Composition Commons^™

Isabel Dodds In A Senior Piano Recital, Isabel Dodds

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster, program, and program notes of Isabel Dodds' senior piano recital. The recital was held in the McBeth Recital Hall on November 14, 2019.

The Eternal Cycle, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

For Flute, Clarinet in B-flat, Violin, Cello, and Soprano.

Duration: c. 4:00

Text by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).

"Veiled"

Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta 1861 and died there 1941. He published poetry in Bengali and English and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for creating a synthesis of East and West. An all-around genius, Tagore was a composer of over 3000 songs as well as a distinguished painter. The Eternal Cycle, like much of his work, is suffused with spiritual ideas. The music incorporates some elements of classical Indian music, such as a drone, which sounds continuously through the …

The Loon, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

For Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, & Piano

Duration: 4:00

"Elegiac"

Poem by Marjorie Saiser

Loon populations have been declining significantly throughout their core range— mostly Canada and the northern tier of the United States—over the past 20 years, due in large part to mercury poisoning, acid rain, lead, and the rise of botulism in the Great Lakes region. Common loons are endangered in Vermont, threatened in New Hampshire and Michigan, and a species of special concern in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Interstices, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

"a small or narrow space between things or parts"

For Marimbas (2) & Vibraphones (2)

Duration c. 7:00

All performers will need hard and soft mallets; Vibraphone 2 will need bow.

Interstices features lattice-like textures with interlocking lines posited in stratified registers and syncopated rhythms suggestive of Be-bop amd Funk.

"Playful"

Fluids In Music: The Mathematics Of Pan’S Flutes, Bogdan Nita, Sajan Ramanathan

Department of Mathematics Facuty Scholarship and Creative Works

We discuss the mathematics behind the Pan’s flute. We analyze how the sound is created, the relationship between the notes that the pipes produce, their frequencies and the length of the pipes. We find an equation which models the curve that appears at the bottom of any Pan’s flute due to the different pipe lengths.

Exploring Trauma, Healing, And Accountability Through Music, Mieke Johanna Doezema

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

My composition recital and honors project involved compositional works that I wrote to explore trauma, healing, and accountability in cases of sexual violence through music with guest speakers Tracey Pyscher and DVSAS.

Modern Bands Impact On Student Enrollment In Traditional Music Ensembles, Bryan Powell

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

Popular music ensembles are becoming more popular in public school music education classrooms throughout the United States (Powell & Burstein, 2017). In response to the concerns about the introduction of popular music ensembles “cannibalizing” other school music programs, this study examines the enrollment in middle and high school modern band programs affiliated with the non-profit organization Little Kids Rock. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the impact that introducing a modern band ensemble had on existing ensembles and on participation in school music as a whole. The results of the study indicate that the introduction of modern …

J.K. Mertz’S Bardenklänge: A Context For The Emergence Of The Character Piece Genre Within The Repertoire For Solo Guitar, Brinsley Doran

Masters

Having experience a large increase in concert activity in recent years, one would assume that the works of J.K. Mertz (1806–1856) would haveexperience the same level of attention within academic circles, however research is still limited. As a result, this thesissetsout to understand in what areas do Mertz's works differ fromother guitar works in the first half of the nineteenth century—specifically Mertz's set of character piecesfound in hisBardenklänge, op. 13. This thesiswill address shifts in culture, aesthetics and the increasing interest in the ‘Folk’c.1800–1850 that led to the composition of Mertz’s Bardenklänge. Published in 1847, these works are unique in …

Finding A Voice – Exploration Of Modes And Timbres : A Portfolio Of Ten Original Compositions With Accompanying Commentaries, Ekapon Muenyam

Doctoral

This thesis marks the culmination of four years’ work, as part of my PhD study in composition. The portfolio consists of ten pieces, lasting in total approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, and a commentary comprising an analysis of each of the works. The main emphasis has been on the development of an individual style, informed by the exploration of twentieth and twenty-first century compositional techniques, instrumental timbres, stylistic genres, forms, scale derivations and the wider aesthetic of contemporary music. The portfolio includes works for solo instruments, ensemble and orchestra. One of the main areas of research has been to …

Dimër (Winter), Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

This work is an original musical setting of the poem by Albanian poet Lasgush Poradeci (1898-1987). The work was written for the esteemed mezzo-soprano Etleva Shemai.

The Cohens And The Kellys: Performance At The Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Toronto, Canada - Toronto, Dermot Dunne, Nick Roth

Concert Programmes

This performance consisted of a collaborative project between accordionist Dermot Dunne and saxophonist Nick Roth who together devised and performed an original film score for the 1926 silent film the Cohens and the Kellys. The score consisted of original arrangements of existing pieces by classical composers and traditional music from a variety of sources.

