Music Commons^™

A Survey Of The Sacred Choral–Orchestral Works Of Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869–1941), Martin C. Cook

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

In the closing years of the 19th Century, when Charles Villiers Stanford, Hubert Parry and Edward Elgar were at the height of their fame and influence in British musical society Henry Walford Davies emerged as one of the most promising talents of the day, receiving commissions from the provincial music festivals of Great Britain, which were a rite of passage for emerging composers.

Between 1904 and 1929 Davies produced eleven sacred choral-orchestral works for these festivals and one further work, which were received favorably in their day but are now almost forgotten. There are five large multi movement works: The …

Identifying Barriers And Incentives Related To Attending The Performing Arts: An Examination Of First Year College Students, Laura J. Sweet

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Young adults entering their first year of academic study beyond high school face seemingly limitless opportunities. For the first time, they’re on their own: deciding everything from when to eat to where to study and what to do in their free time. Campuses are rich with possibilities. From official student organizations and clubs, to impromptu pizza parties and dorm floor trivia contests, daily decisions create the experiences that shape the life to come. On many large campuses, alongside academic buildings are art galleries and performance spaces. Research shows that early exposures to the arts lead to increased engagement during student …

Musica Mechanica Organoedi • Musical Mechanics For The Organist, Jacob Adlung, Johann Lorenz Albrecht, Johann Friedrich Agricola, Quentin Faulkner

Zea E-Books Collection

This is the first English translation of Musica mechanica organoedi, originally published in Berlin in 1768. Its author Jacob Adlung (1699-1762) was a musician and scholar and organist at the Predigerkirche in Erfurt.

The Musica mechanica organoedi focuses primarily on the organ, from the perspective of the information an organist might need to know about the instrument; specifically, it encompasses the following:

• an evaluation, from an 18th-century perspective, of earlier works on its subject: Praetorius, Werkmeister, Mattheson, Niedt, Kircher and others

• an appreciation of the organ: its value and regard

• the history of the organ

• …

An Evaluation Of Compositions For Wind Band According To Specific Criteria Of Serious Artistic Merit: A Second Update, Clifford Towner

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

This study is an update to the 1978 thesis of Acton Eric Ostling, Jr. and the 1993 replication study by Jay Warren Gilbert. These two studies explore a process for evaluating specific compositions, from a selected list, against a set of ten criteria defining serious artistic merit. This study reevaluates those compositions that met the criteria in the previous studies, as well as those compositions that were within ten points of meeting the criteria in the previous studies. Additional compositions, especially those composed since 1993, are also included.

The study utilizes eight procedures for accomplishing its objective, including defining the …

Cognitive Processes For Infering Tonic, Steven J. Kaup

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

Research concerning cognitive processes for tonic inference is diverse involving approaches from several different perspectives. Outwardly, the ability to infer tonic seems fundamentally simple; yet it cannot be attributed to any single cognitive process, but is multi-faceted, engaging complex elements of the brain. This study will examine past research concerning tonic inference in light of current findings. First I will survey the recent history of experimental research in cognitive functions for memory retention and expectation as they relate to the recognition and learning of musical schemas. Then I will discuss distributional theories associated with the tonal hierarchy of major and …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

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

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

The Contribution Of Twentieth Century African American Composers To The Solo Trumpet Repertoire: A Discussion And Analysis Of Selected Works By: Ulysses S. Kay, Adolphus C. Hailstork, Regina Harris Baiocchi, And Charles Lloyd, Jr., Orrin M. Wilson

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

While there has been a constant growth in the academic study of African American composers who have written concert and recital music, their contributions to the solo trumpet repertoire has received far less attention. Many African American composers’ works stretch far beyond the realm of spirituals, Negro folk songs, choral works, jazz, and popular music. The composers in this document are noteworthy because they represent just a few of the various African American musicians who have composed works for the solo trumpet. Each composer’s work represents cultural and historical trends intended to counter negative perceptions of Black culture. These composers …

A Study Of K–12 Music Educators' Attitudes Toward Technology-Assisted Assessment Tools, Lance D. Nielsen

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

The purpose of this study was to examine K-12 music educators’ attitudes regarding the use of technology in the assessment of music learning. There is a considerable range of musical behaviors with different levels of complexity that can be assessed (Boyle & Radocy, 1987). A variety of software and web-based assessment tools are available for music educators. However, it is unclear how many teachers are taking advantage of incorporating these technological assessment tools into their instructional practice. This study provided current data about the demographics of teachers using technology to assess musical growth and the variables that might motivate a …

