Composition Commons^™

Words, Music, Memory: An Exploration Of Four Soprano Song Cycles By Lori Laitman Based On Poetry By Victims Of The Holocaust, Sheena Ramirez

Dissertations, 2020-current

This Doctor of Musical Arts document is an exploration of the four soprano song cycles by Lori Laitman based on text settings from victims of the Holocaust, with a specific focus on the compositional and performance devices that both underpin the power of words to bear witness to lived experience and ensure the process of musical commemoration as an act of historical preservation. Lori Laitman (b. 1955) has composed ten distinct song cycles commemorating victims of the Holocaust, of which four are included in this study – I Never Saw Another Butterfly, In Sleep the World is Yours, The Ocean …

Engaging With The Score: Wadada Leo Smith, Graphic Notation, And The Performer’S Perspective, Kennedy Taylor Dixon

Masters Theses

As a Composer/Performer, my work exists in both realms. This thesis reflects the principle that my experience as a violist influences my compositional process and vice versa. Since identifying under both artistic skill sets, it has become evident that the two areas that exist as a creative and presentational output, thrive off one another’s success.

In June 2019, I had the chance to play Wadada Leo Smith’s String Quartet No. 3: Black Church, The First World Gathering of the Spirit (1995) at the Nief-Norf Summer Festival. This encounter was the first time I interacted with graphically notated scores as a …

Music Review: Deep Peace Songs / God Be In My Head, Angela Gorman

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

ÉTude De Canosa, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

Étude written for friend of composer, pianist Raúl Canosa.

Inclusion Initiative Project (Final Collaborative Composition Project), Brian Ciach

Assignment Prompts

Write a piece for 4-part chorale using text related to Social Justice and Racial Equity. For example, set the words of a speech by John Lewis to music or depict the noble character of MLK Jr. in music. You may alternatively write a solo piano piece, a work for piano and solo instrument, and/or other chamber ensemble (no more than 4 instruments please—which instruments are in your group?). The hard rule is that the work must be collaborative and inspired by our times from some other art form, and it must explicitly depict its source.

Rachmaninoff’S Second Piano Sonata, Op. 36: Large Scale Narrative Consequences Of Revision, Robert Brooks Carlson

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

A staple of the solo piano recital, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Sonata, op. 36, stands as one of the final romantic submissions to the art of the piano sonata. Rachmaninoff first published the sonata in 1913, and he returned to the piece in 1931 to revise it substantially, removing about five minutes from its performance time. Despite its compositional, emotional, and physical virtuosity, the work has received little analytic attention regarding the relationship between the two versions. This paper investigates the consequences of Rachmaninoff’s revisions by constructing a musical narrative for the sonata. The process illuminates structures within the piece …

Bulkomito Fantasy, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

Work for piano four-hands, or two pianos (two pianists). Written for friends of the composer, Anna Bulkina and Francesco Comito, thus the combined title name: "Bulkomito."

Expansion Of The Cello Repertoire In The 21st Century: A Collaboration With Composers Paul Eddison Lewis, Thomas L. Wilson, Austin Franklin, And Alex Shanafelt And The Resulting New Compositions For Cello And Electronics - Examined And Recorded By The Performer, Eduard Teregulov

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Electroacoustic music has been one of the fastest growing genres in classical art music since the middle the twentieth century. Thanks to the pioneers of the genre such as American composer John Cage, Halim El-Dabh, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick, Iannis Xenakis, as well many others composers and enthusiasts of the twentieth and the twenty-first century the repertoire of electronic and electroacoustic music has grown tremendously withing the last hundred years. Even today it is still a growing art form as contemporary composers are working with yet to be developed and explored electroacoustic programming and equipment.

The purpose of this project …

Full Bloom: Diegetic Ui For Musical Phrases In Virtual Reality, Peter Armstrong, Elliot Cole, Peter Ferry, Joe Geigel, Susan Lakin, Richard Swientonioski, Zachary Talis, Jennie Thomas

Frameless

We propose a novel system for communicating musical note pitch and sequence information to users within a virtual reality environment. Our approach utilizes ‘Blooms,’ objects that resemble flowers with various petal arrangements. These formations, when constructed in view of users, act as diegetic, user-parsable encodings of their inputs. Blooms exist within the virtual space as simulated physics objects that collectively serve the role of a user interface.

Review Of Coherence In New Music: Experience, Aesthetics, Analysis, By Mark Hutchinson. (New York, Ny: Routledge, 2016)., Orit Hilewicz

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

A review of Mark Hutchinson's book from 2016, Coherence in New Music: Experience, Aesthetics, Analysis.

