Composition Commons^™

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Terry Riley's "In C" For Mobile Ensemble, David B. Wetzel, Griffin Moe, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This workshop presents a mobile-friendly Web Audio application for a “technology ensemble play-along” of Terry Riley’s 1964 composition In C. Attendees will join in a reading of In C using available web-enabled devices as musical instruments. We hope to demonstrate an accessible music-technology experience that relies on face-to-face interaction within a shared space. In this all-electronic implementation, no special musical or technical expertise is required.

Accepted for presentation and publication at WAC 2024.

A Historical Comparison Of The St. John And St. Matthew Passions Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Emily Dunlap

Honors College

The St. John and St. Matthew Passions, based on the Gospels of the same names, are the only two existing passions by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach that have survived from the Baroque music world. However, the St. Matthew Passion is more well-known and recognized than the St. John Passion. Why is that? One of the reasons why this may be the case is because the St. Matthew Passion is a larger, more extensive work compared to the St John Passion in relation to its parts. The St Matthew Passion is equipped with an orchestra, a double choir, …

Festival Of Christmas 30, School Of Fine Arts

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster for the 30th Anniversary of the Festival of Christmas. Performances were held in JPAC on December 2 and 3, 2022.

Guitarmageddon, School Of Fine Arts

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster for the concert, Guitarmageddon, held at Dr. Jack's on November 15, 2022. The concert features Dr. Johnston, Harrison Shuffield, Austin Murberger, Garrett Taylor, Logan Talley, Ayden Bennett, Collin Clark, Jamie Linton, Meredith Medford, Brynn Clark, Chaney Campbell, and Chloe Wallace.

Guide To The Doug Lofstrom Music Collection, College Archives & Special Collections

Collection Guides / Finding Aids

A composer and bassist whose scores reflect his involvement in theater, dance, film and symphonic music, Doug Lofstrom also formed The New Quartet, a chamber ensemble which performs original music and arrangements, Trillium, and, most recently, joined the group The Last Word. He was composer-in-residence for the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and musical director of Chicago's Free Street Theatre before joining the faculty of Columbia College Chicago’s Music Department.

Obu Steel Drum Combo In An Outdoor Concert, The Obu Steel Drums, Ryan C. Lewis

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the promotional poster for the Outdoor Concert Series of the OBU Steel Drum Combo. The concerts were held on April 6 and April 15, 2021, at 5:00, at the OBU Amphitheatre. Ryan Lewis directed.

Obu Choral Worship Event, The Ouachita Singers, Women's Chorus, More Gospel Choir, Concert Choir

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the promotional flyer for the OBU Choirs outdoor concert held on Friday, March 19, 2021, at 5 PM in front of Evans Student Center. All of the OBU Choirs (as well as student instrumentalists) joined together to lead a brief time of worship.

The 23rd Annual Mary Shambarger Art Song Competition, Division Of Music

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the program for the 23rd annual Mary Shambarger Art Song Competition, held on February 23, 2021, in the McBeth Recital Hall.

Cf Album, Transcriptions, And Analyses, Collin Felter

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

CF is an album of Collin Felter original compositions with a focus on creating a more approachable form of jazz harmony. To further the accessibility of the music, Felter has transcribed and analyzed his compositions for the listeners to theoretically understand what they are aurally experiencing. Included is the transcriptions/analysis document along with a link to the recordings of the album (can be found on all music streaming platforms).

Isabel Dodds In A Senior Piano Recital, Isabel Dodds

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster, program, and program notes of Isabel Dodds' senior piano recital. The recital was held in the McBeth Recital Hall on November 14, 2019.

Modern Bands Impact On Student Enrollment In Traditional Music Ensembles, Bryan Powell

John J. Cali School of Music Scholarship and Creative Works

Popular music ensembles are becoming more popular in public school music education classrooms throughout the United States (Powell & Burstein, 2017). In response to the concerns about the introduction of popular music ensembles “cannibalizing” other school music programs, this study examines the enrollment in middle and high school modern band programs affiliated with the non-profit organization Little Kids Rock. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the impact that introducing a modern band ensemble had on existing ensembles and on participation in school music as a whole. The results of the study indicate that the introduction of modern …

J.K. Mertz’S Bardenklänge: A Context For The Emergence Of The Character Piece Genre Within The Repertoire For Solo Guitar, Brinsley Doran

Masters

Having experience a large increase in concert activity in recent years, one would assume that the works of J.K. Mertz (1806–1856) would haveexperience the same level of attention within academic circles, however research is still limited. As a result, this thesissetsout to understand in what areas do Mertz's works differ fromother guitar works in the first half of the nineteenth century—specifically Mertz's set of character piecesfound in hisBardenklänge, op. 13. This thesiswill address shifts in culture, aesthetics and the increasing interest in the ‘Folk’c.1800–1850 that led to the composition of Mertz’s Bardenklänge. Published in 1847, these works are unique in …

Every Sweet Imagined Possibility: A Senior Recital, Ether Atkinson

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the poster for the senior recital of Esther Atkinson, titled "Every Sweet Imagined Possibility." Kristen La Madrid accompanied the performance. The performance took place on March 7, 2018, in the McBeth Recital Hall.

