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The Romanian Church Musician: Biblical Foundations For Training Musicians To Serve The Romanian Evangelical Church, Gary Mathena

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Emanuel University of Oradea, Romania, was founded in 1986 as an underground training school for pastors and missionaries during the brutal regime of communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. In December of 1989, Ceaușescu’s government was overthrown. The new democratic government not only officially recognized the school (then the Baptist Biblical Institute) as a theological seminary, but also commissioned the institution to train teachers for the newly emerging, publicly funded religious schools being established across the country. The school accepted that mandate and in 1998 changed its name to Emanuel University of Oradea. The music program began in those early days for …

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 …

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 …

A Study Of Acculturation In Chinese-Mongolian Er’Rentai Folk Opera, Luyin Shao

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Er’rentai, or Mongolian dance and song duets, is a genre of folk opera in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Er’rentai performances can be categorized into two styles—the “western-style” and the “eastern-style.” The aim of this thesis is to explore the acculturation in Chinese-Mongolian er’rentai genre in the following ways. First, I address the historical background of the western-style er’rentai. Then, I draw on fieldwork with Huo Banzhu, a famous er’rentai musician, to introduce contemporary state of er’rentai's development. Finally, I employ musical analysis to demonstrate the borrowings of Mongolian music and culture in the formation and transmission …

Harvest Festival By Yann-Jong Hwang: A Piano Duet Inspired By Taiwanese Folk Tunes, Wei-Sian Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The purpose of this study is to provide an introduction and analysis of Harvest Festival, a work for piano four hands by Taiwanese composer Yann-Jong Hwang. This work incorporates elements of traditional Taiwanese music that is largely unfamiliar to performers and listeners beyond the border of Taiwan.

With the exception of Professor Hwang’s own journal article on this piece, this project is the only study of Harvest Festival available in the United States or Taiwan. This research will be meaningful to both performers and piano teachers as an encouragement to include Yann-Jong Hwang’s work within their concert repertory.

This …

Soundboard Scholar No. 2 (Complete)

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

War Of The Worlds: Music And Cosmological Battles In The Balinese Cremation Procession, Michael B. Bakan

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Abstract

This article explores processional action as a form of cosmological intervention in Hindu-Balinese cremation processions, focusing on the multiple and intersecting functions of a particular type of Balinese instrumental music ensemble: the gamelan beleganjur. It explores the alternately “enlivening and protective aspects” (DeVale 1990, 62) that underlie the use of beleganjur music in the ngaben, or cremation ritual, showing how beleganjur’s sonic power and rhythmic drive serve to combat malevolent spirit beings, strengthen and inspire processional participants in their efforts to meet challenging ritual obligations, and grant courage to the souls of deceased individuals embarking on their …

A Comparative History And The Importance Of Chamber Music, Aaron M. Sacks

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone presentation focuses on the role of chamber music in both social and academic contexts. Using examples from the past five centuries and including local examples, parallels and divergences are drawn to points of most import. The spotlight is upon three areas: a) what the role of chamber music was in the past, compared to today; b) why it is an important genre, to both musicians, as well as non-musicians, and c) in what ways more exposure to the form can be built. Much of the focus is on composers and their influence, but the impact of and upon …

Music-Play And Communication In Children With Autism And Their Families: An Ethnographic Study, Melanie Makovsky

Masters Theses

This is an ethnographic research study regarding the nature of commun-, ication, musical behavior, emotional expression, and social relationships in children with autism. Four children completed the study by participating in at least three private music-play sessions attended by the child, his or her mother, and the researcher. All music-play sessions were person-centered and child-led. A local public elementary school hosted the music-play sessions in the music classroom after school hours. In addition, the school supplied all the musical instruments used in the study. The researcher utilized the SCERTS Model assessment tool to examine each child’s abilities in socio-musical communication …

The Gĩkũyũ Mũtũrĩrũ: Preserving A Piece Of Kenya's Agrarian Past Through Flute Music, Jennifer Larue

