Music Commons^™

Idiomatic Horn Writing: The Formal And Historical Contexts Of Four Horn Pieces, Elizabeth A. Danner

Masters Theses

As performers on the modern horn, we are presented with literature that was written for an instrument that differs from the one we use today. The fact that much of our solo literature was written for the natural horn does not invalidate our performances of it on the modern double horn. However, in order to present the music correctly, we must be aware of the development of the horn and historical context. In this document, I explore four pieces from different points in horn history. I assert the reasons each composer wrote the way he did by considering the physical …

Muop 356/856: Intermediate/Advanced Opera Techniques—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Inquiry Portfolio, Jamie M. Reimer

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Intermediate/Advanced Opera Techniques is a two credit elective course offered each spring at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At its genesis, the course was primarily an opera scenes workshop, focused solely on the preparation and performance of an opera scene in a final concert. It is a cross-listed course meaning that students from the first year through advanced graduate study may enroll. Students may or may not have any experience on the music theater stage, nor have they had training in how to prepare a new role from casting to completed performance.

This course is an elective in the School of …

Alberto Ginastera's Twelve American Preludes : Descriptive Analysis And Performer's Guide, Alejandra Saez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph presents a detailed descriptive analysis and performer’s guide for Alberto Ginastera’s Twelve American Preludes Op.12. The author emphasizes the study of specific compositional and pianistic techniques for the performer who wishes to develop a deeper understanding of this remarkable twentieth century work. Equally important is the attempt to develop a greater appreciation of the importance and contributions of one Argentina’s greatest composers.

Music, Action, And Narrative In Film : An Energetic And Gestural Approach To Film Score Analysis, Zachary Hazelwood

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Film music often contains close relationships to filmic and narrative imagery, creating complex relationships that are not always apparent. Many traditional means of musical analysis are not equipped to account for these extramusical associations. Film music analysis may benefit from considering musical gestures a way for understanding these connections to filmic and narrative imagery. Music theorists and philosophers, such as Mark Johnson, Janna Saslaw, Robert Hatten, and Steve Larson, have commented on the value of considering music through one’s embodied experiences. Film and music are inherently energetic, as both contain perceivable energies and forces. Analyzing the common energetic qualities of …

Concert Recording 2014-10-12, Lia Uribe, Moon-Sook Park, Miroslava Panayotova, Theresa Delaplain, Ronda Mains

Concert Recordings & Programs

Filis yo tengo / Clemente Imana -- Evocacion / Jorge Humberto Pinzon -- Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano. Allegro ; Grave ; Andante ; Allegro / Moises Bertran -- Bachiana Brasilera no.6 for flute and bassoon. Aria (Choro) ; Fantasia / Heitor Villalobos -- Choro chorado / Geraldo Silva ; arr. maria Ines Guimaraes -- Candombe de la solapa / Jorge Mockert

A Great Korean Music Pioneer Min-Chong Park: A Performance Guide Of His Selected Violin Works, Sin Myung Min

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Min-Chong Park (1918-2006) was one of the most prominent musicians in Korea and was influential internationally as a performer and teacher. As a composer, he left a large output including string works, vocal works, and short pieces for piano. The combination of the traditional and the modern is the most distinctive feature of Park’s compositions. Park applied traditional Korean performance techniques to western instrumental music, especially when writing for string instruments. The purpose of this research is to provide knowledge of Korean traditional music in selected violin works by Korean composer Min-Chong Park and to bridge the gap between western …

A Performance Guide To "Five Musings On The Past" By Elisenda Fábregas For Soprano And Piano, Megan Elizabeth Barrera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This document is a performance guide to Elisenda Fábregas’ "Five Musings on the Past" for soprano and piano. Fábregas is a celebrated Catalan-American composer and concert pianist. Highly influenced by the Spanish tonalities and rhythms of flamenco, she has written compositions for piano, woodwinds, strings, guitar, choral, orchestra, symphonic band, and solo voice. Chapter one discusses the life and compositional style of Fábregas. Chapter two lists the premieres and influential poets behind Fábregas’ solo vocal works. Chapter three discusses Fábregas’ musical settings of her original Spanish poetry in Five Musings on the Past. Musical examples for each song are presented …

Remembering The Concentration Camps: Aleksander Kulisiewicz And His Concerts Of Prisoners' Songs In The Federal Republic Of Germany, Barbara Ann Milewski

