Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Columnas: The Honors Program Newsletter At Bentley University, Amanda Li, Wilson Jan, Michael Raphael, Alexandra Rieckehoff, Karina Wu, Michael Shehata, Nilufar Noorian, Eloise Weintraub

Honors Program

INSIDE THE MODERN WORLD

Page 2: Stepping Out by Amanda Li

Page 3: Inside the Corporate Slop Bowl by Wilson Jan

Page 4: The Silencing: An Evaluation of the Global Attacks on the Right to Protest by Michael Raphael

THE SOUND OF CHANGE

Page 5: The Social, Cultural, and Economic Impact of Bad Bunny by Alexandra Rieckehoff

Page 6: Streaming Changed Music, But Is It Fair to Artists? by Karina Wu

Page 7: Feeling the Music: How Haptic Wearables Are Changing the Way We Experience Sound by Michael Shehata

SHIFTING SYSTEMS

Page 8: The Story Behind Davos, One of the …

The Effects Of Low Stimulating Music Vs. High Stimulating Music On Visual And Auditory Reflexes In Young Adults, Monabelle Elbayeh, Vania Galindo, Ria Modi, Gianna Montelongo

Posters - 2026

This study investigates the effects of high-stimulating versus low-stimulating music exposure on human reflexes, specifically examining how different levels of auditory stimulation influence reaction time. Music is known to impact cognitive and motor performance, but its direct effect on reflex responses remains less understood. In this experiment, participants are exposed to high-stimulating music and low-stimulating music in separate trials, with reflexes measured before and after each condition using visual and auditory tests in the LabScribe program. It is hypothesized that after listening to high-stimulating music for five minutes, individuals will demonstrate shorter reaction times compared to after listening to low-stimulating …

Life Experiences To Lyrics: What Mental Health Looks Like In Music, Ashley Salinas, Ashley De La Fuente

Posters - 2026

● Music conveys human emotion and mental states, often reflecting societal struggles such as depression and anxiety. Lyrics often shape how listeners experience these emotions, influencing mood, identity formation, and emotional processing in young adults (Gustavson, 2021; Chen, 2023). ● Depression, characterized by persistent sadness, loss of interest, and withdrawal is frequently expressed in music through explicit descriptions or metaphorical language (Shriram, 2015). Whereas, anxiety involves excessive worry, restlessness, and hypervigilance, is less studied yet similarly present in music (Kim, 2023). ● Previous studies have highlighted that pop lyrics often emphasize relational uncertainty, country songs depict fear of loss, and …

Resonant Cracks In The Music Curriculum: Integrating Social And Emotional Learning In The Secondary Music Classroom, Margaret E. Lerch

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Music education has long been recognized as a subject that encourages student learning beyond the walls of the music classroom. While elementary music programs often foster language development and social awareness, secondary music instruction tends to emphasize performance skills and technical development. The explicit secondary orchestra curriculum for this middle school includes only instrument skill-development standards and learning-target descriptions. In this fourth-marking-period sixth-grade orchestra class, coursework—including students’ journal reflections, classroom dialogue, and comparison soundscape projects—operated intentionally “within the cracks” of the formal curriculum to create opportunities for the students to express and engage with emotions, identity, belonging, empathy, perspective-taking, and …

Junior Recital: Hunter Kitterlin, Clarinet; April 1, 2026, Hunter Kitterlin, Momoko Gresham

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

April 1, 2026

Wednesday Evening

6:00 p.m.

Rock On! Examining The Relationship Between Armed Conflict And Rock Protest Music, Dylan Conner Dunn

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between rock protest music and wars, armed conflicts, and other related events. The purpose of this research is to explore how such specific events, or war and conflict in general, influence rock songwriters. This paper examines a series of nine rock songs ranging across five decades, from the Vietnam War to the 2010s. A variety of artists wrote and recorded these songs, ranging from hard rock to classic rock, to folk rock and beyond. Some are more audially intense, lyrically visceral, and featuring explicit language, whereas others are much more stripped-back and “family-friendly.” Each of …

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 …

Msh 115 - World Music Writing Intensive, Margaret Farrell

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus guided our exploration of music around the globe. In this writing intensive section, music served as a means to internalize information through writing as well as inspiration for developing a clear and persuasive writing style. Our investigations included consideration the forms of the music as well as their cultural and historical contexts.

William: The Musical, Tyler C. Green

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

William: The Musical is the story of my parents’ struggle, and unfathomable loss while trying to start a family. The work follows the couple through their commitment to start a family together, through a devastating miscarriage, and up to the birth of my older brother, William. The work is still in progress, but is currently structured as a song-cycle including five songs in the style of contemporary musical theater. William: The Musical explores themes of loss and resilience, bringing to light the disturbingly common experience of miscarriage. While the creative goal aims to allow audiences to reflect and mourn their …

Piano Studio Recital: March 31, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 31, 2026

Tuesday Evening

7:30 p.m.

