Music Commons^™

A Constant Haunting, Russ Wilcox

Graduate Thesis Collection

A three movement work for wind ensemble and soprano soloist.

The Life And Work Of Alex Klein, Ramon Thiago Mendes De Oliveira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Alex Klein is one of the best-known figures of the American oboe school. He is the winner of multiple international competitions, including the first prize at the Geneva’s Concours International d’Execution Musicale. Appointed principal oboe at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1995, Klein is one of the most highly regarded musicians hired during the Barenboim era. His recording of Richard Strauss’ oboe concerto with the CSO was awarded Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra) at the 44th Grammy Awards. In 2004, his tenure at CSO was interrupted due to the onset of Focal Dystonia; which affected multiple fingers in …

Core Curriculum For Orchestra, Andrew Thomas Aycoth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Core Curriculum draws inspiration from the idea of a sound collage that incorporates many specific pieces and techniques that I have encountered or studied during my time in music academia. Nearly everything is derived from something else, often being transformed or altered in some way. From my own private teaching of guitar lessons to analyses of 20th century art music, I tried to represent as much music as possible from these formative years. There are two main features that continue throughout the piece. The first is the repetitive rhythmic figure based on eighth notes that are out of phase, which …

Examining Musical Hybridity And Cultural Influences In Valerie Coleman’S Wish Sonatine And Fanmi Imèn, Brittany Marie Trotter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this research document is to examine elements of musical hybridity and cultural influences in renowned African-American flutist-composer Valerie Coleman’s Wish Sonatine and Fanmi Imèn for solo flute and piano. Prominently known for her chamber music works, Coleman describes her compositional style as “urban-classical,” which infuses elements of popular American styles into modern Western art music traditions to highlight and encapsulate the cultural experiences of various diasporas of our time.

The most significant elements of hybridity and cultural influences examined in Wish Sonatine and Fanmi Imèn are programmatic imagery and compositional motifs. The programmatic imagery is represented through …

The Marvel Sonic Narrative: A Study Of The Film Music In Marvel's The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, And Avengers: Endgame, Anthony Walker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document explores the music of three films in the Marvel Avengers enterprise: Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. It does not examine the second film of the series, Avengers: Age of Ultron. The document seeks to uncover and further understand the music’s function in each film and to determine its continuity throughout all three films. This study uses a combination of film music studies and theory-based analysis to support the findings with the aim of identifying connecting musical elements that stretch throughout these three films. This includes the use of leitmotif/themes, previously …

Folk-Song To Formal Performance: Interpreting The Songs Of Jean Ritchie For Voice Recital, Julianne E. Laird

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to identify the value of incorporating American folk-song into a formal voice recital program, specifically the collections and compositions of Jean Ritchie. This qualitative study identified criteria for choosing specific folk-songs to include in formal recital, assessed quality in a folk-song arrangement, discussed suitable instrumentation for accompaniment, and suggested appropriate performance practices for concert performance. New folk-song literature was discovered through accessing original unpublished sources in the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. Finally, a format and program for incorporating the collected and composed folk-songs of Jean Ritchie in formal recital was …

A Compendium Of Opera In Spain And Latin America, Michelle S. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spain and Latin America have a rich operatic tradition, however this opulent body of operatic work is mostly overlooked or ignored in mainstream histories of opera. This document focuses on opera in Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. Opera was both composed and performed in Spain and Latin America, and both regions demonstrate the development of national opera traditions. Spanish drama was closely linked to the beginnings of national opera, and Italian influence is evident in opera compositions from both regions. The output of national operas varies by country, with Spain, Mexico, and Argentina claiming the majority of …

The "Organ-Accompanied Solo Motet" In In La Maîtrise, 1857–1861, John David O'Donnell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In his work, Motets for One Voice by Franck, Gounod, and Saint-Saëns, Richard Benefield began the scholarly study of a unique body of repertoire, the organ-accompanied solo motet repertoire of nineteenth century France. While Benefield chose to restrict his project to the work of only three major composers, he indicated other collections of Latin texted solo motets, one of which was the solo motets published in the Parisian church music journal La Maîtrise,between 1857–1861. These songs are examined in terms of historical context, musical features, and possible contemporary uses.

As France recovered from the ravages of the Revolution, …

Cover

Soundboard Scholar

The scene of angel musicians on our cover is a detail shot of the topmost portion of the famous “Paradiso” fresco in the Cathedral of Orvieto, Italy. It was painted by Luca Signorelli in 1499, at the very time of Columbus’s third voyage, when (as Richard Pinnell explains in this issue) Spanish guitarras and vihuelas were first being introduced to the New World. The Signorelli fresco’s music-historical interest for us lies in the guitar-like instrument depicted in the hands of the highest angel in the heavenly ensemble—a position of no small honor for her or her instrument. It is approximately …

Editor's Letter, Thomas Heck

Soundboard Scholar

An introduction to the contents of this issue.

