Music Commons^™

A Kentucky Pioneer In Music Therapy: An Oral History On The Life And Career Of Lorinda Jones, Emma Powers

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Lorinda Jones, MT-BC, is the longest practicing music therapist in Kentucky. She began her work as a music therapist in 1995 and built a private practice, which expanded over the course of the next 20 years to include services in 16 counties. Ms. Jones’ perspective on the growth of music therapy, both within the state and nationwide, as well as her extensive knowledge of Appalachian folk music, makes her an invaluable resource to Kentucky music therapists. The purpose of this study was to present a historical account of the life and career of Lorinda Jones, to gain her perspective on …

Finding The “Tech” In Technique: A Pedagogical Approach To Electroacoustic Concert Percussion Performance Practice, William Brady Harrison Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Premise and Objectives

In our increasingly technology driven society, the impact of technology touches nearly every aspect of our lives in some form or another. This has been acutely felt within the world of percussion, with electroacoustic works representing perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of concert percussion over the last twenty years. Electroacoustic music couples electronic technology with traditional acoustic instruments and/or performance practices.

Broadly, this paper outlines a systematic approach to teaching electroacoustic performance practice, based on elements found in a cross-section of percussion literature. In using such an approach, not only does each student become more capable …

Teresa Carreño’S Early Years In Caracas: Cultural Intersections Of Piano Virtuosity, Gender, And Nation-Building In The Nineteenth Century, Laura Pita

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation studies the musical activities of the Venezuelan pianist and composer Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) during her formative years in Caracas. It examines the sources that pertain to her musical environment, early piano training, and first compositions in the context of the growth in Caracas of the practices of recreational sociability, the increasing influence of virtuosic music, and the tradition of private concert-making sponsored by devoted music amateurs. This study argues that Teresa Carreño’s musical upbringing occurred in a social and cultural context in which Enlightenment-framed ideologies of civilization and social progress, shaped in fundamental ways the perceptions of the …

Symphonic Fantasy: Discussion And Analysis, Tyler Turcotte

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The following piece is a three movement, twenty minute orchestral work in a Romantic style whose primary goals are accessibility and beauty. In the process of writing this piece, I learned that strong and memorable melodies are the key to a successful composition - taking influence from Henry Mancini and early Japanese video game composers, this work takes a central melodic theme through a series of variations to demonstrate the power of harmonic and orchestrational recontextualization. Rhythmically, the work utilizes techniques from the Minimalist and Progressive Rock traditions to strike a balance between rhythmic complexity and melodic focus. The three …

Theoretical Study And Performing Edition Of Sonata Iii By Javier G. Compeán, José Mario Ortiz Sánchez

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Mexican composer Javier G. Compeán finished Sonata III, his most recent composition for solo guitar, in December 2015. Since the composition of his first such work in 2003, the composer has been experimenting with texture, register, dynamic range, extended techniques, harmonic possibilities, timbre, and form in his solo guitar music. In Sonata III, Compeán applied the experience he gained in previous compositions for guitar.

This work represents the composer’s current style, in which he returns to a more traditional language but continues to experiment with the technical capabilities of the instrument. Sonata III is Compeán’s most ambitious guitar composition and …

Remaking The Iconic Lulu: Transformations Of Character, Context, And Music, Jennifer Tullmann

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Using Alban Berg’s opera Lulu as a case study, this dissertation explores the fluid nature of cultural artifacts as they are reborn within new socio-cultural contexts. By examining several Lulu productions, this inquiry seeks to understand the changes of meaning that have occurred through the transformation of canonic works in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Central to this project is the shifting nature of the character of Lulu, not only in Berg’s opera, but also in various artistic genres that preceded and affected his own conceptions, as well as her appearances in selected productions.

This study contrasts modern Lulu productions …

The Effectiveness Of Music Therapy Interventions With Persons Of Concern: An Integrative Review, Grace Lauzon

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons, collectively known as “persons of concern,” often have unmet mental health and wellness needs as a result of trauma. With a diverse variety of interventions and approaches, the use of music therapy has the potential to meet the needs of persons of concern. In the present study, the researcher conducted an integrative review to examine the use of music therapy with persons of concern. After conducting a hand-search of music therapy journals and an advanced keyword search through internet databases, the researcher found 17 studies that met inclusion criteria. There …

Lost & Found An Electro-Acoustic Musical Composition Referencing A Day In An African Village: A Commentary On A Musical Composition, George Essilfie

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Electro-acoustic music composition makes it possible for composers to manipulate sounds with the computer with either alone or both live and prerecorded sounds. From the end of the 19^th century when the first electronic devices for performing music were developed up till today, transformations in music technology keep surfacing and the possibilities with working with sounds have become endless. Electro-acoustic music has the ability to conjure mental images using vast sound manipulation techniques using the DAW(Digital audio workstation) and sound amplification through loudspeakers. Every space in our environment has its unique sound/s. Lost and found through these techniques provides …

John Mackey’S Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony For Band A Discourse And Analysis Of John Mackey’S Symphony For Band, Jonathan C. Sweet

Theses and Dissertations--Music

John Mackey’s Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band(2014) is a work of epic proportions and was the winner of the William D. Revelli Composition Contest of the National Band Association in 2015. Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Bandhas received much acclaim and many performances including a recording by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in 2016.