High Water Mark: Suite For Jazz Octet, David Von Kampen

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

High Water Mark is a five-movement suite for jazz octet, inspired by the poetry of David Shumate, from his collection of the same name.  The piece is scored for trumpet (doubling flugelhorn), alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trombone, male vocalist (without words), piano, bass, and drums.  Although this instrumentation would generally be considered a small jazz group (as opposed to a big band), the piece is written in the spirit of a larger ensemble. The essence of small-group jazz is spontaneous creativity, interaction and improvisation.  Although improvised solos appear in every movement of this piece, it is better considered as a …

Helen: An Opera In One Act, Garrett Hope

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

Helen is a one-act opera that tells the story of a woman whose husband would later betray her trust and love. It begins with her debut as an eligible young woman and ends with the husband’s demise. Through the course of the story it becomes apparent that her husband is both verbally and physically abusive as well as unfaithful to her. In the end her situation is redeemed through his death because his bacchanalian behavior resulted in his fatal sickness.

The opera is a retelling of a portion of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, which was adapted …

Randall Thompson's Requiem: A Text Setting Analysis And Recommendations For Performance, Zachary J. Vreeman

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

Randall Thompson is a well-known composer of some of the most familiar and accessible American choral music of the twentieth century. His conservative harmonic language and idiomatic writing for voices has made many of his works popular with both amateur and academic choirs. They are particularly admired for their sensitive setting of English text.

In 1958, Thompson wrote a large work titled Requiem, inspired by a young terminally-ill choral conductor, and commissioned by the University of California. Though positively reviewed, it received only a handful of performances, and is little known today outside of a few extracted movements. The …

Healthy Performance Practice For Male Barbershop Singers, Jacob K. Bartlett

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

Barbershop singing is a hobby enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of men and women across the world. We attend conventions, shows, competitions, and educational outreach programs each year at our own expense to preserve a style we truly love.

Most singers of the style are amateur musicians. This constitutes somewhat of a challenge when we consider the need for healthy singing in light of certain assumptions about the vocal technique required of the barbershop style. Most do their best to make a healthy sound but end up doing more harm than good to their own voices after a lengthy rehearsal. …

A Comparison Of Viola Strings With Harmonic Frequency Analysis, Jonathan Paul Crosmer

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

Many brands of viola strings are available today. Different materials used result in varying timbres. This study compares 12 popular brands of strings. Each set of strings was tested and recorded on four violas. We allowed two weeks after installation for each string set to settle, and we were careful to control as many factors as possible in the recording process. The recordings include individual note samples of 8 seconds each and performances of the prelude from the first Bach cello suite. For this study, we recorded 576 note samples and 24 performances of the Bach prelude. Spectrum analysis of …

The Wdr Big Band: A Brief History, Gabriela A. Richmond

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

The years following World War II brought new broadcasting stations to a divided Germany, government regulated radio stations in the East and state regulated stations in the West. Radio broadcasts were a significant cultural source for the Germans in times of reconstruction. Broadcasting stations played much of the familiar Tanz- und Unterhaltungsmusik, reminiscent of earlier times of happiness and prosperity. However, with changes in a new generation’s musical tastes the demand for swing bands declined. Radio stations began to rework their in-house “dance bands” into “jazz bands.” The West Deutscher Rundfunk (WDR), and other broadcast stations, employed jazz musicians …

Understanding Professional Growth Opportunities Utilized By Nebraska Music Educators, Phillip K. Hesterman

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

The purpose of this study was to examine kinds of professional growth activities employed by music teachers in Nebraska schools.

A survey was administered to Nebraska K-12 music educators (N = 1,144), with 456 responding. Data gathered related to respondents’ past professional growth participation, projected involvement, opinions and preferences, and information concerning perceived barriers.

A review of literature focused on factors related to professional growth. This review provided insights into professional growth practiced by music educators. Literature reviewed reflected perspectives on meaning of professional growth for educators.

Findings yielded insight into the state of professional development among Nebraska music …

Possibilities For Tuba Quartet/Ensemble And Percussion, Anthony J. Burnham

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

Possibilities for Tuba Quartet/Ensemble and Percussion is an exploration of the possibilities and potential that such an ensemble contains. The piece is set in sevencontrasting movements, each of which highlight, showcase, and challenge different members of the ensemble. Knowing that music for such a group is limited in quantity and scope, this piece has been written to fill a void in the repertoire for both the low brass and percussion families while allowing them an opportunity to collaborate on a level rarely seen. This piece presents a very unique and fun experience for performers and listeners alike.