The Early Guitar In The New World: Its Route From Seville To Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, And Cubagua (1497–1550), Richard T. Pinnell

Soundboard Scholar

Pinnell discusses the history of guitar in the New World. The third voyage of Christopher Columbus was not only the first of the Columbian voyages to reach South America along the Venezuelan coastline; it was also the first that explicitly included musical instruments and trained musicians. "Their Catholic Majesties" (Los Reyes Católicos), so designated by Pope Alexander VI upon their defeat of the Moors, had already been quite disappointed with the lack of stability and growth in the grim encampments established by Columbus, so this time they proposed a unique list of professions and skills among the passengers to ensure …

Los Romeros: Royal Family Of The Spanish Guitar By Walter Aaron Clark, Richard Long

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Los Romeros: Royal Family of the Spanish Guitar by Walter Aaron Clark.

Corbetta: La Guitarre Royalle (Elias), Ellwood Colahan

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Corbetta: La Guitarre Royalle, album by Elias, Izhar.

Concert Recording 2019-03-14, Theresa Delaplain, Miroslava Panayotova, Hyun Kim, Robert Mueller, Ronda Mains, Moon-Sook Park, Lia Uribe

Concert Recordings & Programs

[00:00]. Her voice for oboe d'amore and piano / Robert Mueller -- [07:20]. Bells and grass for oboe and soprano / Julianna Hall -- [13:24]. Up and away: the story of a balloon / Alyssa Morris -- [27:44]. Rachel weeping for her children for oboe, pre-recorded sounds, and digital delay / Robert Mueller -- [35:22]. Trio for flute, oboe, and piano / Madeleine Dring.

Improving Piano Teaching At International Schools In A Suburban District Of Beijing, Wei Xie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The quality of piano education in international schools in China has been affected by an increasing number of piano students and piano teachers experiencing heavy teaching loads. The research questions in this qualitative case study included both teachers' and parents' perceptions of the quality of teaching and learning in piano classes at multicultural international schools in a suburban district of Beijing. The 4 principles of the Suzuki method provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews with 10 experienced piano teachers, 10 selected parents of K-12 piano students, and observations of 3 group piano classes, 8 …

The Effects Of Mindfulness Practice With Music Listening On Working Memory, Emily Irene Messick

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate mindfulness strategies and their influence on working memory. The potential role of music in facilitating mindfulness practice is explored. Various listening exercises were investigated along with their influence on working memory (i.e. attention control). Thirty-four individuals were randomly assigned to participate in one of four listening groups: 1) mindfulness with music, 2) mindfulness without music, 3) music only, and 4) silence. Thirty-four participants engaged in a computerized digit-span task before and after the listening exercise to assess pre- and post-test working memory performance. Thirty participants were included in data-analysis due to …

The Effects Of Listening To Motivational Music On Performance Of Knee Extension And Flexion In Healthy Adults, Alexander Lesser

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether listening to motivational music prior to performing leg extensions and flexions effected peak torque performance. Participants included 23 adults between the ages 18 and 48 years. Participants engaged in three sets of leg extensions and flexions utilizing a Cybex Humac NORM system following a warm-up period consisting of listening to either researcher-selected music, self-selected music, and in silence. Two one-way ANOVAs comparing participants’ data showed significant results in leg flexions performed following warm-up while listening to self-selected music. Significant results were not achieved for leg extensions yet a similar trend was …

Latin American Influences On Selected Piano Pieces By Louis Moreau Gottschalk And Darius Milhaud, Hyejeong Seong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research document examines selected piano works by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) and Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) that are influenced by Latin American cultures.The paper traces the influence of Latin American music and the incorporation of characteristic melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements in the following compositions: Souvenir de Porto Rico, op. 31 (1857) and Souvenir de la Havane, op. 39 (1859) by Gottschalk; Saudades do Brasil, op. 67 (1920-1921) and Brasileira: Third movement of Scaramouche Suite, op. 165b (1937), for Two Pianos, by Milhaud. After a brief introduction, the study reviews the existing related literature about this topic. Then, Chapters Three …

Works From La Guitarre Royalle (1671) And Italian Guitar Music Of The Seventeenth Century, Battuto And Pizzicato (Eisenhardt), Ellwood Colahan

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Works from La guitarre royalle (1671) and Italian Guitar Music of the Seventeenth Century, Battuto and Pizzicato.

Francesco Corbetta: La Guitarre Royalle (Carter), Ellwood Colahan

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Francesco Corbetta: La Guitarre Royalle, album by Carter, William.