The purposes of this dissertation are 1) to provide historical information on the genesis of the work through interviews with its composer, John Mackey, and commissioning director, Jerry Junkin; 2) to provide an analysis of how the programmatic elements of Homer’s Odysseyinteract with …

When The Inhuman Becomes Human: An Examination Of The Musical Portrayal Of The Robot In Twenty-First Century Science-Fiction Cinema Through An Analysis Of The Film Scores Of Automata, Ex Machina, And The Machine, Rebecca Ann O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Science fiction film has been telling stories about artificial anthropomorphic robots and androids for almost a hundred years, spawning films, such as Metropolis (1927), Ghost in the Shell (1951), and Blade Runner (1982). Each of these science-fiction films was complemented by a musical score that helped to create an onscreen world dominated by a dystopian view of the future. Influenced by the generations of prior science-fiction films, Automata (2014), The Machine (2013), and Ex Machina (2015) are all concerned with the same narrative in which humanity is in decline while artificial robots are rising up and experiencing life in a …

A Singer’S Stress: Yoga And Meditation Techniques In The Collegiate Voice Studio, Zackery David Morris

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Often neglected in voice study is the understanding that a singer’s instrument lives in his/her body and therefore cannot be packed away like other musical objects. Yoga and mindfulness compliment the belief of a whole body instrument. Data gathered on college campuses report that stress and anxiety are on the rise, thus reinforcing the need for MBSR and yoga as beneficial and proven tools for stress relief. The current state of research in the realm of mental health in colleges merits the study of a cohesive layout of these exercises and their expected outcomes in singing as well as stress …

Postminimalist Choral Music: A Pedagogical Perspective, Joshua John Chai

Theses and Dissertations--Music

After the strict processes of mid-twentieth-century minimalism, a new musical style has emerged which retains extensive use of repetition, but is generally more aurally accessible, based in non-functional triadic harmony, and flexible in its compositional structure. Frequent use of non-minimalist resources, musical resources from multiple styles in a single composition, and quotation from previous historical periods define this flexibility.

American choral music has many popular compositions that exhibit characteristics of this new musical style, in part because of its accessibility relative to earlier minimalist styles, and in part because it adapts easily to the choral setting. At the same time, …

Factors Influencing Music Therapy Career Choice In The United States: A Study Of Student Values And Expectancies, Margaret R. Scheppmann

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The understanding of why students decide to become music therapists is valuable information for music therapy educators and policy makers and published information is lacking. The use of expectancy-value theory provides a framework to understand student choices. Researchers can better understand why students purse a career in music therapy by examining students’ abilities, beliefs, expectancies, and values related to the choice. The purpose of this study was to examine why current undergraduate and equivalency students want to be music therapists. Music therapy students (N = 129) throughout the United States provided insight into their decision to become music therapists …

Morten Lauridsen’S Choral Cycle, Nocturnes: A Conductor’S Analysis, Margaret B. Owens

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Morten Lauridsen is one of the most prolific composers of choral music in the 20th and 21st centuries. His characteristic tone is both readily identifiable and timeless. Works such as Lux Aeterna, Les Chansons des Roses, “Sure on this Shining Night” (from Nocturnes) , and “O magnum mysterium” have solidified his place as one of the most important compositional voices in modern choral music.

Lauridsen’s most often-performed choral works have been individual movements excerpted from his larger choral works, due to their accessibility for advanced high school and collegiate choirs. For example, the popular “Dirait-on” comes from the …

Exposing Corruption In Progressive Rock: A Semiotic Analysis Of Gentle Giant’S The Power And The Glory, Robert Jacob Sivy

Theses and Dissertations--Music

English progressive rock band Gentle Giant is catalogued under the progressive (or “prog”) rock genre for a variety reasons, including unique instrumentation, virtuosity, and interesting/unconventional musical attributes. The complexity of their music is often warranted by the sophisticated concepts behind their albums and the deep messages of their songs. The Power and the Glory (TPatG), Gentle Giant’s sixth studio album, is a concept album that emphasizes the rise and corruption of power. What makes their music, especially TPatG, worthy of scholarly attention beyond the simple examination of the compositional techniques employed is the way in which the …

