Arts and Humanities Commons^™

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, and 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, and 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 …

Scaffolding Autonomy In The Practice Room: A Mixed Methods Study Examining The Impact Of Digital Scaffolds On High School String Musicians' Self-Correction And Improvement Of Pitch And Rhythmic Accuracy During Independent Music Practicing, Brittany Rom

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

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the deficiencies and capabilities of high school string players in the practice room, through a mixed methods within- subjects experiment exploring the impact of digital scaffolds on pitch and rhythmic accuracy growth, self-assessment, self-correction, and other self-regulatory behavior during independent music practicing. Sixty high school string students individually completed a 30-minute practice session divided into four practice conditions with the order randomly assigned (1.Model, 2.Model+Playback, 3.Model+Playback+Feedback, and 4.Control). During each practice condition, performances at sight-read (pretest), during practicing (formative), and after practicing (posttest) were assessed for pitch and rhythmic accuracy …

Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders: A Musical Adaptation, Krista Connelly

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

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is an original song cycle for soprano and baritone voices with Pierrot ensemble (flute/piccolo, B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion), utilizing poetry taken from Autumn Slaughter’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders-Poetry. Of Slaughter’s poetic interpretation of 35 of the diagnoses within the psychiatric manual (the DSM-5), eleven poems/diagnoses are used for this musical work. This document is an analysis of the theoretical constructs of each movement and the musical representation of the poem and diagnosis.

Advisor: Tyler G. White

In Time Gone By: Song Cycle For Baritone And Six Players, Bryan Grosbach

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

In Time Gone By is a song cycle for Baritone vocalist and Pierrot Ensemble + percussion that explores the value of life being a byproduct of its finitude. Only during the most vulnerable and difficult events of that life can self-realization occur. These topics are wrapped into a “love-story” narrative crafted from select poems from Chamber Music by James Joyce and select quotes from the prose Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne. Using intervallic focus as a tool for development, the piece transitions from sparse quintal harmony to lush tertian harmony as a musical metaphor for the self-realization of …

At The End Of The Dock, Christina D. Ensign

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

Highly emotional and wildly eclectic, At the End of the Dock is a nine-movement work for string quintet, jazz quintet, and piano. As a culmination of my studies of composers who have been most inspirational to my work as a student, theorist, and composer, I have written a piece which strives to encapsulate the styles of many into a single harmonious package. Standing as the foundation are three interludes, namely movements three, five, and seven, which reflect upon a childrens’ tune heard in the opening movement, “Prologue.” These movements, which represent loneliness, tie together the larger and more overtly “jazz” …

Critical Edition And Interpretative Analysis Of Música Para Orquesta De Vientos Y Percusión Op. 152 By Blas Emilio Atehortúa., Rubén Darío Gómez

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

This document presents a critical edition of the band piece called Música para Orquesta de Vientos y Percusión Op. 152 by Colombian composer Blas Emilio Atehortúa, as well as an interpretative analysis of it. Until today, the only original written material of the piece is a set of instrumental parts in manuscript form. The full score and any form of a reduced or condensed score are missing. Throughout the process of making the present critical edition, the author clarified and reconciled the original manuscript parts, create a complete full score, and produced an engraved set (parts and score).

This document …

A Bright Size Transformation: Examining Pat Metheny's Improvisatory Evolution Through Select Original Compositions From The Album Bright Size Life (1976), Lee Heerspink

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

Pat Metheny has consistently been one of the most widely celebrated and prominent jazz guitarists from the mid-1970s to present day. Over the course of Metheny’s 45-year career, he has accumulated 44 albums as a band leader, 20 Grammy awards, and numerous “Best Jazz Guitarist” awards from DownBeat and JazzTimes. Despite the general sources, articles and interviews conducted about Metheny’s life and music, there is a lack of scholarly research which addresses how Pat Metheny’s improvisatory approach has changed throughout the course of his career.

This document provides a better understanding of Pat Metheny’s improvisatory evolution with transcriptions, analyses, …

Concertante For Sho And Jazz Orchestra, Susumu Watanabe

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

“Concertante for Sho and Jazz Orchestra” is a multi-movement concert piece designed to exhibit both the virtuosity of sho and its orchestral color and dynamism. There are three independent movements, each of which has multiple sections which are subdivided by the alternation of tempo, mood and musical context. The title “Concertante” simply implies a style of composition reflecting a brilliant and virtuosic display of instrumental dexterity and musicality for the solo sho part, and also the various individual instruments and instrumental sections in the 16-piece jazz orchestra.