Beginning Conducting Curricula: Building Course Objectives Upon The Foundations Of Aural Image And Natural Body Movement, Tobin E. Stewart

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

Beginning conducting textbooks are structured so as to privilege the mastery of generic conducting gestures over the foundations of developing an aural image through score study which in turn stimulates effective and natural body movement. Rather than deriving motion from an aural image, students are expected to show proficiency with generic gestures applied to score markings. In learning these gestures, students not only struggle to develop coordination and effective movement, but they also fail to recognize inorganic and unhealthy movement habits and how these influence performers.

Rather than structuring a course around generic techniques, this document proposes to start with …

David Maslanka's Desert Roads, Four Songs For Clarinet And Wind Ensemble: An Analysis And Performer's Guide, Joshua R. Mietz

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

Known primarily as a composer for the wind band, few American composers have received the notoriety and widespread acclaim that David Maslanka has since 1970. His works for wind ensemble are now considered standard repertoire and are played frequently by high school, college-level, and professional ensembles alike. Additionally, his works for chamber groups and soloists have continued to gain in popularity.  As of the writing of this document, Maslanka has composed concertos for saxophone, euphonium, flute, marimba, trombone, and piano.  Early in 2005, he completed his first large-scale work for solo clarinet with wind ensemble accompaniment:  Desert Roads.  Desert …

Tango From A Historical And Social Perspective: A Performer’S Supplement To The Tango Fake Book By Mark Wyman, Sarah L. Cosano

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

Argentine tango, which originated around 1890, has spanned just over a century in its development and evolution. During this time, tango music has been integrated into many genres. Despite this popularity, there is only a small body of research that discusses performance technique, history, and musical lineage. This thesis is a supplement to The Tango Fake Book, a book of lead sheets published by Mark Wyman in 2006. Five tango works from the text were chosen, each representing a different period of tango history. These works are: “El Choclo” (“The Ear of Corn”), “La Cumparsita” (“The Little Parade”), “Por una …

England [Medieval Music], Peter M. Lefferts

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

English musical life in the Middle Ages is often treated in standard textbook surveys as peripheral to that of France and Italy. This approach has several causes, but is rooted especially in musicology's preoccupation over the past 150 years of scholarship with medieval France. Noteworthy also in this negligence is the pairing of France and Italy late in the era in the emergence of polyphonic refrain songs as the chief new artefacts of secular high music culture in the 1300s, an attractive trend with no contemporary English-language counterpart. Musicology's paradigmatic narrative of English entrance onto the international stage, through its …

Compositional Trajectories [Medieval Music], Peter M. Lefferts

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

Here, to illuminate a small set of issues in respect to style and compositional practice, we will approach the medieval composer via specific repertory, namely, some sacred chants and some two-voice polyphony.

A persistent conviction of many relative newcomers to medieval music is that all chant sounds the same - melodically vague, un differentiable, hypnotic and slightly 'New Age' - and that it is governed by a universal, monolithic, standard medieval 'theory of the modes'. Neither of these points is true, but one needs to gain a broad familiarity with some very large bodies of melodies, and the histories of …

The Structure And Genesis Of Copland's Quiet City, Stanley V. Kleppinger

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

Aaron Copland’s Quiet City (1940), a one-movement work for trumpet, cor anglais, and strings, derives from incidental music the composer wrote for an unsuccessful and now forgotten Irwin Shaw play. This essay explores in detail the pitch structure of the concert work, suggesting dramatic parallels between the music and Shaw’s play.

The opening of the piece hinges on an anhemitonic pentatonic collection, which becomes the source of significant pitch centres for the whole composition, in that the most prominent pitch classes of each section, when taken together, replicate the collection governing the music’s first and last bars. Both this principle …

Reconsidering Pitch Centricity, Stanley V. Kleppinger

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

Analysts commonly describe the musical focus upon a particular pitch class above centricity. But this seemingly simple concept is complicated by a range of factors. can be understood variously as a compositional feature, a perceptual effect arising from or listening strategies, or some complex combination thereof. Second, the relation the theoretical construct of tonality (in any of its myriad conceptions) is often not consistently theorized. Finally, various musical contexts manifest or evoke pitch centricity in seemingly and to differing degrees. This essay examines a range of compositions by Ligeti, Carter, and others to arrive at a more nuanced perspective of …

Three Works For Flute By Ian Clarke: An Analysis And Performance Guide, Shelly L. Monier

