Composition Commons^™

The Impact Of Edgard Varèse’S "Ionisation” On The Percussion Ensemble, Roger Ramirez

Undergraduate Research Conference

When I was selected to participate in a performance of Ionisation with the SFA Percussion Ensemble, the conductor, Dr. Meyer, explained the compositional process Edgard Varèse went through in order to write the piece. Hearing this inspired me to dig deeper into the composition to discover how much Ionisation impacted the world of percussion. After finding out it was the first true percussion ensemble piece ever written, I was inspired to see how it shaped the world of percussion after its debut.

The Makings Of An Ep: From Silence To Portable Sounds, Emily Ream

Senior Honors Theses

The creation of an EP is a process that requires skills in multiple areas. Once, creating an EP was only available to those who garnered resources and support from a record label. However, an increasing number of aspiring musicians are writing, recording, and making their music available for download or purchase without the assistance of a record label. Doing this successfully and excellently requires application of knowledge in areas such as literature, theology (for Christian artists), music theory, music technology, and marketing. This thesis will describe one process used to turn inspiration into a tangible product that one can purchase …

Music Theory For Student Composers: A Course Designed For Engagement By Using Both A Flipped Classroom And Praxial Philosophy, Michelle Nagy

Masters Theses

In a world filled with innovation, technology and hands-on learning, the subject of music theory in the high school classroom has stayed relatively the same for the past fifty years for the student composer. By using the same tried-and-true methods, teachers are introducing concepts through lectures, while students reinforce concepts on their own during their homework assignments. Music examples are given on a regular basis and they are usually played on the piano by the professor or through recording. These methods, while effective, are not meeting the needs of today’s tech savvy and hands-on generation. While students are engaging with …

The Bended Tree, Graeme Shields

Masters Theses

The Bended Tree is a multi-movement, 40-minute cantata for chorus, organ, piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, violin, and percussion. It explores timbral, textural, and harmonic development within loosely a symmetrical form divided in the center by 30 seconds of silence. The text for the cantata stems from a series of Lutheran hymns and Biblical passages, set to original music.

In the interest of facilitating flexibility for performances, the movements are written so that they can be performed individually, in any subset, or in the piece’s entirety. The instrumentation is also variable: the core ensemble is comprised of chorus, piano, and …

The Convergence Of Schenkerian Music Theory And Generative Linguistics: An Analysis And Composition, Michael A. Ciaramella

College Honors Program

This thesis engages a purported connection between Schenkerian music theory and the Minimalist Program within generative linguistics both scientifically and creatively. The first chapter expounds the link between Schenkerian theory and the Minimalist Program which has been recently substantiated in a doctoral dissertation by Somangshu Mukherji at Princeton University and details the methodological framework for investigating musical structures within this paradigm. Chapter two presents three case studies including the opening phrase of Mozart’s K. 332 Mvt. 1 piano sonata, and the tunes “Georgia on My Mind” and “Blue Bossa” in order to exemplify the aforementioned methodology and provide scientific evidence …

New Compositions For Percussion Duo, Andrea Venet

Showcase of Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activity

The submitted videos are a representation of recent performances and world premieres of commissions by Dr. Andrea Venet’s percussion duo, Escape Ten. Escape Ten is an ensemble in residence at the UNF School of Music with Dr. Annie Stevens (Virginia Tech). The first video is of a new composition, 2300 Degrees, by Ivan Trevino. Trevino held a musical residence at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY and was greatly affected by observing glass blower Lino Tagliapietra work. Ivan states “In order to recreate the feelings I felt while watching Lino work, I decided to create a piece with …

Composing Musical Branes, Liam Flenady

Directions of New Music

This paper presents the compositional logic of my most recent piece, braneworlds, a 15-minute work for seven musicians, according to three basic concepts: musical space, polymorphic counterpoint, and ‘branes’, as inspired by the popular book Warped Passages by experimental physicist Lisa Randall. The idea of musical space is outlined, in which musical parameters—conceived broadly as variable characteristics of music—are taken as dimensions and each work may define its own set of basic dimensions. Musical identities or objects are formed, located at different points within this space. The idea of ‘polymorphic counterpoint’, in which larger-scale internally-elaborated musical structures, rather than lines …

A Study Of Nikolai Medtner's Compositional Technique: Form And Narrative In Tales, Oliver H. Markson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation delves into the compositional approach of Russian-born composer Nikolai Medtner. A discussion of Medtner’s own words on composition from his book The Muse and Fashion: Being a Defence of the Foundations of the Art of Music is followed by original analyses of four Tales. Focus is placed on the composer’s philosophy regarding the relationship between form and narrative, in association with his expressed warnings of the dangers behind shifting compositional dominance from pure music to extra-musical narrative. The analyses are followed by a discussion of the vital importance of Medtner’s music and writings for future generations of composers. …