Sho is a wind instrument which is almost exclusively used for Gagaku, Japanese …

We Met At The Edge, Eric M. Howell

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

‘We Met at the Edge’ is a collaboration between composer Eric Howell and visual artist Marcela Rodriguez based on a reimagining of the Major Arcana of the Tarot cards. Each card is presented with all new modern interpretations of the original art as well as approximately one minute of music that reflects its unique meanings. Additionally, each card is capable of being looped on itself to create the illusion of being a seamless moment in time, while simultaneously being able to elide into the next card in the sequence. ‘We Met at the Edge’ is meant to be listened to …

Thematic Development In John Powell’S Score For How To Train Your Dragon (2010), Denise E. Finnegan

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

In this thesis, I examine the dramatic and thematic associations within the score for How to Train Your Dragon in relation to John Williams’s score for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Both of these films contain main plot points associated with friendship and flying and each composer develops musical themes in accordance with these dramatic ideas. I analyze Powell’s evolution of his “Friendship Theme” as it relates to the friendship between the main characters Hiccup and Toothless and compare it with Williams’s handling of the “E.T. Motive” in correspondence with the friendship between E.T. and Elliott. I furthermore examine how each …

Chamber Symphony In E-Flat-Major — "In The Old Style", Zachary Paul Buechner

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

Chamber Symphony in E♭-Major – “In the Old Style” is a work that explores eighteenth century form and sixteenth century counterpoint through a twenty-first century lens. Cast in the traditional four movements, this piece works to create a single dramatic arc from beginning to end while also allowing each movement to work as a whole on its own. Everything accumulates to the final movement, a fugue and postlude built on Christus ist Erstanden, an Easter hymn by Friedrich Spee, a German Jesuit theologian instrumental in the success of the Catholic Counter-reformation.

Advisor: Tyler Goodrich White

A Performer's Analysis Of The Compositional Approaches In Short Stories For Saxophone Quartet By Jennifer Higdon, Nicholas J. Stow

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

The purpose of this document is to further the saxophonist’s understanding of Short Stories (1996) for saxophone quartet by Jennifer Higdon. By connecting biographical information with a thorough analysis including a commentary on programmatic influences, the saxophonist can gain a greater awareness of the context surrounding the piece and successfully portray important compositional elements inherent in the work.

Jennifer Higdon is one of the most respected classical composers of the early 21st Century, gaining acclaim through a continually expanding catalogue of works that include operatic, orchestral, choral, and chamber compositions. As a two-time Grammy and Pulitzer Prize awardee, Higdon’s music …

"Choir Might Actually Save Your Life": A Convergent Mixed Methods Study On Adolescents' Attitudes And Perceptions Of Singing And Middle Level Vocal Music, Marci M. Malone Deambrose

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

As students progress through grade levels in school settings, the instructional frameworks through which music education might occur become more numerous and varied. Most students are provided general music courses at the elementary level; however, current approaches to middle level music instruction rely on the ensemble approach or the general music model (Cronenberg, 2017; Wayman 2005). To serve the needs of students who desire a breadth of music education, schools have explored composition and theory; music technology; and guitar, keyboard, harmonizing instruments courses (NAfME, 2014). Yet, the ensemble method of teaching music permeates schools throughout the United States (Heuser, 2011; …

Crossing The Line: The Life And Musical Legacy Of Friedrich Gulda Through A Study Of Play Piano Play, William Travis Worsham

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

In the 1950s, Austrian pianist Friedrich Gulda shocked the classical music community by publicly venturing into the realm of jazz. As one of the leading classical pianists of his generation, Gulda’s decision to explore a different type of music was seen as a scandal, leading many in the classical world to label Gulda as an eccentric who sought to upend centuries of musical tradition. Although Gulda had grown weary of the conventions of classical music, it was his lifelong love of jazz that propelled him to devote time and energy studying the techniques of jazz performance. He gave his first …

