Composition Commons^™

A Performance Project With An Historical And Analytical Perspective On The Concerto For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra, Op. 31 By Peter Jona Korn, Brian Sanford Ransom

Dissertations

Peter Jona Korn (1922-1998) is not a name immediately recognized in American music circles, yet during the 1940s and '50s he led a successful career as an American composer. His Saxophone Concerto - composed in 1956 for the virtuoso Sigurd Rascher, and revised by Korn in 1982 - is an important contribution to the saxophone repertoire.

Many composers, including Glazounov, Ibert, and Larsson, wrote concertos for Sigurd Rascher. These works, once considered highly virtuosic, are now studied and performed by college level saxophonists. The original version of Korn's Concerto, among the most technically demanding works, has remained in obscurity for …

Comparative Analysis Of Representative Marimba Works By Nebojsa Jo Van Zivkovic, Jefferson Lavelle Grant Iii

Dissertations

Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic has been an active performer and composer since the late 1970s. He is the closest modern percussionists have to the tradition of the virtuosocomposer from the Romantic period. He holds degrees in composition, music theory, and percussion performance. His music merits study based on the fact that he is an accomplished marimbist who composes at the instrument. This lends to his music a uniquely idiomatic quality. The two works presented in this treatise span almost twenty years of the composer's thirty-year career. The unifying element in both works is that they feature a marimba soloist as the …

William Kempster, Associate Professor Of Music (Cola) Travels To Czech Republic, William Kempster

Faculty Travel Reports

Along with Antonín Dvořák, Bohuslav Martinů is the most revered composer in his native land, now known as the Czech Republic. Little wonder, therefore, that a competition bearing the composer’s name draws the best choirs in the country, as well as from abroad, to the town of Pardubice for the International Bohuslav Martinů Festival and Choir Competition. This year (2009) in June, at the 6th such staging of the competition, choirs from Finland, Serbia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Israel, Estonia, Belgium, Slovenia and the USA joined with numerous Czech choirs not only to compete against each other, but also to …

Curriculum Vitae, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf document includes my current Curriculum Vitae.

"Korean Psalm (Psalm 23)" For Tenor Voice And Piano, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by Sang-In Han (tenor) and Dominic Dousa (piano). The work is a setting of selected verses of Psalm 23 in Korean. It was composed for Dr. Han's lecture recital of Korean Art Song.

Statement Of Artistic Philosophy, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf file includes my statement of artistic philosophy.

"Departed Days" For Satb Choir And Piano, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by the UTEP University Chorale, conducted by William McMillan.

The Music Of Jerry Sieg: A Descriptive Catalogue Of His Piano Music And An Analysis Of The Five Miniatures For Piano, Nuria Mariela Royas

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to present the solo piano music of the American composer Jerry Sieg, whose output includes works for orchestra, voice, opera, chorus, and numerous compositions for solo instruments.

It opens with the biography of the composer, including information concerning bis musical training, followed by a brief survey of his solo piano works. A discussion of his compositional style in his Five Miniatures for Piano, written in 1994 for the American pianist Marian Lee, is also included in this work. The analysis of the Five Miniatures for Piano in Chapter IV presents a detailed analysis of …

An Examination Of Vocal Music By John Musto, Stephanie R. Thorpe

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

John Musto, a contemporary composer based in New York, is known for his vocal, piano, and orchestral compositions. Musto is an active performer, who accompanies his own compositions in performance and on recordings. Several festivals and foundations have commissioned his compositions, many of them vocal works.

This document will examine a song set, a solo song and two song cycles by John Musto, which represent the composer's developing vocal compositional style from beginning to present. Equally informed by classical and jazz techniques, his style is comprised of popular idioms, ambiguous key structures, irregular rhythms and meters, unpredictable intervallic movements, and …

Leo Brouwer's Estudios Sencillos For Guitar: Afro-Cuban Elements And Pedagogical Devices, Carlos Isaac Castilla Penaranda

Dissertations

This document presents a detailed performance and pedagogical analysis of the Estudios Sencillos by the Cuban composer, Leo Brouwer. Such pertinent musical aspects as biographical data of the composer, Afro-Cuban traditions, Cuban composers, and philosophical and artistic trends that impacted Brouwer's aesthetic world are studied and discussed.

Virtually any of Brouwer's works can serve to convey this information, but it is particularly this group of pieces that better suits the study of Afro-Cuban elements within a pedagogical focus since no other of Brouwer's compositions is set with this particular target in mind: etudes for the development and/or implementation of a …

A Comparative Analysis Of Roman Palester's Concertino Pour Saxophone Alto Et Orchestre A Cordes, Brian Donald Kauth

Dissertations

The music of Roman Palester (1907-1989) is little known outside his native Poland. Before World War II, he experienced a great deal of musical success, with many of his compositions being performed at prestigious music festivals throughout Europe. Palester completed his one solo work for the saxophone, the Concertino pour Saxophone Alto et Orchestre a Cordes, in 1938, but its scheduled premiere in 1939 never took place due to political tensions on the eve of World War II.

In 1978, Palester revised the work for saxophonist David Pituch, who premiered and recorded this version. A comparison of the original and …

Statement Of Philosophy On Teaching, Research, And Service, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf file includes my statement of philosophy on teaching, research, and service.