A Generalized Intervallic Approach To Metric Conflict In Liszt, Robert L. Wells

Music

The music of Franz Liszt has become widely recognized by music theorists for its harmonic and formal innovations. However, little attention has been given to adventurous rhythmic/metric aspects of Liszt’s compositional style: specifically, he frequently incorporates rich metric structures in which the notated metric layer, indicated by time signatures and bars, and heard metric layer, given by cues in the sounding music, are locked in an evolving conflict. To model such interactions, this article develops a new analytical system based on Lewin’s generalized interval system (GIS) concept, constructing a new three-component metric direct product GIS called Met. The article …

Affirmation, Validation, And Empowerment: Influences Of A Composition Competition On Students’ Self-Concepts As Musicians, Daniel Albert

Faculty Authored Articles

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a composition competition influenced four K–12 students’ self-concepts as musicians. Research questions explored motivations for these four students to enter into a composition competition, influences of the competition on students’ self-concepts as musicians (if at all), and effects of the competition besides those of self-concept as a musician (if at all). Data sources for this multiple case design study included semi-structured interviews, journals, and wiki interactions. Findings determined that acceptance to the competition, performance of students’ works, and the reception that students received validated and strengthened their self-concepts as …

Music Theory For Student Composers: A Course Designed For Engagement By Using Both A Flipped Classroom And Praxial Philosophy, Michelle Nagy

Masters Theses

In a world filled with innovation, technology and hands-on learning, the subject of music theory in the high school classroom has stayed relatively the same for the past fifty years for the student composer. By using the same tried-and-true methods, teachers are introducing concepts through lectures, while students reinforce concepts on their own during their homework assignments. Music examples are given on a regular basis and they are usually played on the piano by the professor or through recording. These methods, while effective, are not meeting the needs of today’s tech savvy and hands-on generation. While students are engaging with …

A Case Study Of The Cellists And Treatise Authors: Johann Georg Christoph Schetky (1737-1824), Joseph Reinagle (1752-1825) And John Gunn (C.1765-1823): The Development Of The Cello In Provincial Britain, Margaret Doris

Doctoral

This dissertation provides an investigation of British provincial cello playing in the lateeighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries through a comprehensive examination of the biographical histories and the pedagogical outputs of the cellists and cello treatise authors, Johann Georg Christoph Schetky (1737–1824), Joseph Reinagle (1752–1825) and John Gunn (c.1765–1823). Through re-evaluation and analysis of the biographical profiles of Schetky, Reinagle and Gunn, in combination with a contextual review of their cello treatises, a provincial trend in British cello treatise authorship has been revealed. Schetky was principal cellist with the Edinburgh Musical Society [EMS], whilst Reinagle was principal cellist of the Oxford Musical …

Music And Words: Connecting The Love Of Music With Language, Eileen P. Kennedy, Raymond Torres- Santos

Publications and Research

Children from different cultures have a natural affinity for rhymes, rhythm and music. Imagine if students were able, from the beginning of their education and experiences with academic writing and literacy, to access their unconscious and original selves from which to create their writing. The study of music can help to access this aware, inventive side that can enhance anyone’s writing. As an early childhood writing teacher and a composition teacher, we draw on our experiences with young children with words and music. We examine the relationship between music and words in an effort to bring the primitive drive of …

A Study Of Chemistry: For Wind Ensemble, Morgan Duff

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Many musicians have a limited understanding of chemistry, while many chemists aren't familiar with details of music theory or composition. Through the composition of a four-part musical work based entirely on several broad areas of chemistry, certain relationships have been shown between music and chemistry. Because of the overlap between certain scientific concepts and many aspects of music theory, it is possible for members of both fields to use what they already know in order to gain a deeper understanding of the other, very different, subject. Because everyone has learning strengths in differing areas, I believe the use of disciplinary …

Composing/Arranging Familiar Songs In Choir With Garageband, Brent C. Talbot

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

This practical multi-stage project description demonstrates to teachers how they can engage students in arranging and composing music related to the choral curriculum by using Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) like GarageBand.