String Quartet No.1 In G Major, Wataru Niimori

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

String Quartet No.1 in G Major is an original composition comprised of four movements: 1^st (Allegro Con Brio: a fast tempo with spirit), 2^nd (Adagio: a slow tempo), 3^rd (Minuet and Trio: a moderate tempo with triple meter) and 4^th (Presto: very fast). This four-movement form, in other words, the sonata cycle, was developed during 17^th and 18^th centuries in Western Europe for instrumental music. It reached its heyday in the middle of the 18^th century through the next whole century. Composers in the Classical …

The Singing Conductor: Interviews On The Benefits And Limitations Of Choral Conductors And Teachers Continuing To Sing, Anne Carissa Gassmann

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

It is our duty as musicians, conductors, and teachers to continue developing our teaching and musicianship. One of the ways growth can occur is by singing regularly in ensembles outside of teaching. As one balances career and personal life, continuing to sing is a choice each must make. It is through this document that one may see the relevance of pursuing opportunities to sing, as it may inform and elevate one’s teaching and conducting. Eleven interviews were conducted with elementary, high school, and collegiate teachers and conductors, only half of them still singing in an ensemble. This document is intended …

Anecdoche, Joshua Ryan Spaulding

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

Utilizing various visual and aural mediums, Anecdoche tells a story that allows the audience to examine modern American/global culture from a third person perspective. Each artistic medium adds their own voice or opinion to the story and thus further colors and clutters the stage. This represents the extremes of communication that humans have risen to in the 21st Century. The term Anecdoche means a conversation in which everyone is talking, but nobody is listening. In the same way, for much of the work, the different elements of the production aim to make their voice heard, while simultaneously cluttering the visual …

The Impact Of Training Aids On Aerodynamic And Acoustic Measures In Singing, Julie Kaldor Grives

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

This research investigated whether exercise equipment serving as training aids for singers changes aerodynamic and acoustic measures and, if so, whether any of the changes persist or increase with regular training. Nineteen subjects, eleven women and eight men, in their first two years of voice study at the collegiate level and between nineteen and twenty-two years old, participated in the studies. Seven subjects tested an exercise band. Three subjects tested an exercise ball. Two subjects tested a balance ball. Each study asked subjects to participate in three testing sessions that included a baseline, a training aid and a post-training aid …

Original Music For Bass Trombone And Piano From 1985 To 2018: An Annotated Bibliography, Brian Lew

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

The purpose of this document was to compile and annotate original music for the bass trombone and piano from 1985 to 2018. Original works is defined as compositions whose original intentions were for the idiom of solo bass trombone and piano. Works included are exclusive of transcriptions and arrangements

This document annotates more than 100 compositions. Each annotation includes information about the composer (birth year and death year, if applicable), length of the piece, publisher, level of difficulty, a preview of the music, and the written annotation. Observations from the examined compositions are found in the closing chapter. Observations range …

Transcribing Astor Piazzolla's Works To Maximize Stylistic Fidelity: An Examination Of Three Saxophone Quartets With A New Transcription, Sarah L. Cosano

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

Astor Piazzolla is recognized as a pivotal figure who drew tango music onto an international stage. His output of written compositions and recordings provide a reference for studying tango. Though Piazzolla adapted a collection of flute etudes in 1988, he did not write specifically for saxophone during his lifetime. Saxophonists must instead rely on transcriptions of his music. Today, tango is a widely performed idiom for saxophone quartet.

Because of its tessitura, timbral variety, and flexibility, the saxophone is uniquely suited to perform tango music. This instrument has an expansive range when altissimo is included. Its written range spans from …

From Improvisation To Artistry: A Study Of The Piano’S 12 Sides By Carter Pann, Louis Claussen

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

Intended as a resource for pianists who may analyze or perform Carter Pann’s The Piano’s 12 Sides, this study provides biographical information on the composer and explores his professional relationship with the pianist for whom it was composed, Joel Hastings. Each piece from The Piano’s 12 Sides is discussed in terms of form, melody, harmony, texture and Pann’s approach to the pianistic compositional idiom. The composition is also examined with regard to extra-musical details and programmatic elements as well as inspiration and dedications that influenced Pann’s compositional process.

