Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Counterpoint (1992–2003): The Piano Music Of Ed Bland, Joseph Vaz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes the piano music of Ed Bland, a politically and philosophically vocal composer active in the second half of the twentieth century, whose music draws on both the European and American twentieth-century avant-garde, and on African American vernacular music genres from ragtime to hip-hop. A review of the historical and personal context for these pieces, and a detailed examination of the compositional processes used in this music, work together to demonstrate how Bland thought about the relationship between different musical genres and languages.

Through this combination of theory of musical genre, historical and biographical study, and detailed analysis …

Paragliding The Cliff Edge: Introducing Open Mic Studies. A Creative Response To Navigating The Post-18 Landscape For Young Adults With Send., James Tarling, Charlie Robinson, Nick Hall, Sammy Shepherd

Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal

This conceptual article investigates novel ways of thinking about Open Mic Nights (OMN) – performance spaces understood as free, community arts and performance opportunities where the members of the public are welcome to perform music, poetry and comedy in front of an audience. For the purposes of this article, music-related OMN that take place in pubs or community centres are discussed.

The article is intended to be a primer for OMN studies that offers new and emerging trailheads for future research and discussion. Its central focus is how OMN may benefit the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) community with …

Remixing Dialogue: A Case Study On Perceptions Of Hip Hop Pedagogy In A Professional Learning Course, Kelly J. Thelen

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This qualitative case study examines how teachers’ decision-making and professional autonomy shift while participating in a Hip Hop Pedagogy Professional Learning course supported by structured FIXIT (Lo & Wachter, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d; Wachter & Lo, 2024) game-facilitated dialogue in a rural, culturally and linguistically diverse Midwest community. Grounded in Freire’s (1970) Critical Pedagogy, Ladson-Billings’ (1995) Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris and Alim, 2017), and Adult Learning Theory (Knowles et al., 2005), the study explores the reclamation of agency by teachers in a time of constrained creativity and educator autonomy shaped by strict policy environments, an emphasis on …

Singing As Liberation: Spiritual Imagination And An Embodied Practice Of Hope Through Spirituals And Songs Of The Uhadi, Matisse Geselle

University Honors Theses

An exploration of the spirituality and the sacredness of music—and especially singing—through recording my own interpretations of spirituals and songs of the uHadi. It is also a poetic inquiry into how imagery of the river is used in spirituals as a pathway to freedom and liberation, and how the singing of spirituals is hope embodied. And it is a reflection of how my experience of the uHadi and my friends of the Ibuyambo ensemble changed me. The process of working on this project also feels like I am connecting to myself—and others—more deeply through singing. And ultimately, I hope for …

Developing Vocal Technique Through The Canción Ranchera In The Middle School Mariachi Classroom, Perry Chacon Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mariachi is taught in more than 500 public school programs across the United States, yet current scholarship on the mariachi voice primarily focuses on defining and analyzing performance practice, offering limited guidance for classroom instruction. This study provides a methodology for developing healthy vocal technique in the middle school mariachi classroom. Grounded in established vocal pedagogy and informed by teaching practice, this approach first builds student confidence through participation in group vocal exploration that encourages active vocal participation. Instruction progresses from foundational skill development, including aural skills, breath coordination, and healthy vocal projection, to the application of these skills through …

The Piano Music Of Orlando Fagnani And Its Connections To The Choro Tradition, Norman J. Charette

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study explores the life, piano works, and compositional style of Orlando Fagnani (1922–1977) as it fits into the choro tradition. By situating his compositions within their historical context, providing biographical insights, investigating stylistic features, and analyzing one of his piano works, Mini Prelúdio No. 1, this document highlights Fagnani’s contribution to Brazilian music and places him not only among significant composers of choro, but also among the leading Brazilian composers of the twentieth century. The fortunate timing of his birth in the same year as the Week of Modern Art contributed to a deeper connection with Brazil’s …

Amor, Art, And Advocacy: Un Conversación With Chicanx Mother, Grammy Award Artivist, Macarthur Fellow, And Scripps Professor Martha Gonzalez, Belén S. Yudess

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This Spotlight features a conversation with Professor Martha Gonzalez, a Chicana artivista (artist/activist) musician, feminist music theorist, and Associate Professor and Chair of the Intercollegiate Department of Chicana/o Latina/o Studies (CLS) at Scripps/Claremont College. The conversation draws from Prof. Gonzalez’s background as a Chicana, and the  Chicanxs, Mexicanxs, Latinxs, and Indigenous communities in Mexico and Los Angeles that have shaped her work. She shares her practice in teaching and engaging with collective songwriting, her critique of western paradigms, and explorations of boundary crossing that music facilitates as part of championing the hope and flourishing that comes from within communities and …

Spring Concert: Treble And Concert Choir; April 26, 2026, Mark Grizzard, Andrew Bruhn

School of Music Programs

This is the two hundred and second program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

April 26, 2026

Sunday Evening

6:00 p.m.