Mauro Giuliani And Austrian Folk Music, Stefan Hackl

Soundboard Scholar

Mauro Giuliani, one of the most important figures in the growth and development of the guitar in the earlier nineteenth century, spent his most productive years in Vienna from 1806 to 1819. He was well connected with the cultural and social life of the imperial city, at the time a melting pot which welcomed talented artists with diverse backgrounds from throughout the provinces and neighboring states. Here, Hackl discusses Giuliani's folk songs.

Soundboard Scholar No. 5 (Complete)

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

21st-Century Spanish Guitar (Levin), Nathan Cornelius

Soundboard Scholar

A review of 21st-Century Spanish Guitar, album by Levin, Adam.

Nineteenth-Century Guitar Songs: An Idiosyncratic Survey, By Ian Gammie, Richard Long

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Nineteenth-Century Guitar Songs: An Idiosyncratic Survey, by Ian Gammie.

Prizes, Winning, And Identity: Narrative Vocal Music Of The Pulitzer Prize, 2008–2018, Julia K. Kuhlman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis considers the ways in which the Pulitzer Prize for Music shapes and is shaped by music of the moment. Since 1943, the Pulitzer Prize has marked 83 pieces as “distinguished” examples of American music. The financial rewarding of winning composers and the initiation of a reciprocal transfer of prestige and political capital, the Pulitzer’s expert juries and governing body has contributed to the preservation of a perpetually-shifting status quo. By chronicling the year-to-year shifts of administrative power dynamics in prize selections, the Pulitzer Prize has mirrored the changing American musical landscape.

Drawing on methods of reception history, archival …

A Master's Recital In Flute, Kimberly Ann Abeyta

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Kimberly Ann Abeyta performed a graduate flute recital on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Davis Hall at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Collaborative pianists for the recital were Dr. Robin Guy and Serena Hou. This recital was presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree in flute performance. The program opened with Sonata No. 1 in B minor BWV 1030 by Johann Sebastian Bach, a work for flute and harpsichord from the Baroque era. Two modern, unaccompanied works followed the Bach, creating significant contrast. First Katherine Hoover’s Kokopeli for solo flute, then Mimosa for …

Learning And Literacy In Music: Activities For Integrating Children's Literature Into The Elementary General Music Curriculum, Taryn Jeanette Kroymann

Honors Program Theses

In summary, there is plenty of evidence that supports the use of reading children’s literature in a music classroom. While this concept certainly is starting to gain more traction, the purpose of this thesis is to provide a starting point for educators that have not yet begun to take advantage of the rich abundance of content that is found in such literature, or to assist educators who simply want more ideas and evidence to support their teaching choices. In order to improve our teaching and provide as best of an education as we can to our students, we must utilize …

The Tuba And Tape: An Exploration Of Repertoire For Solo Tuba And Fixed Electronic Media, Adam Christopher Denner

Honors Program Theses

This project is a combination of my senior recital performance with the Honors Thesis project to present a recital of music that explores the genre of Solo Tuba and Fixed Electronic Media. Fixed Electronic Media is a form of accompaniment that is electronically created before the performance and played back through a data storage format, such as CD, DAT, or digital audio file; use of this is a comparatively narrow and new field that is one of the leading edges in compositions for the tuba. The main goal of this performance has been to provide the audience with a sampling …

Featured Facsimile: Mauro Giuliani’S ZwöLf Neue Wald-LäNdler (Twelve New Forest-LäNdler), Op. 23, Mauro Giuliani

Soundboard Scholar

Giuliani's Zwölf neue Wald-Ländler (Twelve New Forest-Ländler), Op. 23, in score. It was first published by the prestigious firm of Artaria & Co., with plate no. 2710, advertised for sale on 27 January 1810. Characteristic of these waltzes were the chordal (triadic) melodies, inspired stylistically by yodelers and yodeling. The intervallic tuning of the guitar favors the performance of such melodies as these, which evoke a style of folk music that runs deep in Austrian musical consciousness. Usually performed in sets of twelve, all in the same key, a Ländler-reihe (set, or row) usually began slowly, accelerated gradually toward the …

Re-Composing Feminism: Australian Women Composers In The New Millennium, Talisha Goh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In the age of postfeminism and fourth-wave feminism online, Australian women composers are theoretically able to “have it all,” however, the proportion of women in the occupation appears to have plateaued in recent years. In this thesis, I explore the multiple ways in which gender and feminism interact with practising Australian women composers. Feminist musicology has had a large impact on the Australian musicological scene, with theorists such as McClary and Macarthur bringing the subject of women in music to the fore in the 1990s, aiding efforts to advocate for reform on behalf of women composers. Additionally, third-wave feminist scholars …