Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Compositional Modeling: A Classical Imitative Pedagogy For The Modern Era, Robert Harris Jeter

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Students of composition develop two skills simultaneously: craft and creativity. Since students are more naturally inclined to focus on one of these skills over the other, finding the proper balance is an educational challenge. An effective pedagogical system for composition cultivates both of these necessary skills.

Imitation was a preferred pedagogical approach during the Classical period. In his 1848 book School of Practical Composition, Carl Czerny instructs his readers to apply the extensive rules of composition by strictly following a compositional model. Although this methodology lost favor during the nineteenth century, the imitative techniques presented by Czerny are flexible enough …

Symphonic Fantasy: Discussion And Analysis, Tyler Turcotte

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The following piece is a three movement, twenty minute orchestral work in a Romantic style whose primary goals are accessibility and beauty. In the process of writing this piece, I learned that strong and memorable melodies are the key to a successful composition - taking influence from Henry Mancini and early Japanese video game composers, this work takes a central melodic theme through a series of variations to demonstrate the power of harmonic and orchestrational recontextualization. Rhythmically, the work utilizes techniques from the Minimalist and Progressive Rock traditions to strike a balance between rhythmic complexity and melodic focus. The three …

Frank Zappa And His Conception Of Civilization Phaze Iii, Jeffrey Daniel Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Music

When Frank Zappa died in 1993, he left Civilization Phaze III as a last testament to both his musical and thematic purpose. The work received a handful of reviews in the popular music press, and has subsequently been ignored by both the popular press and, with few exceptions, academia.

Many are the composers whose careers have been thought describe a mid-period mastery, followed by later decline. This presumption seems to have fallen upon Frank Zappa, apparently due to his retirement from the concert stage, and final years writing music on the Synclavier. This thesis seeks to demonstrate that Zappa's compositional …

Anders Åstrand: A Paragon Of The Modern Musical Aesthetic, Matthew Geiger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Swedish musician Anders Åstrand sustains a career as a performing soloist and chamber musician, composer for small and large chamber ensembles, and improviser in a vast variety of styles. His career represents the future within the musical world as it shifts from the orchestras and concert halls to a society more interested social media outlets such as YouTube and Facebook Live. His compositions integrate elements of improvisation in concept and execution.

The primary aim of this study examines the life and career of Anders Åstrand and the correlation of those influences with his compositional aesthetic. The secondary objective connects the …

Symphony For Wind Orchestra By Luis Serrano Alarcón: Background, Analysis, And Conductor’S Guide, Donald F. Goodwin

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Born in 1972, Luis Serrano Alarcón has in a very short period of time, established himself as one of Spain’s most prominent composers. His works are constantly being performed, not only in his home country, but throughout the world. While some of his compositions tend to retain the rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic style typical to Spanish music, many of the works sound as if they were borne more from the Viennese symphonic tradition, both during the time of Haydn and Beethoven, but also during the time of Arnold Schoenberg.

As a young boy Alarcón took up piano lessons with a …

The Silence: Overture And Two Scenes From An Opera In Two Acts, Eric Jurgens

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The Silence is the story of William Rose, a man who, while searching the world for his missing wife and daughter, is kidnapped and held in a secret Iranian prison. After many years of torture, abuse and a slow descent into insanity, secrets about his family manifest as mysterious and magical occurrences, creating a dangerous tension between the prisoners and guards. Questions begin to arise: Who is actually in charge of this prison? Why haven’t the guards ever met the warden? Why is the prison haunted by mysterious voices? And what exactly would it take to crumble the walls of …