2016-2017 New Music Festival, Eric Ewazen, Lisa Leonard

New Music Festival

Eleventh Annual New Music Festival

• Eric Ewazen, Composer-in-Residence
• Lisa Leonard, Director

Friday, January 20, 2017 at 7:30 pm

• Spotlight I: Young Composers

Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 1:00 pm

• Master Class with Eric Ewazen

Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 7:30 pm

• Spotlight II: Music of Eric Ewazen

A Portfolio Of Compositions, Anne-Marie O'Farrell

Research Theses

The works in the attached portfolio address a number of compositional focal points: to bring together diverse strands of musical influence into sustained musical argument, across various large-scale media; to enlarge and explore the musical language of the harp, including the lever harp; and to integrate received materials into new music so as to create a different context while acknowledging musical inheritance. These combine with the exploration of inherent instrumental colour within my approaches to rhythm, harmony, melodic transformation, structure and the use of text to demonstrate the development of my compositional style during my PhD study. The commentary opens …

Belsen Silence, Monica Gil

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

I often look to text for musical inspiration, and after searching through swaths of Holocaust poetry online, I discovered "Belsen Silence" by Iolo Lewis. Its message is less graphic than some of the other texts I found, but that in no way detracts from its power of emotion. It is about looking back, tending to old wounds that are no longer fresh but are still healing. The Holocaust may have happened over fifty years ago, but it is still relevant, even alarmingly so at times. Today's reflections on yesterday's shortcomings are arguably the only way we learn, and that is …

La Relation Réalisateur – Compositeur : Un Exemple De Processus Créatif Relationnel Énactif, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

Cet article explore la relation qui existe entre un réalisateur et un compositeur. Plusieurs exemples sont étudiés, y compris des exemples tirés de l’expérience personnelle de l’auteur. Ces exemples mettent en lumière les différentes façons de travailler sur la composition d’une musique de film, et notamment les différentes façons pour un réalisateur de collaborer avec un compositeur.

Morgen : Melody For Soprano And Piano, Emmanuel M. Dubois

Emmanuel Dubois Compositions

Op. 48 : 1 score (ii + 3 pages) ; includes the poem "Morgen" by John Henry MacKay, in German.

The Influence Of Jazz Elements In Don Freund's Sky Scrapings For Alto Saxophone And Piano, Wade Howles

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

Jazz influence surfaces within traditional repertoire for the saxophone more often than other instruments. This is due to the saxophone’s close association with the jazz idiom. Of particular interest is the use of jazz elements in Don Freund’s Sky Scrapings for alto saxophone and piano. Often, while studying a jazz-influenced work, students and professors alike may not recognize the importance of these elements appropriately. Because of this, their performance loses a portion of the stylistic nuance the composer intended while writing the work. This lack of recognition and loss of stylistic nuance is commonly due to a lack of …

Embodied Composition: The Creation Of Enriched Interactional Experiences Through Music Composition, Aaron Bilney Geringer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Music is a form of embodied interaction through which people can synchronize their motor, sensory, and emotive systems. Anthropologists and developmental psychologists suggest that elements of music provide the groundwork for verbal interaction and interpersonal relationships (Aiello, 1996; Dissanayake, 2000; Mithen, 2006). When people interact with each other through music, the bases of community are formed. Phenomenological descriptions of individual’s experience of music and the role music plays in interpersonal interaction have been documented. However, there is little literature describing the embodied experiences of music composers as the architects of embodied interactions through music. Through this study, I address this …

Blacklight Symphony No. 1, William J. Cook

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This symphony written, rehearsed and premiered by William Cook in Spring of 2016 at the Composer's Showcase. The full score, video of the premiere, and his reflection of the events are all attached.

William Cook worked on Blacklight Symphony No. 1 from 2014 - 2016. Ultimately, it can be said that he tried to impress all, though none feigned to understand him, and he is pleased, upon reflection, that he gave the project his all.

Structure & Simulation: Growth And Evolution In Generative Music, Dane Filipczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a series of original interactive computer music compositions that are structured around simulations of natural phenomena. The relationship between simulation and music composition is considered and found to be a likely site of high creative potential due to both domains’ concern with process and becoming as opposed to static artifacts. The medium of the web application is considered as an ideal site for contemporary musical experimentation and a portrait is given of the current affordances and constraints of browser-based applications. Five musical systems are described within the context of their simulation and design techniques and some reflections …

Relevant Versus Extraneous Music In Multimedia Instruction: A Study Of The Coherence Principle, Jonathan Gunnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the inclusion of nonessential music in an instructional multimedia presentation affected learners’ ability to recall information in retention, cued-retention, and transfer cognitive measures. This study tested the coherence principle of multimedia learning which holds that the addition of nonessential content that is not relevant to the instruction is detrimental to learning. This study tested this principle by analyzing differences across three groups; a control group which included no additional music, a group including bland music selected at random, and a group including music that has been intentionally designed to align with …

Transcending The Keyboard: The Development Of Non-Traditional Piano Techniques, Brian Hinkley

Music: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The First Three Guitar Sonatas Of David Del Puerto, Jeremy Andrew Bass

Theses and Dissertations--Music

David del Puerto’s first three sonatas for solo guitar are large-scale, multi-movement works in a style that is at once strongly guitaristic, and highly refined with regard to harmony, melody, rhythm, and form. Del Puerto completed all three sonatas in 2015, a considerable milestone for a composer who had never before published works in this form for solo guitar. The sonatas represent a consolidation of the composer's recent style: the synthesis of modal, pandiatonic, and twelve-tone harmony; references to folkloric, popular, and classical musics; and a lucid, immediate approach to both surface rhythm and larger formal structures.

Since the development …