Saxophone Studio Recital: March 30, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

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

March 30, 2026

Monday Evening

7:30 p.m.

A Place To Perform: Designing Spaces For Student Artists Through Event Planning, Ava R. Jacobsen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis examines the creation of accessible performance spaces for student artists not enrolled in formal music programs. To address this gap, two First Friday events were hosted at The Gathering Grove in Lincoln, Nebraska, providing platforms for local student performers and engaging the community in live art experiences. The first event, an open mic night, highlighted the challenges of spontaneous performances, while the second, featuring designated performers, tested more structured event planning strategies.

Both events emphasized the importance of marketing, venue layout, audience engagement, and operational organization. Key lessons included the need for contingency planning, multi-channel promotion, and clearly …

Artificial Intelligence And Music Creativity: The Human Element And An Exploration Of Possibilities, Benjamin J. Guerrero, Raffaella Borasi, David Miller, Blaire Koerner, Zenon Borys, Yu Jung Han, Rachel Roberts

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely recognized as a potential game-changer for music-making. However, the direction of these changes and the extent of their impact on the music field will depend on how musicians use AI, which partly hinges on their perceptions of AI and their willingness to engage with it. Debates are ongoing about AI’s impact on creative fields, and we anticipate that musicians’ views on these matters will significantly influence their readiness to incorporate AI into their work. We interviewed 43 participants who use technology in various roles across different music genres to gain insight into their experiences with …

Recital Celebrating Women In Music- Program Notes: March 29, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

Program Notes

March 29, 2026

Popper Day Celebration! Hosted By The Isu Cello Studio And Dr. Cora Swenson Lee; March 29, 2026, Dr. Cora Swenson Lee, Bianca D'Avila Do Prado

School of Music Programs

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

Center for the Performing Arts

March 29, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

2:30 p.m.

2025-2026 Sheila Browne And Sheng-Yuan Kuan In Recital: Pare And Precious Gems, Sheila Browne, Sheng Yuan Kuan

Faculty Recitals

No abstract provided.

Mid-Century Modern: American Songs From 1945-1965. Thomas Meglioranza, Baritone; Reiko Uchida, Piano, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.

Celebrating Women In Music By Sigma Alpha Iota: March 29, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 29, 2026

Sunday Evening

6:00 p.m.

Senior Recital: Bennett Lammers, Horn; March 29, 2026, Bennett Lammers, Lu Witzig

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 29, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

3:00 p.m.

Senior Recital: Kyle Gilles, Horn; March 28, 2026, Kyle Gilles

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 28, 2026

Saturday Evening

5:30 p.m.

Senior Recital: Cadence Rice, Piano, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.

2025-2026 Master Of Music Recital - Michael Shipps (French Horn), Michael Shipps, Rebeca Sierra

Master of Music Recitals

No abstract provided.

Graduate Recital: Yuzhuo Wang, Mezzo-Soprano; March 27, 2026, Yuzhuo Wang, Dennis Gotkowski

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 27, 2026

Friday Evening

6:00 p.m.

2025-2026 Senior Recital - Devin Salazar (Horn), Devin Salazar, Sheng Yuan Kuan

Junior and Senior Recitals

No abstract provided.

2025-2026 Master Of Music Recital - Joseph Muhl (French Horn), Joseph Muhl, Nabil Hetman

Master of Music Recitals

No abstract provided.

A Standard Notation System For Beatbox And Vocal Percussion, Andrew W. Bass

LSU Master's Theses

Every instrument in the cannon has a standard notation system. Even percussion, with its hundreds of instruments, has a system of notation that can be understood. With that being said, Beatbox/ vocal percussion does not have a standardized notation for its music. As a beatboxer myself, when I perform, I often have to either create my own part to perform or I have to listen to a recording of a previous performance of a piece. In the rare occasion when there is sheet music, it is often not clear. Pentatonix is currently the premier A Capella group and when I …

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 …

Teaching And Performing Ginastera: A Stylistic And Pedagogical Exploration Of Ginastera’S Pampeana No. 1, Paula Toral Navarro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines Alberto Ginastera’s Pampeana No. 1 for violin and piano through both stylistic performance and pedagogy approach. The research has two primary objectives: (1) to propose a performance perspective that draws on traditional Argentine musical idioms alongside Western classical practice, and (2) to create a pedagogical guide that supports the development of the technical and stylistic skills required for the work, including a sequence of preparatory pieces. The written document provides an overview of Ginastera’s life, including cultural and political context and an examination of his compositional style within his nationalist period. It also examines selected elements of …

Performance Forum - March 27, 2026, Dj Combs, Sheng Yuan Kuan, Jon Cruz, Leah Flynn, Seha Ok, Lillian Platte, Ethan Sanchez

Performance Forum

No abstract provided.

Senior Recital: Joe Brackmann, Cello; March 27, 2026, Joe Brackmann, Momoko Gresham

School of Music Programs

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

Kemp Recital Hall

March 27, 2026

Friday Evening

7:30 p.m.