Gender, Politics, Market Segmentation, And Taste: Adult Contemporary Radio At The End Of The Twentieth Century, Saesha Senger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation explores issues of gender politics, market segmentation, and taste through an examination of the contributions of several artists who have achieved Adult Contemporary (AC) chart success. The scope of the project is limited to a period when many artists who figured prominently in both the broader mainstream of American popular music and the more specific Adult Contemporary category were most commercially viable: from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. My contention is that, as gender politics and gendered social norms continued to change in the United States at this time, Adult Contemporary – the chart, the format, and the …

Partita For 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble: A Transcription Process, Kaitlin May Bove

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Partita for 8 Voices (2012) is a groundbreaking a cappella work that earned its composer, Caroline Shaw, the record of youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013. While the work continues to receive performances from its premiere ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, no transcription of the piece to any other ensemble type existed at the beginning of this DMA project. The author sought to transcribe a piece by a living female composer with no work for band into the wind band medium. The resulting transcription, Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble, adds a new work to …

What High School Students Want To Know About Music: An Information Literacy Instruction Course For A High School Music Camp, Michael J. Duffy Iv

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The SEMINAR High School Summer Music Camp at Western Michigan University provided an opportunity to offer intensive music related information literacy instruction to a small group of high school students over a two-week session. These students participated in an assessment study in which they provided answers to questions related to information literacy learning outcomes before and after the course of instruction. This case study presents a model for lessons and curricular structure for an information literacy course in music for high school students.

Concert Recording 2019-11-15, Andres Diaz, Dominic K. Na, Tomoko Kashiwagi

Concert Recordings & Programs

[00:00]. Suite for two cellos and piano. I. Introduction, Andante maestoso ma con moto ; II. Scherzo, Allegro ; III. Arioso, Lento, Rubato ; IV. Finale, Allegro / Gian Carlo Menotti -- [15:15]. Sonata for cello and piano, op. 19 in G minor. I. Lento ; Allegro moderato ; II. Allegro scherzando ; III. Andante ; IV. Allegro mosso / Sergei Rachmaninov -- [56:24]. Additional work not on the program: Fancy on the Bach air / Corigliano.

Measures Of Music Teacher Effectiveness In Three Early Career Levels, Alicia L. Canterbury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Corroborative findings across instructional targets rehearsal frames and the summative evaluations indicated a general lack of specificity across all levels which improved somewhat during student teaching and peer teaching. Unidentified targets and nonspecific positive feedback were observed less frequently in student teaching and novice teaching. No growth was found across levels in specific positive and negative feedback. Directives were the most frequently observed teacher verbal category in selected rehearsal frames and information and demonstrations were consistently the highest ranked items across all levels in the summative evaluation. However instructional directive scores were inconsistent. Results indicate that new teachers of all …

Johannes Brahms’S Fünf Ophelia-Lieder Performance History, Cultural Context, And Character Study As It Pertains To Johannes Brahms’S Fünf Ophelia-Lieder: A Performer’S Perspective, Caryn Alexis Crozier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document aims to contribute research on the lesser known and under researched vocal works by Johannes Brahms, particularly his Fünf Ophelia Lieder. This song cycle, while not written to be performed on its own, originally, is a rich technical resource for beginning singers and advanced singers alike. Brahms wrote a simple melody with sparse accompaniment that really allows the performer to focus on language, technique, or dramatic interpretation. This document looks at Brahms’s setting of Ophelia’s mad scene through many different lenses including theoretical, by analyzing each song musically and dramatically, historical analysis of Hamlet and its many iterations, …

Musical And Cultural Perspectives Of Héctor Campos Parsi: An Examination Of His Influences And Analysis Of Selected Vocal Works, Cynthia Ortiz-Bartley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper examines the historical and cultural atmosphere in Puerto Rico and how it affected one of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated composers, Héctor Campos Parsi, and two selected works in two different times of his life. The discussion includes events that affected the island with respect to art music from 1898, the birth of Héctor Campos Parsi in 1922, and up to 1986, which marks the date of the second selected work. This document considers three questions about cultural and structural influences about the life and experiences of Héctor Campos Parsi: Does a composer’s life experience and environment and culture …

No Human Ever Made A Cathedral Such As This: Scoping The Ecology Of The Carols By Candlelight Effect In Australia’S Open-Air Environments, Robin Ryan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

