Digital Commons Network^™

Secular Formations Of Sacred Music: Schleiermacher, Romanticism, And Devotional Media In Germany, Desmond Sheehan

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Theologians and musicologists alike have often disregarded the material and technical facets of devotional scenes such as the one meticulously described in Schleiermacher’s Christmas Eve Celebration: A Dialogue (1806). More recent musicologists have highlighted more concealed technologies that helped to facilitate Romantic aesthetic experiences – a form of methodological unmasking that at once denies and reclaims a Schillerian notion of disenchantment. This essay argues that both types of studies perpetuate secularization narratives that displace a Christian religiosity into public artforms and social practices in Romanticism, and secular modernity by extension. As a proposed alternative, a media history of sacred music …

The Vagina Dentata: A Case For Unlocking Mouths, Loosing Hips, And Spreading The Gospel Of Healing Women's Sexual Performance Anxiety, Alisha Lola Jones

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article explores how vagina dentata folklore—stories and imagery about a mythical "toothed vagina"—connects to the ways Black religious communities often cultivate silence around women’s sexual lives, particularly within the “Worth the Wait” and Word of Faith movements. Ignited by womanist religious ethnographer Monique Moultrie’s scholarship on sexual silence in these movement, I take seriously the musicological chasm by exploring how these ministries influence Black women’s sexual agency and moral decision-making through inequitable theological procedures and discourses. The vagina dentata metaphor emerges as a symbol of constrained appetites—respiratory (larynx), digestive (intestine, anus), and reproductive (uterus, vagina)—reflecting broader sociocultural and religious …

Indigenous Metal: Rage, Rejects, And The Reconstruction Of Culture, Louis W. Asbury

Master's Theses

Metal music’s latest frontier is Indigenous metal, combining explorations of Indigenous identity with the heavy and aggressive stylings of the music genre. To explore this new subgenre, this study asks to what extent can metal music be used as a political tool and what are some of the broader effects of metal bands working to better their communities. This thesis utilizes case studies of two notable Indigenous metal scenes, the Rez metal scene in the Navajo Nation and the Māori metal scene in Aotearoa. By collecting data from these scenes, including lyrics, videos, interviews, and audience interactions, this thesis thoroughly …

Brazilian Instrumental Music, U.S. Jazz, And Transnationalism: A Study Of National Identity In The Twentieth Century And Present, Felipe Guz Tinoco

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation considers the relationship between Brazilian instrumental music, U.S. jazz, and Brazilian national identity from the early twentieth century to the present. Though the time frame is broad, the present work uses nationalism as an anchoring point through which I analyze multiple musical genres. Previous works have primarily examined songs and lyrics, particularly during the military dictatorship (1964-85), when words against the regime were censored and songwriters persecuted. However, listeners and musicians of instrumental music also engaged with discourses of national identity in profound terms before, during, and after this period, posing ideals of Brasilidade against cultural productions abroad, …

Has K-Pop Lost Its Koreaness?, Madison J. Gusler

Capstones

Since the 2010s, the global expansion of K-pop has been undeniable, with music from Korean idol groups resonating with fans around the world. We’ve seen the industry adapt to cater to this global audience, placing emphasis on non-verbal aspects of performance such as choreography and set design, and integrating more English lyrics in their songs. K-pop has always had multinational, multicultural influences in its production, yet the music has remained distinctly Korean. But as the industry expands into new markets, faces new challenges, and adapts to convey greater global appeal, the public must contend with the idea of a K-pop …

Book Review: Mayalogue: An Interactionist Theory Of Indigenous Cultures, Arcia Tecun

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Mayalogue: An Interactionist Theory of Indigenous Cultures by Victor Montejo

Albany: State University of New York Press, 2021. 248 pp

Arcia Tecun analyzes and interacts with Montejo’s discussions and logics, resulting in a postcolonial indigenous conversation between reviewer and book author.