Music Faculty Works

This chapter considers the performances of Aleksander Kulisiewicz, a Polish political prisoner who composed and collected songs in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In the 1960s and 1970s, he would perform these works on stages across Europe, with frequent appearances in East and West Germany (in front of highly diverse audiences. When compared to other forms of musical commemoration at the time, his appearances uniquely operate somewhere in between performance and historical witnessing by building on his authentic experience and profound belief in remembrance. While Kulisiewicz’s activity evolved out of his personal Holocaust experience, musicians and composers of subsequent generations also …

"Music Down In My Soul:" Achieving A Sound Ideal For Moses Hogan Spirituals, Loneka Wilkinson Battiste

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT In 1995, Moses Hogan ushered in a resurgence of interest in the arranged spiritual at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Washington, D. C. The impact of his arrangements was so profound that today he is widely recognized as being responsible for the mid-1990’s revitalization of interest in the arranged spiritual. In a day when various opinions abound on how Moses Hogan’s spirituals should be performed, the purpose of this study was to describe and define the sound ideal for Moses Hogan spirituals. Qualitative methods were used for the collection and analysis of data relevant …

The Conscious Guitarist: Alexander Technique And Body Mapping For Guitarists, Alma Sehic

Theses and Dissertations

Musicians “move” for a living, yet many guitarists (among other instrumentalists) seem to be unaware of the quality of their movements in playing and teaching the instrument. This may simply be due to the lack of appropriate movement training and body awareness incorporated into current teaching practices, which leaves guitarists vulnerable to playing-related injuries, pain, and frustrating technical limitations. The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce somatic education into guitar pedagogy and performance, as a means of enhancing performing abilities and preventing injury.

After introducing the basis and principles of Alexander Technique and Body Mapping, the author provides practical …

Critical Editions And Comparative Analysis Of Three Representative Wind Band Works From The French Revolution, Adam Gary Kehl

Theses and Dissertations

The French Revolution witnessed the greatest output of music for wind band before the twentieth century. The importance of wind bands and wind repertoire grew for several reasons including, most notably, their participation in government sponsored outdoor national festivals. Festival celebrations were large gatherings in which wind band music was a central component. The French National Guard Band was the dominant musical ensemble in revolutionary France; its leaders, François Gossec, Bernard Sarrette, and Charles-Simon Catel, were among France's most important musical figures between 1789-1799. These men, in combination with music schools established in Paris during the Revolution, helped shaped the …

The Remaking Of An American Opera: A Detailed Look At Carlisle Floyd's Grand Opera 'The Passion Of Jonathan Wade', Joshua R. Wentz

Theses and Dissertations

Carlisle Floyd's single grand opera, The Passion of Jonathan Wade, premiered in 1962 in New York City only to be placed on a shelf for the next twenty-eight years to collect dust. In 1990, David Gockley at Houston Grand Opera commissioned a revival of the work, prompting Floyd to write eighty percent new music and libretto. The two versions are similar in plot but are set very different musically.

This document examines the composer, a historical background of the American landscape at the time of each premiere, and a brief analytical examination of The Passion of Jonathan Wade in both …

Arts Entrepreneurship: An Essential Sub-System Of The Artist's Meta-Praxis, Jonathan Gangi

Theses and Dissertations

As the field of Arts Entrepreneurship education continues to grow, the barriers it confronts prevent maximum vitality. Leading scholars and administrators indicate that program development and formal accreditation standards are important components supporting the field's growth. As such, this document explores next steps and examines how to move the field towards academic maturity.

First, notable Arts Entrepreneurship academic programs are compared and contrasted as a representative sample of existing curricular approaches. Second, issues of accreditation are analyzed as barriers preventing growth, followed by recommendations for removing these obstacles. Third, the Artist's Meta-Praxis conceptual framework is presented as a way to …

Improvisation In A Fourth-Grade Music Class, Lauren Julia King Driscoll

Theses and Dissertations

With the intent of improving the understanding of music learning, I investigated the processes of tonal, rhythm, melodic, and harmonic improvisation among my fourth-grade students and me. The following were the guiding research questions. 1. How did I adapt music improvisation strategies for my intact class of fourth-grade students? 2. How did those students participate in music improvisation experiences? 3. How did those students describe their music improvisation experiences? Seventeen fourth-grade students participated in this study, and I participated in this study as a participant observer. Over the course of five weeks, I taught ten 50-minute music classes, where I …