Masters Theses

The Agĩkũyũ people of Kenya are one of the largest people groups in Kenya. However, systematic repression of Gĩkũyũ culture led to many traditional elements being forgotten, put aside, if not lost completely. The mũtũrĩrũ, a bark flute used when herding and in certain ritual dances, was one such element. The mũtũrĩrũ was initially a temporary instrument, which evolved into more permanent bamboo versions. These may have between two and six finger holes. Another version, called a "spider web mũtũrĩrũ" has no finger holes but has a paper membrane over one end to create a buzzing timbre effect. Research was …

Missa Yielu: Music In The Dagara Mass, Karin Rau

Masters Theses

This paper explores the music of Dagara Masses in Ghana. The Dagara people are defined and described according to the geography of their land and linguistic dialects spoken in the region. A discussion of cultural indicators highlights traditional occupations, family structure, and social practices. Dagara musical practices are outlined by function and include descriptions of instruments and how they are played. Examination of indigenous religious beliefs describe the behaviors, values, and symbols that permeate Dagara life. A summary of the Dagara's encounter with Christianity sets the scene for present-day celebrations of the Mass. Through observation and interview, research was conducted …

Graverobber, Individualized Chorus: The Greek Chorus Reinterpreted In Repo! The Genetic Opera, Grace Markulin

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

The rock opera film Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) provides its audience with details regarding the film’s setting and perspectives on the morality of the film’s plot through the character Graverobber, whose sung dialogue expresses this information. Graverobber’s penchant for scene-setting and moralizing within the film classifies the character as a Greek chorus according to the parameters of the Greek chorus in antiquity and modern interpretations of the chorus in twentieth-century musical theater, but the character’s visual distinctiveness, preexisting relationship with an established character, and prominent use of solo vocal lines throughout his sung dialogue demonstrates a degree of individuation …

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …

Henry Worrall (1825–1902): Anglo-American Guitarist, Robert Ferguson

Soundboard Scholar

Anglo-American guitarist Henry Worrall appeared on the American scene just as the guitar reached a plateau of popularity. As vital as the guitar itself, the prevailing social, philosophical, and aesthetic tenets of Worrall's era also wove a unifying thread through his life, career, and oeuvre. His immersion in both the graphic and musical arts; his straddling of vernacular and high culture; his connection to nature and especially agriculture; his nationalist and regionalist sympathies; and his fondness for folk, popular, and heroic musical themes all drew from and evinced a Romantic worldview. Here, Ferguson discusses Worrall's professional life.

Jazz And Puerto Rican Traditional Music: A New Generation Of Musical Exploration, Pedro Lavezzari

Masters Theses

Many musical styles around the world have been born from struggle and search for cultural identity. The same idea applies to Jazz and the Afro-Caribbean music created within the African diaspora and influenced by Latin and European styles in the United States. More recently, the meaning of diaspora has been used to refer to a group of people and some aspects of their culture (Rivera 2010, 104). For older and newer generations of Puerto Rican musicians two traditions have intersected to create a modern form of expression that reaffirms Puerto Rico’s musical creativity and contemporary tendency. In 1989 Warren Pinckney …

A Jamaican Voice: The Choral Music Of Noel Dexter, Desmond A. Moulton

Dissertations

As we approach the twenty-first century, the world generally is moving away from the dominance of the European aesthetic towards a world music that owes much to the musical resources of the African-American tradition. Jamaica’s social and philosophical music belong mainly to that tradition, which includes the use of rhythms, and timbral and melodic resources that exist independently of harmony. Already in this century, Jamaicans have created two totally new music - Nyabinghi, which performs a philosophical function and Reggae, which performs a social function. The choral music of Noel Dexter is important because it is uniquely Jamaican/Caribbean in its …

“Ab-Soul’S Outro,” “Hiiipower,” And The Vernacular: Kendrick Lamar’S Rap As Literature, Tyler S. Bunzey