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Sacred Music In Colonial Era Hispaniola: The Evangelization Of The Taino People, Tito J. Gutierrez

Student Theses

During the 15th-18th centuries, the major European religious orders; the Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, and Jeronymites, journeyed to the newly colonized American territories in an attempt to convert the multitudes of natives peoples living there. Along with prayer books, crucifixes, and religious images, these missionaries brought sacred European music to American shores in an attempt to attract the native people to the Catholic faith.The use of music as a tool for conversion of native people in places such as Mexico, South America, California, and the South West United States, have been well researched and documented. However, the research of the spiritual …

Musical Perspective: An Analysis Of How Musicals Reflect Cultural Discourse, Amosi Morgan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In this paper, I will be analyzing the role musical theatre productions play in reflecting cultural discourse. I will also discuss the impact musicals have on societal discussions regarding topics like race, capitalism, and social justice. The way I seek to do this is by first explaining the origin of musicals as musical comedies. I will also discuss other musical innovations such as the opera that influenced the shift. I will discuss the rise of musical dramas as musicals started incorporating serious themes. The emotional impact of musicals and their use of pathos will be analyzed. I will research the …

Melodies Of Love: An Exploration Of Popular Love Songs And Love Styles According To The Ancient Greeks, Kevin Blackmon

Recital Papers

I conducted an investigation and application of how different types of affection, as expressed in Classical Greek philosophy, are conveyed in commercial music with love songs. I also analyzed how various love songs demonstrate these different meanings of affection. Through my discoveries, I applied the standards of these ideas to my music. I focused on the common characteristics that each love song shares. I divided each analysis of musical ideas and concepts that contain similarities into the six subsections of Jan LaRue’s SHRMGT framework: SHRMG(T) stands for sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, growth, and text. The focus for each song will …

A Feminist History Of The Roland Mc-505, Cameron Davis

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

A Feminist History of the Roland MC-505

Abstract

Roland’s MC 505 is a small portable music production instrument also known as agroovebox that functions as a programmable sixty-four note polyphonic synthesizer and drummachine with twenty-six interchangeable drum kits to use in various combinations. (1) The groovebox is equipped for both audio recording and live performance, both of which are analyzed in this research. The machine has many innovative elements that have carried over into modern music technology as well as some limitations that have since been left behind. This study acts as a historical evaluation of the growth and improvements …

Look At The Lights, Chandra Gangavarapu '21

IMSAloquium Student Investigation Showcase

No abstract provided.

Obu Steel Drum Combo In An Outdoor Concert, The Obu Steel Drums, Ryan C. Lewis

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the promotional poster for the Outdoor Concert Series of the OBU Steel Drum Combo. The concerts were held on April 6 and April 15, 2021, at 5:00, at the OBU Amphitheatre. Ryan Lewis directed.

Pandemic Pandemonium Composition, Thomas Langan

All Assignment Prompts

No abstract provided.

Pandemic Pandemonium Project (Final Collaborative Composition Project), Brian Ciach

All Assignment Prompts

No abstract provided.

What Is "Around Me" In 2020?, Hannah Heaton

Undergraduate Research Conference

The title of my composition that I am using for this performance presentation is "Around Me." It is a solo violin work performed by Dr. Serena Scibelli, a music professor from the University of North Georgia, and composed by me, Hannah Heaton. Serena Scibelli requested if I could write a solo violin work for her upcoming album that would be a reminder of reflection through music during the 2020 Pandemic. I intend to take this work and show any listener how they can relate with my piece, “Around Me.”

"Around Me" is a relatively short work, but through use of …

Obu Choral Worship Event, The Ouachita Singers, Women's Chorus, More Gospel Choir, Concert Choir

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the promotional flyer for the OBU Choirs outdoor concert held on Friday, March 19, 2021, at 5 PM in front of Evans Student Center. All of the OBU Choirs (as well as student instrumentalists) joined together to lead a brief time of worship.

