the diverse mixing of styles due to the interculturalism present in his music. In the program notes of his Hebreische Milonga, Golijov mentions that this piece can connect his Argentinian and Jewish roots as well as the influence of Astor Piazzolla’s music. In addition, there is a connection between the tango and the Jewish people residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is not addressed frequently when discussing the history of the tango. This research begins …

A Selective Guide To Solo Bass Trombone Repertoire From 1961 To Present, Andrew Amadeus Ortega

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

For nearly 60 years composers have written for bass trombone as a solo instrument and continue to create works that showcase its virtuosity and musical capabilities. Before 1961, bass trombonists would often play tuba solos, transcriptions, and musical arrangements from other instruments. This document includes works that were composed specifically for bass trombone from as early as 1961 to 2021. Each piece is categorized and presented with an evaluation in addition to a level of performance preferable for collegiate students to professional performers. Commentary has also been included discussing challenging areas as well as providing information necessary to perform the …

Unconventional Wisdom In Resonating Echoes Of The Past: A Memoir On The Life And Music Of Royal Hartigan, Joseph Elias Boulos

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Unconventional Wisdom in Resonating Echoes of the Past:

A Memoir on the Life and Music of royal hartigan

Joseph Elias Boulos

Detailed fieldwork achieved by people in the discipline of social/humanistic studies, specifically ethnomusicologists, in any form: book, biography, documentary, etc., have contributed to the strengthening the understanding of any group of people, community, or culture. This research project is a co-authored memoir grounded in oral history and collaborative ethnography on, and with, Dr. royal hartigan. The purpose of this ethnographic research is to fill in the lack of information readily available on royal, from his sole perspective, and to …

Developing Collaborative Skills In Piano Students, Linxi Yang

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This research paper explores how to develop collaborative skills in piano students at the college level. It offers a brief history of collaborative study and performance, describes the specifics of working with singers and instrumentalists in duo, chamber and large ensemble repertoire, and includes musical examples and selected resources. This paper is intended to enrich the activities of teachers and collaborative pianists through the description and application of specific skills and to provide pathways for effective professional collaborations.

Challenges And Solutions For Native Mandarin-Chinese Speakers In Singing German Lieder, Fei Xia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

ABSTRACT Challenges and Solutions for Native Mandarin-Chinese Speakers in Singing German Lieder Fei Xia The purpose of this research is to focus on the challenges faced by Mandarin-Chinese speaking singers singing German Lieder, as well as providing these singers with solutions for overcoming these difficulties. Singing art songs such as French Mélodies and German Lieder can greatly improve singers’ artistic and aesthetic values because of the beauty of the poetry and the language. However, it is very difficult for native Mandarin- Chinese speakers to sing German Lieder. Some of the primary difficulties faced by Mandarin-Chinese-speaking singers are German diction and …