Correspondence and interviews with the composer reveal the motivation and inspiration behind …

Solo Piano Works By Ke-Chia Chen: “To An Isolated Island” And “Treasure Box”, Stephanie Yu

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

Since the twentieth century, it has become increasingly popular for composers to combine traditional folk materials and contemporary compositional techniques. Taiwanese composer Ke-Chia Chen is among these composers who choose to bridge their historical and cultural past with modern compositional methods. To An Isolated Island (2004) and Treasure Box (2010) represent, to date, the mature works for solo piano of Ke-Chia Chen, and are the main focus of this document.

This study details Chen’s employment of various compositional approaches in these works, and provides a thorough analysis of each piece. To An Isolated Island is the first piano piece Ke-Chia …

Art Lande And The Music Of Funko Moderno, Mitchell Dunham

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

Art Lande is an accomplished performing musician based out of Boulder, Colorado. He is well-known as a jazz pianist and free improviser and made a name for himself as one of the first recording artists with ECM Records. He has toured all over Europe and the United States as both a band leader and a solo artist. Aside from his superb musicianship, he is also known as a creative and effective pedagogue.

Funko Moderno is Art Lande’s most recent musical venture and was created with the intention of forming an entirely new way of playing and writing music. The freedom …

A Musical Analysis And Performance Guide To Alejandro Viñao's Burritt Variations For Solo Marimba, Michael Gordon Roe

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

This dissertation and accompanying lecture recital examine musical aspects and performance considerations for Alejandro Viñao's Burritt Variations (2012).

An exhaustive examination of the formal, melodic, motivic, and rhythmic aspects of the piece will highlight the complex compositional processes and thematic transformations found throughout the work. The discussion will also briefly examine the composer's background and the genesis of the work, as well as key influences found in Burritt Variations. These influences include the multi-temporal music of Conlon Nancarrow, and many Latin-American musical styles, especially Salsa music. The discussion will then focus on considerations for those wishing to perform the work. …

Midwestern Portrait For Chamber Jazz Ensemble And Solo Tenor Saxophone, Andrew Janak

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

“Midwestern Portrait” for Chamber Jazz Ensemble and Solo Tenor Saxophone is an original composition consisting of three main movements, an introduction, and two interludes. The piece is written for a full ensemble of 17 musicians – one solo tenor saxophone, four woodwinds, four brass, four strings, and four rhythm section players. The “Introduction,” “Interlude 1,” and “Interlude 2” feature smaller performing forces while the three main movements (“For GK,” “The Tradition,” “The Search) are written for the full ensemble.

“Movement 1: For GK (Lincoln)” is a tribute to my time at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and showcases the solo tenor …

The Cask Of Amontillado, Elysia Arntzen

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

This document details the process of creating an opera, from its inception through the premiere. Opera is a very large musical genre, and having a new opera premiered poses different challenges than other musical genres. I discuss the adaptation of the short story, The Cask of Amontillado , into an opera libretto, the composition of the opera, the production and directing of the opera, and what I learned in the process. In the conclusion, I discuss what I have learned as a composer and director, as well as how I can use this knowledge in future productions.

Advisor: Tyler White

8scenes, Spencer G. Perkins

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

This work explores the juxtaposition of a live ensemble, and pre-collected field recordings. The material for the ensemble is divided into eight sections, or “scenes,” which unfold one after the other without pause, at times blending musical material to where it is unclear when the music has transitioned to the next section. The field recordings are divided into three main sections, which are defined by the underlying loop as follows: “sunny day recording”; “people talking recording”; and “rainy day recording.” Atop these structural loops, it is the responsibility of the “electronics player” to que other recordings in a manner that …

Harmonic, Tonal, And Formal Asynchrony In Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe Und Leben, Kelli E. Bomberger

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

This thesis explores the asynchrony among form, harmony, and tonality in Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42. Using several theoretical lenses, this study identifies and analyzes a selection of songs from this work that distort tonal, harmonic, and formal relationships and how the text setting may inform these distortions. This is shown through detailed analyses of several songs from the cycle that highlight areas of asynchrony. The first section of this document explores the background of Frauenliebe und Leben and draws upon other musical examples in order to establish working definitions of asynchronous elements. The following sections are …

String Quintet No. 2, Johnny Smith-Wilson

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

This work is a four movement String Quintet constructed in cyclical form.

Advisor: Thomas Larson