Isu Wind Symphony And Metea Valley High School Korean Percussion Ensemble: April 22, 2026, Anthony C. Marinello Iii, Madison Mueller-Howell, Useon Choi, Nicole Schimdt, Kyle Gilles, Jordan Yi

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and eighty-seventh program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the performing Arts

April 22, 2026

Wednesday Evening

7:00 p.m.

Illinois Valley Central High School Wind Ensemble And Symphonic Band: April 21, 2026, Matthew Chapman, Lauren N. Bobarsky, Colby Powers

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and eighty-fourth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

April 21, 2026

Tuesday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Isu Philharmonia String Orchestra: April 20, 2026, Samuel Chen, Jayce Milburn, Julia Stowell

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and eighty-first program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

April 20, 2026

Monday Evening

7:00 p.m.

Powwow Sound: The Differences Between Northern And Southen Style Music, Alison P. Walker

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The purpose of this study was to observe the music performed at Powwows and the differences of the sound according to region.

I examined the changes based on region that made the style of music performed different.

We're All Ramblers, Here: American National Identity As Articulated Through The Sounds And Stories Of Bluegrass Music, Greyson M. Sherman

Senior Theses

This creative thesis argues that bluegrass music, through its multicultural origins and its central "Rambler" archetype, articulates a distinctly American negotiation between freedom and rootedness — one that extends far beyond the genre's narrow popular image. Drawing on musicological scholarship and cultural history, the paper first recovers bluegrass's suppressed origins in the convergence of West African, Anglo- Celtic, and broader European traditions, complicating narratives that position the genre as exclusively white and Appalachian. It then introduces the Rambler — the restless, longing figure who haunts bluegrass lyrically and structurally — as both a product of that history and a metaphorical …

Transcribing Shakuhachi Honkyoku For Bassoon: Notation, Orality, And Perfomance Practice, Adrian Fonseca Tellez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project consists of transcriptions of two pieces from the shakuhachi honkyoku (“original pieces”) repertoire, Kumoi Jishi (Cloud Lion) and Sanya Sugagaki (Three Valleys), with the aim of extending the bassoon’s repertoire outside of the Western canon while exploring the capabilities of the bassoon to emulate the performance practices of the shakuhachi, which include both extended techniques found in current bassoon literature as well as techniques unique to shakuhachi performance. Included in the written document is a brief overview of the shakuhachi and its applications in traditional Japanese music, a description of honkyoku and its characteristics, and the Japanese concept …

The Way Of The Moderns: Six Perspectives On Modernism In Music, Edited By Antoni Pizà, Rob Haskins

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Contributors To Issue 7

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Ronit Seter, Ralph P. Locke

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

Richard Taruskin—the single most prominent and influential musicologist of the past half-century—died on July 1, 2022 at age 77. This Colloquy consists of extended versions of papers presented on July 2, 2023, at the annual meeting of the Israeli Musicological Society, and additional essays by scholars who knew Taruskin personally. The essays engage in critical reflections on his personality, ethics, teaching philosophy, methodologies, and massive and skillful literary output. Moreover, they illuminate developments in musicology over the past fifty years, from its positivistic roots and its focus on Western canonical works to challenges from ethnomusicological practices, feminist theory, and anti-racism/colonialism.

Expanding Access To Latin American Art Song: A Study Of Theodoro Valcárcel's Andean-Influenced Art Songs, Douglas E. Perez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

EXPANDING ACCESS TO LATIN AMERICAN ART SONG: A STUDY OF THEODORO VALCÁRCEL’S ANDEAN-INFLUENCED ART SONGS advocates for the exploration and performance of underrepresented Latin American composers. Multiple methods of increasing access are discussed, including the creation of a central source for IPA, literal, and poetic translations of Latin American art songs; the study of seldom-performed composers, their output, and influences; and the application of these elements through informed performance. This document centers on the Peruvian composer Theodoro Valcárcel and analyzes the intersection of his indigenous heritage with his Latin American and European musical training as reflected in his compositional style …

The 2025-26 Neumann Lecture On Music: Gurminder Bhogal, Speaker, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.