Resurrecting The Muse: Kithara And Lyric Poetry Performance Practice In Greco-Roman Antiquity, Abigail Petersen

Honors Projects

Both students and pedagogues of classical studies are familiar with the inherent musicality of Greek and Latin poetry, and they also widely accept the idea that poets sang their works to accompaniment on a kithara, or large lyre. However, little work has been done to perform works of poetry according to this tradition, and thus many modern attempts at oral recitation feature a forced and pedantic rhythm that bores the listener and fails to do justice to the revered art of Greco-Roman poetry. Through a review of primary and secondary sources, I examine the construction of the kithara, the context …

Methods In Environmental Studies, Erika Dunagan, Maya Mendoza, Posey Graber, Alex Cullins, Emma Mcginnis, Ally Nepomuceno, Isabella Buchan

Featured Student Work

This publication is a collection of undergraduate research conducted in the Methods in Environmental Studies course at the University of San Francisco in Fall 2024. The student-led projects explore the intersections of place, policy, ecology, and cultural identity through applied environmental research methodologies. Topics include a decolonial examination of the Forest Park Mound Group and Indigenous resilience in St. Louis; a comparative study of Navajo cosmology and ecological justice; a social and environmental impact assessment of Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan; a psychogeographical analysis of Golden Gate Park and its impact on the psyche, emotions, behaviour, and health of urban …

How Is Music History Important And How Can Music History Be Included Into Our Regular Music Curriculum?, Abby Michalak

Honors Projects

From a music education major's perspective, music history is rarely taught in high school and middle schools today. Music history can teach so much to students, including context, style, and even why pieces were written. Through this paper, we explore why music history is an important topic to be taught in schools and how music programs across the country can include it into their curriculums through smaller sized lesson plans. This paper includes a sample curriculum that goes through the different period of music and a unit for "spotlights" for countries that are rarely represented in high school and middle …

Music For The Holidays: December 7, 2024, M. Christopher Shepard, John Koch, Julia Stowell

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts

December 7, 2024

Saturday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Manifest Destiny, A Repeat Of History: Scoring Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Emilie Montoure

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In this paper I will examine Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining through the lens of Manifest Destiny. Using this angle, I discuss how protagonist Jack Torrance takes on the role of a settler as he cares for the Overlook Hotel and becomes verbally abusive and controlling to his wife and son. I use the disconcerting, avant-garde scores of Twentieth Century modernist composers Béla Bartók, György Ligeti, and Krzysztof Penderecki to analyze how this story of westward expansion is conveyed. This chilling soundscape involving extreme dissonance, complex rhythms, layering of sounds, and unconventional techniques scores Jack’s psychological descent into murderous …

Composition Studies At The Us-Mexico Border, José Luis Cano

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This essay discusses the conflict a compositionist from the US-Mexico border encounters in teaching composition amidst migration. Through autohistoriando, the author shares his experiences inside and outside of the composition course at this border to analyze and respond to this conflict.

University Band: November 20, 2024, Mack Wood, Christopher Bulding, Colby Powers, Jospeh Buczko, Ben Haushalter

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts

November 20, 2024

Wednesday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Civic Chorale Fall Concert: November 17, 2024, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall

November 17, 2024

Sunday Evening

7:00 p.m.

High School Orchestra Teachers Of The United States And Their Music Literature Programming Pedagogical Effectiveness, James Herbert Bailey Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The nature of student-interest genre effectiveness is an ongoing debate in music education due to popular music’s appeal to students. This study involving teachers from the United States high school orchestra programs aims to determine the frequency of implementation and the teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the effectiveness of the programming and lessons in the orchestra classroom. In this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study conducted with high school orchestra teachers in the United States, data was collected from eight orchestra teachers’ programs, and perspectives were acquired and analyzed to identify commonalities and differences between teachers in various counties. The teachers’ programming …

