Music Commons^™

Undone By Adaptation? : Tracing Desdemona And Emilia In Othello And Otello(S), Emily Buckley-Crist

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis explores the characters of Desdemona and Emilia in Shakespeare’s Othello and productions of Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito’s operatic adaptation, Otello (1887). Shakespeare structures the play’s meditation on the limitations of feminine agency in early modern England with Desdemona and Emilia’s detached acts of defiance. When both women succumb to the parasitism of their marriages, Shakespeare illuminates the unjust danger defiant women face under the unyielding power of early modern patriarchy. Surprisingly, Verdi and Boito diminish the agency of these female characters in their opera, instead favoring male characters while adapting Shakespeare’s play to the form and audience …

Dance Of Exile: The Sakharoffs’ Visual Performances In Montevideo (1935–1948), Pablo Munoz Ponzo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the life-work chronology of the dancers and choreographers Clotilde von Derp (whose surname then was Sakharoff) and Alexander Sakharoff, who were exiled in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1941 and 1948. During their stay in the Rio de la Plata region, the Sakharoffs stirred up the art scene by performing extremely detailed dances with great attention to costume design. This thesis begins with a review of the reception of the dancers’ performances by the artistic and cultural circles in Montevideo, arguing that the Sakharoffs’ “queer” trajectory resonated with the Uruguayan artistic community, influencing the creation …

Music Reviews, Volume 75, No. 5, Kathleen Roland-Silverstein

Voice - All Scholarship

Contains reviews of Tre Lir- iche Infantili, per canto e piano- forte; Quattro favole romanesche di Tri- lussa (Four Fables from Rome by Trilussa), per canto e pianoforte, op. 38. ; L’arte vocalizzo, parte III; Midnight Sun: Collected Songs from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, volumes 2 and 3.

Moving To The Beat: The Role Of Movement On The Perception Of Musical Expressivity, Molly Evans

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect body movement would have on listeners’ (N = 7) perceptions of the musical expressivity of different conducting patterns. An audio/video recording of a conductor from the University of Southern Mississippi was used for the stimulus, and listeners were asked to rate each video recording on perceived expressiveness, congruency between movement and music, and participant’s willingness to play under each conducting style. While the video portion of the stimulus changed to reflect two different conducting styles (beat centric – traditional movements that adhere to notated meter, non-beat centric – non-traditional movements …

They Never Stopped Rockin': A Brief History Of The Chitlin' Circuit, Mississippi, And Their Effects On America's Music, Warren Beebe

Honors Theses

This work focuses on the development of one of America's first musical tour routes: the Chitlin' Circuit. While its name may sound strange, the Chitlin' Circuit was responsible for the development of numerous distinct musical genres throughout the United States, such as blues and rock and roll in the twentieth century. Southern roadhouses, dive bars, and juke joints proudly showcased performers that gained initial fame touring with old medicine shows. As these artists gained recognition for their new musical stylings and elaborate showmanship, the owners of these local nightspots began to exchange contact information to better capitalize on these highly …

Effect Of Consistent Singing On Maintenance Of Speech Intelligibility Following Lsvt®: A Retrospective Longitudinal Case Study, Rachel Ricca Beck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s Disease is a common neurodegenerative disease affecting one’s ability to hone and refine volitional movement. Many with Parkinson’s report significant effects on voice and communication. Speech-language pathologists have long targeted the achievement of increased vocal volume through intensive voice therapy, with the most common program being Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® (LSVT®) (Ramig et al., 1994). While LSVT® is the most prominent type of voice therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s, other researchers have begun investigating therapeutic singing because of the similar functions it employs (e.g., increased breath support, utilization of entire vocal range).