Chicago Brass Band And Symphonic Winds: March 20, 2026, Dr. Mark Taylor, Dr. F. Mack Wood, Dr. Damon S. Talley, Madison Mueller-Howell

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and twenty-first program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the performing Arts

March 20, 2026

Friday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Isu Symphony Orchestra: March 1, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and thirteenth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

March 1, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Isu Philharmonia String Orchestra: Samuel Chen, Director; February 25, 2026, Samuel Chen, Jayce Milburn

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and seventh program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

February 25, 2026

Wednesday Evening

7:30 p.m.

Winter Concert: Treble Choir, Concert Choir And Stevenson Highschool Patriot Singers; February 22, 2026, Mark Grizzard, Andrew Bruhn, Roland Hatcher, Kirstin Snelton

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and fourth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

February 22, 2026

Sunday Evening

6:00 p.m.

Voices Of Sorrow And Strength: University Glee, Belle Voix And Stevenson High School Advanced Choir; February 22, 2026, Tim Fredstrom, Andrew Bruhn, Roland Hatcher, Kirstin Snelten

School of Music Programs

This is the one hundred and third program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

February 22, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Symphonic Winds: Dr. F. Mack Wood, Conductor: Fevruary 13, 2026, Dr. F. Mack Wood, Colby Powers

School of Music Programs

This is the ninety-sixth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the performing Arts

February 13, 2026

Friday Evening

8:00 p.m.

More Than A Man: An Ethnomusicological Survey Of The Folklore Of John Henry And Resource Guide For “More Than A Man” By Shanyse Strickland, Clayton R. Heath

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

“John Henry” exists as an enduring folk legend in the United States of America, representing the confluence of the Reconstruction Era, the economic utility of Appalachia and the Westward expansion of industry which left it behind. Though based on historical events, Henry’s fictional representation has diverted and evolved in music and other media from its inception in the oral tradition to the modern age. Through this progression, shared symbols have circulated, gathering embedded meanings and associating the folklore with specific communities. Henry’s representational identity has been signaled with the creation and distribution of each version of his story, both complicating …

Cantate Fratres: Forming And Sustaining Traditional Catholic Music, Liturgy And Culture In The Institute Of Christ The King Sovereign Priest, Reyers P. Brusoe

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is an understudied member of the Traditional Catholic and Latin Mass Communities whose unique approach to Catholic liturgy, culture, and formation offers a sustainable model for the Catholic Church's longevity and renewal. This study is the first of its kind, combining the theoretical positions of affect theory, ecomusicology/musical sustainability, and the musicology of religion to explore and explain the success of this growing classical community. This dissertation examines Church documents, theological literature, and multidisciplinary academic sources as a foundation for the study.             In studying the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, …

Formation-Based Analysis In Contemporary Saxophone Practice: A Case Study Of Ziwei Shi's The Blue Lotus Bloms, Jiageng Ren

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines contemporary saxophone repertoire through a formation-based analytical approach, using Ziwei Shi’s The Blue Lotus Blooms as a case study. It is organized into three parts. Part I establishes the conceptual and methodological framework by introducing the concept of “formation-based analysis,” positioning the “condition of musical formation” as its core. Further situating the study within scholarship on practice-based research, cross-cultural theory, and modernism/postmodernism. Part II provides a detailed analytical and performance-based investigation of the work, including the collaborative commissioning process, the application of Thaat as a pitch resource, the role of extended techniques and embodied endurance, and contrasting …

Isu Philharmonia String Orchestra: November 17, 2025, Samuel Chen

School of Music Programs

This is the seventy-third program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

November 17, 2025

Monday Evening

8:00 p.m.

Isu Jazz Ensemble I And Ii: Lewis, Conductor And Williams, Conductor; November 14, 2025, Dr. Reginald Lewis, Noah Berkshier, Glenn Williams

School of Music Programs

This is the fifty-fourth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

November 14, 2025

Friday Evening

7:00 p.m.