Guy Woolfenden: A Composer's Musical Dna, James A. Dreiling

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

Guy Woolfenden is a British composer who has made a name for himself in England as the composer of over 150 scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as music for numerous ballet and opera companies. In addition, he has composed fifteen pieces for wind band and eleven pieces for various wind chamber ensembles. While his wind music is well known throughout England, his name and his music are not as well known throughout the rest of the world. Those few conductors outside of England who are aware of his work tend to know only one or two of …

“Mi Alma Cantará”: Tracing Issues In Music Education Within The Colonial And Contemporary Latin American Church, Kerry Digiacomo

Senior Honors Theses

Music education and institutionalized Christianity have been criticized by historians and ethnomusicologists for their role in the domination and transformation of indigenous Latin American cultures since the late 15th century. However, indigenous peoples, including Amerindians as well as more recent mestizo and Ladino people groups, have also taken an active role in transforming European musics to reflect an emic understanding of their own cultural identity. Music education within the Latin American church has provided an interface for these complex interactions between foreign and native cultural influences. This paper will explore the connections between colonial and contemporary-era music education movements in …

Biophily: Five Musical Episodes For The Revolutionary Educator, Edward J. Holmes

Student Publications

"Biophily: Five Musical Episodes for the Revolutionary Educator" is a composition meant to reflect, through music, some of the key concepts and ideas of authors like Paulo Freire, William Ayers, Neil Postman, and Charles Weingartner in their works that we covered in Social Foundations. Each piece aims to deconstruct poor teaching habits and practices, and musically express a better way to go about education.

Singing With A Sanxian: A Study Of The Principal Instrument In Bai Musical Tradition , Christian Stanbrook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bai people, a minority group in the People’s Republic of China numbering at least 1.8 million, are heavily concentrated in Yunnan Province’s Dali Autonomous Prefecture. Music has historically been a significant part of Bai culture, as Bai musicians across the region enjoy performing Baizu diao, or popular Bai folk tunes, in the form of singing or on various instruments. These diao, or melodies, often describe the lifestyle of Bai people and the region in which they live in and are commonly performed on a threestringed member of the lute family called a sanxian. This study uncovers both the history …

The Preservation Of Subjectivity Through Form: The Radical Restructuring Of Disintegrated Material In The Music Of Gerald Barry, Kevin Volans And Raymond Deane., Adrian Smith

Doctoral

This thesis examines Adorno’s concept of ‘disintegrated musical material’ and applies it to the work of the Irish composers Raymond Deane (b. 1953), Gerald Barry (b. 1952) and Kevin Volans (b. 1949). Although all three of these composers have expressed firm commitments to the ideal of creating new and radical works, much of the material in their music is composed of elements abstracted from the tonal past. This feature of their work would seem contrary to the views of Adorno, who is commonly seen as advocating progressive composition using only the most advanced means. This view comes across most strongly …

The Tardy Recognition Of J.S. Bach's Sonatas And Partitas For Violin Solo, Di Su

Publications and Research

J. S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo (BWV 1001-1006) are among the most important masterpieces in the literature of violin music. They are included in standard repertoire for serious violin students; they are frequently performed in solo recitals; they are recorded by numerous virtuosi; and they are required in major violin competitions. The vast amount of editions also indicates the importance of the works. In Edlund’s catalogue, one finds as many as seventy-seven editions ranging from Simrock (1802) to Henle (1987)

However, the Solos did not enjoy such a prominent status in Bach’s own time and even in …

Dialogue As Performance. Performance As Dialogue, Laura Lynn

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is an arts-based qualitative study in Leadership and Change that describes the qualities of dialogue revealed through the felt experience of Native and non-Native American music composers engaged in a dialogue through music composition. The fifteen co-collaborators who participated in the study range in age from three-years-old to elders. The study is theoretically embedded within Performance Studies, Dr. Carolyn Kenny’s music therapy model Field of Play, and aesthetic philosophy. Methodologically, this work is expressed through performance ethnography and autoethnography and privileges textual and non-textual modes of account including photographs, video excerpts, poetry, and music manuscript. The text is …

Jolene Cynthia Zook In A Senior Composition Recital, Jolene Cynthia Zook

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the program for Jolene Cynthia Zook's senior composition recital held on April 25, 1995, in Mabee Fine Arts Center's Recital Hall.

The Thirty-First Annual Student-Faculty Composition Symposium, The Ouachita Singers, The Ouachita Symphonic Band

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the program for the Thirty-First Annual Student-Faculty Composition Symposium, held on April 10, 1995, in Verser Theatre. The Ouachita Singers, conducted by Charles Fuller, and the Ouachita Symphonic Band, conducted by Craig Hamilton, performed.