The current project is a retrospective, longitudinal …

Abandoning Abuse: Acknowledging Adoption In The 21 Century, Deborah Elizabeth Ellis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inspiration for this set of pieces arose from a friendship with fellow grad student Morgen Cavanah. Morgen and I were both adopted as children, and it this common background that gave rise to these pieces. The poems chosen were written by Morgen about individuals or events in her life. Though I had planned to set 9 of the original 12 poems, this set is comprised of my four favorites. Each piece uses repetitive piano motives that underlie the melodic lines of the voice, flute, and cello. This choice explores harmonic and melodic possibilities that expand minimal accompaniment. Much of …

Amalgam., Tim Clay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the Internet, the word “amalgam” can mean one of two things. It can refer to either “an alloy of mercury with another metal, especially one used for dental fillings” or “a mixture or blend.” While using a musical work as dental filling is an interesting idea, this work falls under the latter definition. This amalgam consists of elements evoking rock, metal, hiphop, pop, Mozart, and a little bit of Bach. Other influences may have leaked into the piece, but this listing contains the items that were at the front of my mind during the composition process. During my …

Examining The Fears, Benefits, And Applications Of Teaching Improvisation In General Music, Krystle Boyd

Theses

This project focused on identifying and resolving fears associated with teaching improvisation in the general music classroom. The primary focus was on music educators and providing them with reassurance, reasoning, and plans on how to begin the process of teaching improvisation and follow through so that it is a well-developed initiative that will be built upon and utilized for years to come. This project demonstrated plans for an entire year of 5th grade general music instruction and provided a curriculum map, lesson plans, rubrics, and a manual of explanation for the lessons and activities.

The Development Of A Standards Based Grading Assessment Plan In The Sixth Grade Choral Classroom, Olivia Mae Howard

Theses

This project focuses on the best assessment methods for standards-based grading in the sixth grade choral classroom. In the middle school choral world, resources are limited in the area of standards-based grading in the sixth grade choral classroom. This project was created to study and focus on how the new national standards connect with assessments methods utilized by choral music educators for sixth grade and then to connect these methods to standards-based grading. The aim of the project was to create the best assessment methods to be utilized with the new national music standards in the sixth grade choral music …

Newcomer English Language Learners In High School Choral Music Education: An Ethnographic Case Study, Lisa Ann Serna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This five month long ethnographic case study seeks to add to the limited literature on Newcomers enrolled in choir (Carlow, 2006), by understanding the role a focused choral music education plays in their ability to listen, speak, read, and write in the English language. The study also seeks to contribute to the literature connecting language learning and choral music education. The purpose of the study was to understand Newcomer English language learnersâ?? (NELs) experiences of practice and performance in high school choir, as it relates to language learning and social belonging. Cultural Historical Activity Theory framed my study which allowed …

A Stylistic And Compositional Analysis Of Ciranda Das Sete Notas By Heitor Villa-Lobos, Paulo H. Siqueira

Theses and Dissertations

Heitor Villa-Lobos created his idiosyncratic Brazilian style in Ciranda das Sete Notas by using Bach’s compositional numbered alphabet idea. The intention is to help musicians, and more specifically bassoonists, have a clearer understanding of the construction of Villa-Lobos’s Ciranda das Sete Notas by providing context for the composer’s choices and compositional process. The central argument focuses on the interrelationship between the compositional intention and post-composition analyses with regard to Brazilian stylistic foundations. Beyond this process, with a nod to Bach`s numerical approach, the errors found on the only printed version in 1961 have been leading bassoonists to misguided performances, resulting …

Illuminating Unsung Americans Sung As A Musical Staple Within American Culture, Richard Leon Hodges

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The book Unsung Americans Sung was first published in 1944 by the Handy Brothers Publishing Company. With over 30 contributors and edited by William C. Handy, this book explores the great abolitionists of the eighteenth century and the climate of Negro culture during that moment in time. The book includes poetry, illustrations, children’s songs, choral works, scenes from major works, and art songs. Handy was not only offering his opinion of the Negro of the time, but he was creating a book that would add these freedom fighters and generational torchbearers into the archives of every American. Sadly, this glimpse …