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

British flutist Ian Clarke is currently recognized as one of the leading flutist/composers of today. His compositions have been performed at national conventions and used in competitions hosted by the British Flute Society and the National Flute Association and have been included in the Peters Edition reference of the Edexcel GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) Anthology of Music as a music example of extended instrumental techniques. Many of his works, while heavily influenced by popular music, explore unconventional sounds, using inventive avant-garde flute techniques and notations that are unfamiliar to many flutists. Since there has been little scholarly research …

A Metrical Analysis And Rebarring Of Paul Creston's Sonata For Alto Saxophone And Piano, Op. 19, Christopher Kyle Sweitzer

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

The Sonata For Alto Saxophone and Piano Op. 19 is one of the most popular pieces in the saxophone literature, commonly played by professional saxophonists during their training. It features exciting rhythmic devices like irregular and mixed meter, the notation of which is the main focus of this paper. Although Creston often used irregular and mixed meter in his compositions, he rarely specifically notated them, choosing instead to use accents, beams, slurs, and other phenomenal cues at the musical surface to create the effect of these metric plans. Time signatures often remained constant throughout entire movements. Creston believed this would …

Innovation And Tradition In Lisan Wang’S Piano Suite Other Hill, Rongjie Xu

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

Lisan Wang is one of the most celebrated musical figures in China. His five-movement piano suite Other Hill (1980) is the composer’s response to the “New Wave”, a compositional trend generated in China after the 1977 Cultural Revolution. Gaining fame as a piano composition for showing the application of multiculturalism and syncretism to music, Other Hill is regarded as a prime example of cross-cultural piano composition in China. Wang challenges Chinese traditional piano composition with different artistic media—philosophy, calligraphy, poems, and various folk elements in Other Hill. This document proposes an interdisciplinary study of Lisan Wang’s musical fusion of …

A Stylistic Analysis Of Three Flute Pieces By David Froom: Circling For Flute And Clarinet, To Dance To The Whistling Wind For Solo Flute, And Lightscapes For Flute And Piano, Candice Behrmann

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

American composer David Froom has worked with groups such as the New York New Music Ensemble and the 21st Century Consort. His music has been performed extensively, and he continues to receive commissions from individuals throughout the United States. He is best known for his piano sonata (1980) and his chamber concerto (1991); his flute music is relatively unknown.

This study focuses on three of Froom‘s flute works: Circling (2002), To Dance to the Whistling Wind (1993), and Lightscapes (2006). It provides an analysis of each work and examines Froom‘s use of motivic and intervallic relationships in each movement. Scores …

Revealing Robert Owens: A Study Of Compositional Style And Performance Practice In The Song Cycle Heart On The Wall, Jamie M. Reimer

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

The songs of ROBERT OWENS (b. 1925) constitute a relatively unknown body of twentieth century American music. Born in Denison, Texas, and raised in Berkeley, California, Owens has written the majority of his vocal music since moving to Munich, Germany in 1958. His work appears in anthologies of songs of African American composers, but has not yet been widely recorded or performed. The material presented in this article results from interviews conducted by the author during a residency and subsequent performances with Mr. Owens in 2007.

Owens's songs reflect two major artistic influences in his life: live theater (he is …

The Flute Music Of Paul Desenne: A Comparative Analytical Study Of Representative Works, Javier A. Montilla

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

The significance of the works by Venezuelan-born composer Paul Desenne lies in his unique compositional style that incorporates elements of Latin American folk, pop, and traditional music within the framework of the Western European tradition. His works, though easily classified as art music, nevertheless gain much of their emotional and referential meaning through this rich borrowing.

This document focuses on three of Desenne’s flute pieces: the Solo Flute Sonata (2001), Gurrufío for flute orchestra (1997), and Guasa Macabra for flute and clarinet (2003). It provides an analysis of the three works, examining formal, structural, motivic, and rhythmic aspects. Scores and …

Takemitsu And The Influence Of "Cage Shock": Transforming The Japanese Ideology Into Music, Mikiko Sakamoto

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

At the turn of the twentieth century, Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was regarded both domestically and internationally as a representative Japanese composer. He used elements of Japanese culture– music, gardens, and philosophy – in his music. Ironically, Takemitsu‟s interest in Japanese music and culture was the result of an encounter with American composer John Cage (1912-1992). In turn, Cage‟s unique musical philosophy was influenced by Japanese culture. This document takes a look at the effects of “Cage Shock” on Japanese composers, especially Takemitsu. In addition to presenting both composers‟ incorporation of Japanese elements in their compositions, particularly Japanese Gardens, it also …