Teaching The Grateful Dead, Happenings, & Spontaneous Pedagogy, Ryan Slesinger

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

To teach a course on the Grateful Dead I developed a praxis I call “spontaneous pedagogy” that pairs academic rigor with flexible curriculum details to enable creativity and engagement among students in a truly studentcentered classroom. The pairing of spontaneous pedagogy with the Grateful Dead course worked well because the subject emphasizes improvisation, which initially inspired and—during the course—paralleled my praxis. I had developed this praxis previously, implementing it each semester from 2007 to2010 for one Composition II unit on definitional arguments entitled, “The Nature of Reality.” Students were asked to define what they consider as real and apply that …

Constraining The (Im)Possible: Improvisation And Violence In Rafi Zabor’S The Bear Comes Home, Hannah Ianniello

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper will explore the role of jazz improvisation in the characterization of the protagonist in Rafi Zabor’s 1998 jazz novel, The Bear Comes Home. I suggest that Zabor represents the process of improvisation to not only enhance the enigma of The Bear’s ability as a jazz musician, but also to enhance his capacity towards violence.

Through the exploration of the actual process of improvisation in the research of Paul Berliner, Ingrid Monson and Alyn Shipton, Improvisation in a real jazz context is collaborative and exploratory. However, Zabor, like many other authors (such as Michael Ondaatje, James Baldwin and …

A Content Analysis Of Graduate Degrees In Music Education In Nasm Accredited Institutions, Karen Koner

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to examine graduate degree programs in music education in NASM accredited institutions with the specific areas of degree and institution information, admissions, and curricula. For this content analysis, I collected data through the websites of NASM accredited institutions that offered graduate degrees in music education, including master’s degrees (N = 203) and doctoral degrees (n = 53). The institution and degree information for these graduate degree programs included types of degrees offered, format of degrees (e.g., summers only, distance learning), location where the programs were located, and Carnegie Classifications (American Council on Education, 2023). …

Treble Choir With Guests In Concert: October 13, 2024, Lara Reem, Cristian Larios, Daniel Provis

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts

October 13, 2024

Sunday Afternoon

6:00 p.m.

Mozart's Requiem: October 13, 2024, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts

October 13, 2024

Sunday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Jewish Worship, Music, And Technology During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jeffrey A. Summit

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This article examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Jewish worship and considers a range of worshippers’ reactions to livestreamed and Zoom prayer services. Focusing on the Jewish Emergent Network, innovative communities who are known for cultivating vibrant, participatory music in worship, leaders discuss the challenges of not being able to sing together online, the Jewish legal ramifications of using technology on the Sabbath and the on-going changes they believe could occur as virtual worship returns to in-person prayer. These leaders also discuss surprisingly positive developments in online prayer, as congregants deepened interpersonal relationships in discussion breakout rooms, discovered …

Sacred Recitation Of The Tibetan Yungdrung Bön Tradition: The Kharnatsang Collection Of Skad And The Arrangement Of The Three Heart Mantras, Christiane Strothmann

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

The digital age has long dawned in many of the Tibetan Monasteries in exile. Thus, the inclusion of internet platforms and the usage of digital communication technologies was naturally part of my ethnomusicological collaboration with the Tibetan Bön monastic chant leader and scholar Geshé Dawa Namgyal Kharnatsang on the sacred recitation of the Yungdrung Bön tradition of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. In this article I will offer insights into Kharnatsang’s and my motivation to develop a hybrid collaboration and discuss the role and impact of the digital technologies on the traditional chain of transmission. I will draw on two …

The Online Cathedral: A Case Study Analysis Of Egalitarian Music Outreach At Liverpool Cathedral For Mental Health And Spiritual Wellbeing During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Simone Krüger Bridge

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Liverpool Cathedral holds a special place in the story of English Cathedral music, notably because of the recent role played by choral music for outreach engagement and community participation. This article undertakes an in-depth case study investigation of Liverpool Cathedral’s music outreach portfolio, which moved online during the Covid-19 pandemic and was delivered variously via pre-recorded podcasts, zoom, and hybrid means, while examining its impact on mental health and spiritual wellbeing amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The primary emphasis is placed on the participation in online music activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the strategies employed for …