2008-2009 New Music Festival, Joseph Turrin, Lisa Leonard

New Music Festival

Third Annual New Music Festival

• Joseph Turrin, Composer-in-Residence
• Lisa Leonard, Director

Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7:30 pm

• Opening Night Faculty Concert
• Venue: Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall

Friday, April 24, 2009 at 7:30 pm

• Forum (Panel: Kenneth Amis, Thomas McKinley, Joseph Turrin ; Mediator: Lisa Leonard)
• Venue: Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall

Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 4:00 pm

• Young Composers
• Venue: Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall

Monday, April 27, 2009 at 7:30 pm

• Joseph Turrin Spotlight
• Venue: Louis and Anne Green Center for the Expressive Arts

Commissioned Work

Joseph Turrin, the composer-in-residence, composed a musical work called, Chamber Symphony, for this festival. In …

Fifth Wheel For Jazz Band, Ian C. Boswell

Music Honors Projects

Fifth Wheel is a composition written for Macalester's jazz band that uses form and extended tonality to create an emotional narrative. It contains elements of both classical and jazz traditions: its form and unusual meter (5/4) from the former and improvisation and jazz harmony from the latter. Writing harmonies in an extended tonal language was of particular importance in this piece's creation.

"Hymn Of Trust" For Satb Choir And Piano, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by the UTEP University Chorale, conducted by William McMillan.

List Of Original Compositions, Chronological, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf document lists original compositions by date. For works with audio files available, the category in which those recordings may be found is given.

List Of Original Compositions, By Genre, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf document lists original compositions by genre. For works with audio files available, the category in which those recordings may be found is given.

"Mountain Song" For Viola And Piano (Lubbock, Tx), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by Renee Skerik (viola, Texas Tech University) and Susan Wass (piano, Texas Tech University).

Recital, Utep Faculty Recital Series (April 4, 2009), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A faculty recital presentation by Melissa Colgin-Abeln (flute), Orit Eylon (mezzo soprano), Michael Way (graduate student, cello) and Dominic Dousa (piano).

Conductor's Guide To Mark Camphouse's "To Build A Fire", Amanda L. Kastner

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is a guide to understanding and performing Mark Camphouse’s composition, To Build A Fire. The thesis includes a biography of Jack London and a literary analysis of London’s short story “To Build A Fire,” upon which the composition is based. Musical analysis of the Camphouse composition, rehearsal considerations, and performance considerations are also discussed. The literary analysis provides background for the composition and a starting platform for the musical analysis. The musical analysis parallels the composition with the short story. This analysis also provides some technical considerations of the instrumental parts. The rehearsal considerations include a rehearsal plan, …

List Of Commissioned Compositions, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

The pdf document lists compositions commissioned by musicians and musical organizations, with details about the occasion for which the work was written. For works with audio files available, the category in which those recordings may be found is given.

The Flute Through Time: A Senior Recital, Teresa Powell

Undergraduate Research Conference

The flute is a wind instrument of ancient origin formerly made of wood but now of silver and other metals. It is one of the first wind instruments to have published works. Music for the modern flute spans from the early Baroque era through history, and is still being written to this day.

Twentieth Century Saxophone With A Touch Of Baroque, Sesha Wallace

Undergraduate Research Conference

The saxophone has progressed immensely since its invention in 1846 by the Belgian musician instrument designer, Adolphe Sax. This fairly new addition to the musical world has developed over the years into an extremely versatile instrument capable of being used in a wide range of musical settings, anything from classical to jazz to rock and roll. Throughout the Twentieth Century, the saxophone has seen an enormous growth in contemporary repertoire. Advanced techniques have become widely accepted as part of this new output and a variety of musical outlets have opened saxophonists worldwide. The pieces in this study illustrate some of …

"Mountain Song" For Viola And Piano (Cleveland, Oh), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by Renee Skerik (viola, Texas Tech University) and James Housman (piano, Oberlin College).

"Departed Days" For Satb Choir And Piano, Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by the UTEP University Chorale, conducted by William McMillan.

Solo Composition Recital (February 17, 2009), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

Faculty Compositon Recital, presented by Renee Skerik (viola, guest artist from Texas Tech University), the Texas Tech University Viola Choir, and Dominic Dousa (piano). Also included performance of Milhaud's "Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano".

Performances of the following original compositions:

"Mountain Song"

"Two Pieces for Viola Choir"

Sonata for Viola and Piano, 'From a Land Wild and Free'

"Evocations From The Plains" For Piano Quintet (El Paso, National Chamber Music Fesitval), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by the Biava String Quartet and Doris Stevenson (piano).

Se Tu Mi Lassi (If You Leave Me) For Choir, Katherine Spencer

Compositions

No abstract provided.

Unspell, Bruno Ruviaro

Music

Unspell, for voice and electronics, reflects my continuing interest in the musicality of speech. The “pre-text” for the composition is l’Attente (Waiting), by Roland Barthes, from the book Fragments d’un Discours Amoureux (Fragments from a Lover’s Discourse). Careful work on intonation and prosody is complemented by electronic sounds that function at times as accompaniment, at times as rhythmic or timbral counterpoint. Spoken language, to me, is always pregnant with music. I won’t say much more, hoping the piece will speak for itself.

Chrome Pieces, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

Chrome Pieces (2009)

I Incisive

II Veiled

III Plaintive

IV Manic

V Elegaic

Program notes: Chrome Pieces is in part an exploration of the coloristic capabilities of the brass quintet. Consisting of mostly fast, relatively concise music, the quintet features solos and duets in the inner movements while emphasizing full, equal ensemble participation in I and V, somewhat suggestive of the arch form. Further symmetry is provided by the use of mutes in II and IV. The opening movement, cast in three sections, is built around a marcato four-note figure yielding to a softer, lyric middle section. The tuba is …