Marshall University School Of Music Presents The Twelfth Annual Festival Of New Music, Mark Zanter

Festival/Concert Programs

Anthony Almendaréz, Alumni composer

Shelby Ard, Alumni composer

Dalton Carney, MU student composer

Alli Feamster, MU student composer

Jarohn Grandstaff, Alumni composer

Esin Gündüz, Alumni composer

Mark Haas, Alumi composer

Lily Lauffer, MU student composer

Zack Merritt, Alumni composer

Sean Price, Alumni composer

Rodrigo Teodoro, MU student composer

John Shuff, MU student composer

James Stamm, Alumni composer

Eli Wisen, MU student composer

Mark Zanter, Festival Host, Marshall University

The 23rd Annual Mary Shambarger Art Song Competition, Division Of Music

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the program for the 23rd annual Mary Shambarger Art Song Competition, held on February 23, 2021, in the McBeth Recital Hall.

For The Love Of Inner Voices: Miriam Gideon, Orchestration, And Fortunato, Whitney E. George

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Post-tonal American opera composer Miriam Gideon (1906-1996) completed a chamber opera, perhaps intended for television, titled Fortunato, based on a dark comic tragedy set in turn-of-the-20th-century, economically-ravaged Madrid. The expressive staged work follows the life of the unfortunate title character Fortunato in three operatic vignettes, each one becoming more desperate and moribund by the scene. A curious piece in Gideon’s oeuvre, the work remained unfinished, with a piano score for the complete work, but only a sample of her orchestration for Scene 1. This study examines the orchestration of Scene 1 as a template for creating an orchestration similar in …

01 Traditional Songs Introduction, William Donner

Sikaiana Traditional Songs

This is an introduction to Sikaiana songs. It includes a discussion of the social cultural context of song composition and singing. There is a discussion of the different features of song production and a list of different song genres. Most of the discussion is concerned with traditional song expression that are part of derived form changes associated with colonialism and modernization.

2020-2021 New Music Festival "A Global Harvest", Lisa Leonard, Lynn University Conservatory Of Music

New Music Festival

Introduction from Professor Lisa Leonard, the festival director

Welcome to the 15th Annual New Music Festival at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music! For 14 seasons, we have been welcoming renowned composers to take residency at the Conservatory to directly work with our students preparing three main events: a concert of emerging composers featuring student composers and performers, a master class/lecture focused on the creative and practical issues of contemporary music, and a full program solely featuring the works of the guest composer, including the premiere of the annual commissioned work.

We were thrilled when John Harbison agreed to serve …

The G7 Suite: Score And Analysis, Joseph C. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The G7 Suite is a multi-movement chamber work that combines elements of European Art Music, Indigenous Music from Latin America, and various representations of American music. The melodic material is derived from the national anthems of the Great Seven nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each melody is re-set to new music genres and aligns itself to the rules and expectations within each idiom. This compilation is more than a series of arrangements or reharmonizations of the anthems; these are new compositions based on melodic elements from previous works.

This analysis of The …

Shining A Spotlight On Female African American Composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, Iris E. Fordjour-Hankins

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Those who are interested in learning more about Evelyn Simpson-Curenton (b. 1953) will find it challenging to find scholarly material on her life and music. She is best known for her arrangements of spirituals that were sang and recorded by Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman (whose concert recording Spirituals in Concert was released in 1991). Simpson-Curenton is also known for her choral work, “Psalm 91,” made famous by Oakwood University’s Aeolians. Though she is self-published, her absence from compilations, volumes, and anthologies for solo voice and piano is regrettable. This dissertation provides well researched scholarly information about her musical life …

The Meaning Of Music, Caleb Loius Orenstein Carman

Senior Projects Fall 2021

This project combines solo performances of music on piano, collaborative playing/rehearsing, improvisation, and composition. In both parts of the project, I share my performances of François Couperin, J. S. Bach, Schubert, and Ravel, and include my own compositions alongside. I tackle certain pieces that lie within the ‘long eighteenth century’ and demonstrate how improvisation is an integral part of music-making for composers. I believe in order to fulfill my own desires as a musician, I need to develop my aptitude in multiple areas — performance, composition, improvisation, chamber music, etc. — in such a way that the practice of one …

Touching Light: A Framework For The Facilitation Of Music-Making In Mixed Reality, Ian Thomas Riley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Drawing upon the historical development of analog and digital technologies alongside the proliferation of computer-assisted performance practices, this research seeks to develop a framework for integrating Mixed Reality applications to live musical performance, specifically through the creation of a Microsoft HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality application in order to facilitate a live performance of an original musical composition for percussion and real-time Mixed Reality environment. Mixed Reality enables a performer to interact with virtual (holograms, VSTs, etc.) and physical (vibraphone, tuned drums, microphones, etc.) objects simultaneously. Tandem to the development of the conceptual framework was the composition of an original score …