The Voice Of Azerbaijan: Experiencing Recordings Of Hajibaba Huseynov And Post-Soviet Muslim Musical Identities, Polina Dessiatnitchenko

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Singer and poet Hajibaba Huseynov (1919–1993), revered by some as the “voice of Azerbaijan” is one of the most popular stars featured in recordings of classical devotional ghazal poetry. Curiously enough, video or audio recordings of his recitations seem to be especially moving, often becoming the focal point for audiences of musicians and poets at public live performances, private meetings, lessons, and virtual contexts. While fans of the ghazal genre are found at every turn, I limit my analysis to the subculture of poets, musicians, experts, and especially ardent fans of traditional Azerbaijani arts. Relying on ethnographic data gathered in …

Coltrane’S A Love Supreme: Mediations Of Immediacy In Jazz Ritual And Recitation, James R. W. Crockford

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This paper explores the ritualized performance ethic of John Coltrane’s later career, which is charged with a determined exploration of freedom and spiritual ascendance through participative and gestural immediacy. Conceiving of this music as a spiritual and political tool for embodied transformation, this paper traces this ethic at play in Coltrane’s iconic 1965 album A Love Supreme, identifying ways the work effects a mediation of immediacy. Through focus on the album’s closing “Psalm” recitation, its parallels in Coltrane’s other works, and their analogue in traditions of ecstatic liturgical and political oratory, this paper demonstrates the consistent priority Coltrane gives …

Symphonic Band And Symphonic Winds: October 3, 2024, Tj Mack, Colby Powers, Dr. Mack Wood, Dr. Useon Choi

School of Music Programs

Center for the Performing Arts

Thursday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Written History And Lived Legacy Of Cape Town Jazz, Grace E. Runner

South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

This paper examines the historical and current implications of Cape Town Jazz in juxtaposition with the genre's written history and lived experiences of four key members of the jazz community. Drawing from the interviews with a musician, promoter, educator, and enthusiast, this study explores the influence of Cape Jazz as a subgenre rooted in the Coloured community's cultural heritage and the apartheid struggle. While Cape Jazz remains practiced through its legacy, the current jazz scene in Cape Town reflects a broader global influence that is evolving through younger musicians' interpretations of local and global musics. Key areas of issue as …

Hyo-Shin Na's Chamber Works, 'From Korea To America- 120 Years And Beyond' And 'Song Of The Fog': A Stylistic Analysis And Performance Guide, Jiyeon Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes two chamber music works by Korean composer Hyo-shin Na, Song of the Fog and From Korea to America, focusing on how the fusion of Eastern and Western instruments contributes to musical expression and timbral characteristics. It includes an examination of the role of instrumental arrangement and reveals the composer's narrative and emotional intentions. The aim is to present an insight into Hyo-shin Na’s ensemble style.

Song of the Fog uses the Japanese koto with Western chamber instruments to depict the imagery of the accompanying poetry through changes in timbre, dynamic contrasts, and various performance techniques. Despite …

Wind Symphony: September 29, 2024, Anthony C. Marinello Iii, Christopher Bulding

School of Music Programs

Center for Performing Arts

September 29, 2024

Sunday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Experiences Of South Carolina Middle School Music Directors Teaching Multicultural Music In Performance Classes: A Multiple Case Study, Helen Bryan Terlizzi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to discover the experiences of middle school music directors in providing multicultural music performance experiences for students in South Carolina. The theory guiding this study was Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as it allowed for the examination of tools used for teaching and learning. A qualitative multiple case study design allowed for the collection of data from four purposefully selected middle schools in South Carolina. The study sought to answer the central research question: How do music educators describe their experiences in teaching multicultural music in music performance classes? The focus of the research …