World Premiere Performance Of Quintet No.2 By N. Roth, Dermot Dunne

Concert Programmes

Nick Roth's second quintet was commissioned by the Sligo International Chamber Music Festival to be premiered by Dermot Dunne, accordion and the Vogler string quartet. The work draws on many aspects of the muezzin call to prayer in the Islamic faith including the various different modes (or maqaams) used in the call to prayer throughout the day. The work is a synthesis of the ISlamic call to prayer with contemporary composition techniques

I Have Not Always Been As Now, Bailey Knowles

Compositions

i have not always been as now is a four-movement piece for soprano voice, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and glockenspiel. The libretto is a reworking of literature by Edgar Allen Poe. I read through his entire output of poetry, isolated lines that I enjoyed, stood out, or triggered a musical thought in my head, and rearranged them to create a new story. The story is purposefully vague, and its specific meanings and interpretations shall be deciphered by the listener. The story follows someone who is recalling memories of a love from the past. This love could be a person, a …

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 …

Praise Of Mahakala, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

Praise of Mahakala is a chamber work based on the Mongolian language text of a traditional Buddhist prayer, which is scored for tenor (who will sing in Mongolian), oboe, violin, and violoncello. The work was inspired by the work of Italian scholar and sinologist Dr. F. Fiaschetti. Tempi (not indicated) may be at a pace reminiscent of the actual Mahakala chant on which the work is based.

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 …

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 …

Soundboard: Planar Tracking For Instrument Control, Peter O'Sullivan

ENGS 86 Independent Projects (AB Students)

The Soundboard is the central component of Syrinx, a synthesizer instrument invented by Spencer Topel. A generated audio signal is transduced through the Soundboard, and by manually adjusting the positioning of its top metal plane, the user can manipulate the encased soundwaves before they are transduced back into a signal and output. My task for this project was to add controller functionality to the Soundboard component by implementing control voltages that carry information about its planar tilt, yaw, and altitude. These voltages can be used to modulate various digital parameters and further affect the sonic output of the instrument. Further, …

La Bicicletta, Jack Druffel

Compositions

Program Notes:

La Bicicletta was written in the fall of 2018 and edited for the Illinois Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra in early 2019. It is a narrative about an accident the composer endured while in Milan, Italy. While cycling home, he was struck by a motorcycle and spent a night in an Italian hospital and was released the next day with minor injuries. The main idea of the piece is to reflect the mundane tasks of daily life, and this motif is presented in each of the four sections that make up La Bicicletta.

The first part of the piece reflects …

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 …

Cultural Transmission Modes Of Music Sampling Traditions Remain Stable Despite Delocalization In The Digital Age, Mason Youngblood

Publications and Research

Music sampling is a common practice among hip-hop and electronic producers that has played a critical role in the development of particular subgenres. Artists preferentially sample drum breaks, and previous studies have suggested that these may be culturally transmitted. With the advent of digital sampling technologies and social media the modes of cultural transmission may have shifted, and music communities may have become decoupled from geography. The aim of the current study was to determine whether drum breaks are culturally transmitted through musical collaboration networks, and to identify the factors driving the evolution of these networks. Using network-based diffusion analysis …

Shush: A Creative (Re)Construction, Kathleen Spring

Faculty & Staff Publications

Shush: A Creative (Re)Construction stems from work conducted during a sabbatical in fall 2017. The audio piece, Shush Me Awake, is a composition that explores the shush as a performative act. The accompanying framing essay uses an autoethnographic approach to provide a contextualized look at the composition process for this piece, while simultaneously situating it within existing scholarship in library and information studies on the image of the librarian and stereotypes. The composer notes provide additional technical details about the audio piece itself.

Reliquary, Randall Snyder

Randall Snyder Compositions

"For Walter Gray"

For Viola 1 & Viola 2

Program note: Reliquary was conceived as a memorial for a friend and mentor, It is cast in three sections that trace a progression from dark to light, slow to fast. The first minimalist section explores a continuously evolving seven-note sequence. This is followd by a more animated section that references Mozart's Piano Concerto No, 17, K. 453, one of many works introduced to me by my friend. The final section, marked "Volante" (flying), completes the psychological arc of the piece with a numinous feeling of acceptance.

Duration: c. 5:45

Far Flung Trio Tour Of Ireland And Uk, 2019, Dermot Dunne

Concert Programmes

The Far Flung Trio gives 17 performances, including 12 performance of the programme below and 5 performances of their own arrangement of Sergei Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf'. The other performances consist of the trio's own arrangements of the following works:

G Rossini: Overture to the Barber of Seville

J. Bandolim/Pixinguinha/Z. Abreu: 3 Choros

R. Guilfoyle: Binary Number

A. Dvorak: 2 Slavonic Dances op.46 nos. 2 & 3

A. Corelli: Trio Sonata in E minor op.2 no.4

G. Gershwin: 3 Songs

L. Fancelli: Pupazzetti

M. Robinson: N7

P. Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy

Symphonic Expressions Of The Female Voice: An Analysis Of Bernard Hermann's Scores For Jane Eyre (1943) And The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947), Alyson Picard

Honors Projects

This Honors thesis discusses an area of film score analysis that has been overlooked in scholarship. The author musically analyzes the work of Bernard Herrmann, revealing from his scores a hidden layer of connotative emotions and inner life of the female protagonists in the gothic melodrama films Jane Eyre (1943) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). The female voice in classical Hollywood was forced into submission due to the cultural ideology of Westernized gendered thought. Herrmann provides the female protagonists with a sounding board for their sequestered minds, allowing the audience the opportunity to peer into the souls of …