Senior Honors Theses

Kendrick Lamar’s “Ab-Soul’s Outro” and “HiiiPower” employ complex patterns of Signifyin(g), testifyin’, and other classical African-American literary tropes in order to construct a nuanced style. Lamar creates a double-voiced text not only within his narrative, but also within the form itself. Lamar plays on rap's unique status in African-American literature as an oral text; it is an extension of the vernacular. Through this oral text, Lamar decentralizes the Eurocentric focus of classical interpretation and qualification of literature to a new Afrocentric perspective that privileges the oral text. These raps are complex, wrapped up in their current context along with a …

Deconstructing Chaos: The Role Of Pitch Hierarchy In Music Perception, Gabrielle Stetz

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

During the early twentieth century, art music composers pushed Western tonality to the limits and eventually abandoned tonality altogether, creating a system that treated every pitch equally. This atonal system broke down all keys and harmonic progressions that are cornerstones of Western musical pitch hierarchy. Through an extensive review of current literature, this research aims to show that the concept of hierarchy, present in tonal but not atonal music, is central to music perception. This presentation will explore the role hierarchy in music perception through several means: examining the physical nature of sound on a mathematical basis, determining innate structures …

Songs By Hsiao Tyzen: The Interaction Between His Music And Taiwan, Pei-Ning Ku

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this document is to understand Taiwanese composer Hsiao Tyzen's artistic persona through analysis of the textual and musical characteristics of his songs. This document is comprised of: 1) an historical overview of Taiwan, 2) a history of Taiwanese vocal music, 3) a description of Hsiao Tyzen's life and career, 4) an introduction to Taiwanese diction, 5) an examination and analysis of musical components (melody, rhythm, accompaniment and form) of four of Tyzen's songs, and 6) a conclusion based upon sociological factors, historical influences and musical devices to define what constitutes the stylistic characteristics of the songs of …

Syntagma Musicum Ii: De Organographia, Parts Iii – V With Index, Michael Praetorius, Quentin Faulkner Trans. & Ed.

Zea E-Books Collection

Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) achieved distinction as a practicing musician: as organist and Kapellmeister at Wolfenbüttel, Dresden and Magdeburg, and (in his later years) by incessant travel to fulfill commissions at various central German courts. Amid his travels Praetorius found time to publish an impressive series of collections of musical compositions, in all more than a thousand works. Praetorius’s three-volume Syntagma musicum (Musical Encyclopedia) belongs to the last years of his life. Volume I, Musicae artis analecta (1614/15, in Latin), treats principles and practices of religious music, from a decidedly Lutheran perspective. Volume II, De organographia (1619, in German) deals with …

Kevin Volans' She Who Sleeps Witha Small Blanket: An Examination Of The Intentions, Reactions, Musical Influences, And Idiomatic Implications, Peter D. Breithaupt

Masters Theses

Using and expanding upon a theoretical model for examining the meaning of music presented by ethnomusicologist Timothy Taylor, one of the leading scholars on composer Kevin Volans and his music, this research will attempt to properly position Volans' percussion solo, She Who Sleeps witha Small Blanket, composed in 1985, within Volans' African Paraphrase classification. It will also attempt to dissociate She Who Sleeps from the claims of hegemonic cultural appropriation that are attached to Volans' African Paraphrase pieces. In his model, Taylor talks about the "inseparable metatext" that surrounds a piece of music and includes the composer's intentions, the listener's …

The Contributions Of Axel Jørgensen To The Solo Trombone Repertoire Of Denmark In The Twentieth Century, Andrew H. Converse

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

Axel Jørgensen is one of a few Danish composers who has contributed compositions to the solo trombone repertoire that gained an international and lasting reputation in the twentieth century. Jørgensen, like many Danish composers from the first part of the twentieth century, is often overlooked due to the imposing figure of Carl Nielsen. Jørgensen’s compositions, while not overly patriotic, give the trombonist a sense of the Danish Nationalistic Romantic style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Jørgensen was one of the first composers to write for the emerging slide trombone idiom in Denmark at the beginning of the …