Florence B. Price's Compositional Style To Song Settings Of Paul Laurence Dunbar's Dialect Poetry: A Performance Guide, Daniel Joseph Hunter Jr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Florence B. Price (1887-1953) was an African-American composer from Little Rock, Arkansas. Ms. Price, who was a mixed-race female, was able to achieve unprecedented success during her lifetime. Price, a composer of instrumental, orchestral, and vocal music,

acknowledged the challenges of being a woman of color, trying to break into a world dominated by white men. Through her perseverance, she found success in 1933 when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed her Symphony in E Minor, making her the first African-American woman to have a work performed by a major orchestra in the United States. Marian Anderson, William Grant Still and …

George Gershwin's Concerto In F: A Wind Orchestra Transcription With Historical Context And Transcription Techniques, Andrew Smouse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This document discusses the transcription process of creating a wind orchestra transcription of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Following a brief biography of George Gershwin and historical context of the work, the transcription methodology and precise instrument substitution are provided. The resulting transcription adds a new Gershwin work to the wind band repertoire.

Focusing on three key principles, (1) maintaining the original key, expressive, and technical markings; (2) preserving the original instrumental parts of the orchestral score; and (3) continuing to use the consort and soloistic styles of composition, the document describes the transcription methodology through specific examples. These examples …

"What Is An Mc If He Can't Rap?", Dominique Jimmerson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The goal of this paper is to tell about the history of hip-hop and the many lyricists who have come throughout the years and help the genre advance. The paper starts with the foundation of hip-hop and how the genre set itself apart from disco to become its own genre. It ranges from the late 70’s and ends in the mid 2000’s and describes how the landscape of rap is constantly changing and so are the lyricists who come out. Throughout the paper there will be examples of the lyrics and used and what made them revolutionary at the time. …

When Fingers Meet Strings, Kara Joy Gibson

Masters Theses

There is a great need for a current and comprehensive curriculum for young harp students. Most of the available instruction books and volumes are over half a century old, and while they have held up in some ways to the test of time, in many others they have fallen short. When Fingers Meet Strings is a fully comprehensive harp method book, meaning it can be used as a stand-alone curriculum for harp pedagogy.

Mozart's "Mezzos": A Comparative Study Between Castrato And Female Roles In Mozart's Operas, Erin Gonzalez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scholarly work on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s singers has focused particularly on the soprano voice. There is a general neglect of attention on the low female voice—or what we would commonly call the “mezzo-soprano”—in his operas. As a mezzo-soprano and singer of Mozart repertoire (both female and travesti roles), I find it imperative that a comparative study of Mozart’s compositional treatment between both the castrato and mezzo-soprano voice be created to better understand Mozart’s style and intent for composition for these voice types.

This document is geared toward singers and teachers alike and will examine select arias of the castrato and …

Music, Dance, And Tourism In Los Cabos, Mexico, Melanie E. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

For a thriving music and dance scene to flourish in tourist destinations, certain factors for performers must be present including economic stability, a baseline level of patronage, resilience to seasonal tourist fluctuations, and adaptation to demographic changes over time. In the Los Cabos arts community, local aesthetics are transformed and embodied by work of performers whose activities are multicultural and multilingual. Over the past fifty years, Los Cabos was transformed from a sleepy fishing village into a major international destination. The island-inspired arts scene includes live performances featuring cultural representations from other lands besides Mexico. Grounded in the humanities, I …

North Of Ourselves: Identity And Place In Jim Wayne Miller’S Poetry, Micah Mccrotty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Jim Wayne Miller’s poetry examines how human history and topography join to create place. His work often incorporates images of land and ecology; it deliberately questions the delineation between place and self. This thesis explores how Miller presents images of water to describe the relationship between inhabitants and their location, both with the positive image of the spring and the negative image of the flood. Additionally, this thesis examines how the Brier, Miller’s most prominent persona character, grieves his separation from home and ultimately finds healing and reunification of the self through his return to the hills. In his poetry, …