Fusion Of Classical Virtuosity And Jazz Techniques In The Etudes Of Nikolai Kapustin: Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40, And Five Etudes In Different Intervals, Op. 68, Ruby Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Delighting audiences and attracting attention from pianists and fusion composers the world over, Kapustin's distinct and imaginative unification of classical construction and jazz idiom is inspiring and a “breath of fresh air” to traditional repertoire. Kapustin's piano etudes, in particular, are a considerable contribution to standard etude repertoire that remains understudied. Kapustin's etudes are innovative and noteworthy in that his fusion of classical form with modern idioms of jazz and rock, combined with the technical demands expected of a standard study, have not been previously characteristic of the genre. The lack of thorough research and related literature on his works, …

An Exploration Of Teaching Music To Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Samantha D. Jimenez

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this grounded-theory qualitative study was to explore how music teachers successfully work with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many individuals with ASD are impacted daily by social and communication difficulties, sensory sensitivities, executive functioning challenges, and restricted or rigid behaviors. Current research, literature, media, and ASD and music circles support that music is a powerful medium for individuals with ASD. Benefits of music for individuals with ASD include therapeutic advantages, various improvements in skills, social opportunities, emergence of gifts and talents, and emotional outlets. Regular exposure to learning music in the U.S. is typically through music …

Bridging The Social Media Value Gap Between Fans And Artists, Andrew Teeter

Honors Program Theses

Social media is commonly considered a powerful tool for engaging customers and audiences, but that is only true if social media is done in a proper context. If social media is not executed in that context it may deliver sub-par value to fans, leading to lower financial returns. The purpose of this research is to find that context and determine how musical artists can best bridge the gap between themselves and their fans in the social media heavy 21st century. The goal is to find what expectations fans have for the artists they follow on social media and how the …

Total Voice Leading, Joseph N. Straus

Publications and Research

The total voice leading between sets X and Y is defined as the complete collection of ordered pc intervals formed between the pcs in X and the pcs in Y. These interval multisets (imultisets) describe the sonic signature of the motion from X to Y, and they always have the property of transpositional combination. In some cases, the same total voice leading may be produced by different pairs of X and Y (Cohn 1988 refers to this as “multiple parentage”). In such cases, the total voice leading may remain the same even though the generating chords differ.

Conducting Elgar's Wand Of Youth Suites : Programming Possibilities And Perspectives On Performance, Vaughn Aristides Cardona

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this monograph is to provide a performer’s guide and conductor’s analysis for both of Sir Edward Elgar’s suites op. 1a and 1b, titled The Wand of Youth: Music to a Child’s Play. Sources for this work draw from the extensive scholarly writings on Elgar’s biography, compositional practice, and recordings, as well as from sources discussing issues of conducting analysis, gesture, and concert programming. As common techniques in formal and harmonic analysis are a standard component of performance guides, this work also includes commentary to that effect. The first section of this work briefly situates the composition of …

The Magic Nesting Doll, Michael Paul Mitchell

LSU Master's Theses

The Magic Nesting Doll is the introduction and first scene to a ballet that borrows the story from a children’s book of the same name by Jacqueline K. Ogburn. The Introduction sets the scene for the story by introducing the themes to the three main characters, Katya, introduced by the oboe, the evil Grand Vizier, an octatonic march, and his nephew the Prince introduced by the English horn with a somber yet regal theme. These themes are introduced in that order within the body of the work. Scene I begins the story with Katya working with her Grandmother, who falls …

You Are Set Free, Jennifer Leigh Mitchell

LSU Master's Theses

You Are Set Free is a four-movement orchestra work depicting the story of the disabled woman in Luke 13. The first movement is a picture of her inner conflict of hope and hopelessness she had as a disabled person during the time of Jesus. Her hope is represented in tonal melodies, while her hopelessness is represented in harsh harmonies. In the next movement, the woman’s inner conflict continues. Hopelessness is represented by a twelve-tone row and hope is represented by a tonal melody drawn from movement one. The third movement encompasses the meeting of Jesus and the woman. Jesus is …

Poised Between Two Worlds : Nikolai Kapustin's Piano Sonata No. 1 And The Classical And Jazz Tradition, Kit Loong Yee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The music of Nikolai Kapustin is a roller coaster ride of syncopation, hemiolas, glissandos and perpetual motion. Born in Russia at a time when the communist government forbade such creative foreign elements as improvisation and jazz, Kapustin brought to life an innovative style of music that melded classical and jazz elements into a unique, emotive sound that leaves the listener breathless. The focus of this study is Kapustin’s Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 39. This study goes through a detailed analysis of the sonata as a whole as well as each individual movement. It also includes a brief biography of …