Red Detachment Of Women And The Enterprise Of Making ‘Model’ Music During The Chinese Cultural Revolution, Clare Sher Ling Eng

Faculty Scholarship

Artworks produced with official sanction during periods marked by turmoil and human suffering are challenging subjects for scholars who would like to discuss them in a fair and responsible manner. If they aestheticize the works’ form and political affiliation, how would they be doing justice to these works whose creation and content are so meshed with the politics of their time? On the other hand, can an approach that takes ideology into account be developed that does not appear to ignore, condone or support the odious acts of violence associated with those periods? This article explores the latter question with …

Volume 21, Various Authors

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

George Alan Russell: Jazz's First Theorist, Robert E. Moore

Trotter Review

In 1953 George Alan Russell published The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. By virtue of this work Russell carved out a unique niche for himself in the history of jazz, his opus representing the first theoretical work to come out of the jazz tradition. The purpose of this paper is to define his place in jazz history and to offer a biographical sketch off jazz’s first and most important theorist. My points of departure will be references made to Russell in two widely read works—Gunther Schuller’s Early Jazz and Wilfrid Meliers’ Music in a New Found Land. …

Volume 1, Various Authors

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Tones And Intervals Of Hindu Classical Music, Donald A. Lentz

University Studies (University of Nebraska) (1888–1984)

ART IS ALL ENDURING and limitless, and defies positive, unvariable classification. No attempt is being made in this book to compare artistic, subjective or emotional factors. Only the objective elements, techniques and procedures of music that are tangible and definite are being compared and classified. Western music, having reached a plateau under the present harmonic system, is projecting into new channels for textural inspiration. Composers have exploited the present system, using existing intervals in every conceivable manner under existing tonal and atonal theories. Devices such as smaller intervals (example: tempered quarter tones), electronic combinations, aleatonic principles, etc. are being dealt …

Volume 75, Number 05 (May-June 1957), Guy Mccoy

The Etude Magazine: 1883-1957

Josef Hofmann, 1876-1957

Igor Stravinsky, Approaching his 75th Birthday, is Truly a Colossus of Modern Music

Music in the High School Gym

Good Vocal Habits (interview with Renata Tebaldi)

What Power Professional Criticism

Thalberg's Erard: A Discovery

An Intriguing Account of the Various Operational Details Requiring Careful Attention . . . Behind the Opera Curtain

Books on American Music: A Selected Bibliography

Music in the Schools

Choral Potential From the Baroque Era

Music to Link Mankind: The Story of the Formation of an Important Body Having to Do with International Relations

Volume 75, Number 04 (April 1957), Guy Mccoy

The Etude Magazine: 1883-1957

Folk Music and Art Music

Playing with Orchestra (interview with Alec Templeton)

Community Solves its Music Crisis: The Inspiring Story of The Bronx Symphony

Orchestra Genius Lies in the Individual

Miniature Opera from Salzburg

Kostelanetz on Conducting, Conductors and Batons

Drama in Song: A Discussion of the Importance of Clear Enunciation on the Part of Singers

A Glimpse of the Inner Workings of One of the Largest Summer Music Camps is Gained from These Day to Day Entries . . . From the Music Camp Office

Henry Cowell—Musician and Citizen, Part 3

Richard Rodgers on Current Trends in Popular Music

Volume 75, Number 03 (March 1957), Guy Mccoy

The Etude Magazine: 1883-1957

Hail and Farewell to The Grand Old Man of Music Confusion

Confounded: An Objective Explanation of Some Frequently Perplexing Musical Terms

Singing Must be Natural (interview with Victoria de los Angeles)

Music's Part in Social Integration

Mariachis of Mexico

Henry Cowell—Musician and Citizen, Part 2

Music in the Schools High School Symphony Orchestra . . . How It Is Made

New Studio