During Australia’s dry December, traditional and popular forms of caroling shape the sight and sound of the key Christian festival of Christmas. Creative connections between belief, place, and music are characteristically manifest in focused open-air environments of beach, bushland or park. Reasoning from gospel belief that the very first “Christmas carol” emanated from a heavenly host of angels singing to an audience of shepherds in a field, caroling alfresco is an appropriate activity. How, then, do Australian caroling venues become conducive to environmental spheres of sound and influence? While the annual mass Carols by Candlelight concerts televised from Melbourne and …

"Woven Into The Deeps Of Life": Death, Redemption, And Memory In Bob Kaufman's Poetry, Peter Davis

Pomona Senior Theses

The scholars who have taken up the task of writing about Bob Kaufman have most often done so in response to a perceived demand: the lack of Kaufman scholarship, readership, anthology, publicity, canonization. The basis of this need is clear: Kaufman is almost never included as even a third-string Beat, a fringe Surrealist, or an underappreciated Jazz performer. To the committed readers of Kaufman – and almost all of his readers seem to be committed ones – it’s unforgivable. These various canons, major (mid-century American poets, Beat poets) and minor (Jazz poets, American Surrealists), are clearly missing one of their …

Uncovering Alice Bag: An Alternative Punk History, Emily Macune

Scripps Senior Theses

The intention of this thesis is to provide an alternative counter-narrative to the mainstream histories of punk that center white men. By focusing on the contributions of fem queer and POC punks, I aim to legitimize punk music as a form of resistance against systems of oppression that are oppositional to the commodified forms of mainstream punk. Using Alice Bag, as my central case study as a fem queer punk that is often left out of punk historical narratives, I contextualize her work through feminist, queer, and media studies lenses to bridge the gap between academia and forgotten personal experience.

Where Do We Go From Here? A Semi-Autobiographical Performance Exploration Into The Therapeutic Benefits Of Theatre, Emma Elliott

Scripps Senior Theses

My intention in this performance is to create a therapeutic theatrical process for myself and engage the audience with intense emotional vulnerability regarding the combination and validation of the nobody and performative self. I utilized both my vocal and acting training to work through emotional trauma that I have experienced and created a musical performance to demonstrate my journey of therapy and emotional reconciliation within myself and my family. I focused my research on using autobiographical performances to solidify and validate the identity of the performer to an audience. In doing so, this allows the performers to become the …

Art As A Mediating Tool: Children And Learning In A Music And Arts-Based After School Program, Claudia Saldana

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of primarily Latina/o children with learning music in a Music and Arts-Based Program (MABP) the context of a low-income neighborhood on the U.S- Mexico border. This year-long ethnographic study was conducted in an after-school art program in the Rio Grande Elementary School, in a low-income neighborhood located within one-mile of the U.S.-Mexico border. The purpose of the study is to understand how music and art can be used as a mediating tool for children to construct social and cognitive learning within a culturally diverse community, thus, enhancing the social environment in which they interact. The …

The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Accurately Match Pitch, Kendra Nicole Rosales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Many theories, such as oral motor, perceptual, and sensorimotor deficits, have been posited to explain inaccurate pitch matching abilities. The current study identifies with the sensorimotor deficit theory and found it to be the most plausible explanation for inaccurate singing abilities. The Natural Ear (NE) program was designed to process voice productions in real-time and filter out the discordant harmonics, allowing a person to hear only their F0.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Natural Ear program in increasing pitch matching accuracy in singers.

Methods: A total of 50 participants were included …

A Musical-Historical Study Of Italian Influences In Three Regina Caeli Of The French Baroque Period, Marie-France Duclos

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The French baroque petit motet was the most prolific genre of seventeenth-century France. In this study, three petits motets, specifically Regina caeli settings of French composers Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Nicolas Bernier and François Couperin are examined with an emphasis on the motets’ historical context in relation to the French monarchy and the Italian concepts that the composers incorporated into each work. All three Regina caeli settings display some Italian compositional techniques of the stile moderno in various degrees and were written in different contextual ecclesiastic milieux.

The intersections of, as well as distinctions between, musical ideas of traditional French style …

A Performance Guide To Arthur Bliss's Sonata For Viola And Piano, Andrew Braddock

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Arthur Bliss’s Sonata for Viola and Piano stands as a significant achievement in early twentieth-century chamber music for viola and is the result of a fruitful collaboration between composer and virtuoso performer. Multiple scholars recognize the sonata as one of Bliss’s finest works. Despite these accolades, the work has failed to attract sustained scholarly investigation. This document provides performers with the necessary tools for a thorough and contextualized presentation of the work. The main body of this study details the technical aspects of performing the sonata: viola technique, expressive challenges, and ensemble concerns. Preceding this, I cover the relevant biographical …