Supporting Your Instrument In A Body-Friendly Manner : A Comparative Approach, Emanuela Maria Lacraru

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT The purpose of this monograph was two-fold: (1) to bring together a scattered array of literature about performance injury prevention (related to violin/viola support) into one source, organize and synthesize this literature with the intention of identifying principal issues, compare coverage and recommendations, and identify consistencies and inconsistencies; and (2) to assess the perceptions of upper string musicians and teachers about injury prevention in the context of the literature. For the first purpose, a comprehensive bibliography of relevant literature was developed. For the second purpose, a survey based on information revealed through the literature was developed and distributed. Total …

A Master's Recital In Flute, Tara Lynn Meade

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Tara Lynn Meade performed a graduate flute recital at eight o’clock in the evening on Friday, March 7, 2014 in Davis Hall at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Collaborating with Ms. Meade on selected works were pianists Polina Khatsko and Brittany Lensing and flutists Mara Miller and Natalie Neshyba. The recital was presented in partial fulfillment of a Master of Music in flute performance. The program opened with a set of contrasting fantasies — Telemann’s Fantasia No. 3 in B Minor, a baroque work for solo flute, followed by François Borne’s virtuosic Fantasie brillante on themes from Bizet’s Carmen. …

Graduate Recital In Choral Conducting, Alice Reid Pruisner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Alice Reid Pruisner presented her graduate recital in choral conducting in four parts. The first section, presented on September 20, 2013, was J.S. Bach’s sacred cantata BWV 84, Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, performed by UNI’s Cantorei and members of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra. The featured soprano soloists were Michelle Joy Monroe and Lara Wasserman. The second section, presented on October 24, 2013, included selections from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, performed by UNI’s Women’s Chorus and members of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra. The Varsity Men’s Glee Club, accompanied by Jessica Schick, also performed a set of …

Graduate Recital In Composition, Joseph Carey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This graduate composition recital was a compilation recital of two separate events. The first was a public recital which took place on 29 March 2013. This recital included three main pieces: in the day, cloak + dagger, and Fib. The second event was a reading session of Corpus Loci by UNI Concert Chorale, which took place on 14 November 2013. This abstract will summarize the structural, rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic components of each of these pieces, and will recognize and acknowledge the many musicians who donated their time to make this recital possible.

A Graduate Recital In Voice, Brent M. Smith

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Brent Smith presented his graduate recital on March 3, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Perfroming Arts Center on the University of Northern Iowa campus. The program consisted of four sets of music, in collaboration with pianist Jessica Schick, by the composers Theron Kirk, Robert Schumann, Francis Poulenc and Tom Lehrer. This abstract discusses musical and historical features of the recital pieces in the order of the program.

A Master's Recital In Piano, Min Jeong Kim

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

On March 14, 2014, Min Jeong Kim presented a recital in completion of her Master’s degree in Piano Performance. The recital was held at 6 p.m. in Davis Hall at the University of Northern Iowa School of Music. Pieces on the program included: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871 by Johann Sebastian Bach, Klavierstücke, Op. 118 by Johannes Brahms, Rain Tree Sketch II by Toru Takemitsu, and Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 81a by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Toward A New, Musical Paradigm Of Place: The Port River Symphonic Of Chester Schultz, Robin Ryan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In privileging music as a focus for applied ecology, the goal of this essay is to deepen perspectives on the musical representation of land in an age of complex environmental challenge. As the metaphor driving public narration of environmental crises, the notion of Earth as our home—signified by the prefix “eco”—brings with it a critical expectation for the musical academy to retreat from bland talk about a “sense of place.” Based on the premise that damaged ecologies are a matter of concern to many people, Indigenous and Settler; and building on the late Val Plumwood’s theory of “shadow” or “denied” …

Stability And Accuracy Of Long-Term Memory For Musical Pitch [Journal Article], Alyce K. Hay, Craig P. Speelman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Existing research gives an inconsistent picture of the nature of the cognitive processes underlying memory for musical information. A study was conducted to investigate the stability and accuracy of long-term memory for pitch amongst individuals who have not had musical training. Excerpts from well-known pop songs were used as stimuli. Participants heard one long sequence of excerpts, each of which had been raised or lowered in pitch by one semitone, or left unaltered. After hearing each excerpt, participants were asked to detect whether it was different from the original version of the song they remembered. Participants were significantly worse at …