Composition Commons^™

Experimenting With Colors In Music: Making And Breaking Rules In The Butterfly Effect, Chloe King

Honors Theses

The following thesis is a culmination of four years of academic and musical development as a percussionist at the University of Mississippi. It offers a discussion and analysis of my original composition, The Butterfly Effect (2021-2023), exploring the compositional process from preliminary sketches to the finalized score. It also discusses the inspiration for composing an original work, the use of different music theory techniques relevant to an analysis of the work, and comparisons to relevant compositions throughout the history of Western music. The Butterfly Effect experiments with compositional techniques that often depart from established rules of harmony and counterpoint, a …

Etudes For Marimba: An Assessment Of Intermediate And Advanced Techniques With Four New Works, William Alderman

Dissertations, 2020-current

Over the past century, the marimba has experienced rapid growth. From its construction, performance practices, and technical approach, the instrument has been elevated to a well-respected instrument. Since the development of the five-octave marimba in the early 1980s, literature for the marimba has expanded exponentially. Through this expansion, works for the beginning and advanced performer has become widely available. However, a gap in literature exists within intermediate to intermediate-advanced range. Although it is of utmost importance for the progressing performer, this stepping stone literature can be difficult to find. In response, I have written my book, Etudes for Marimba: Four …

Proceedings Of The 21st Century Guitar Conference 2019 & 2021

The 21st Century Guitar

This volumeʼs contributions grew from 20 of the 94 scheduled keynotes, lectures and lecture-recitals of the first and second editions of The 21st Guitar Conference. Five items stem from the inaugural edition (2019, 44 contributions) and 15 from the second edition (2021, 50 contributions).1 This conference is unique in that it is centered on contemporary guitar research, performance and pedagogy.2 Previously, guitar research had gained increased visibility thanks to the International Guitar Research Centre, launched in 2014 (Stephen Goss, President), which regularly (co-)organizes conferences on guitar research; and Soundboard Scholar, launched in 2015 (Jonathan Leathwood, Editor) ‒ currently the only …

Microtunings, Complexity, Variability: A New Sound Map For The Guitar, Pascale Criton, Caroline Delume

The 21st Century Guitar

How do microtunings help broaden the guitar's sound map and bring new musical possibilities? In this contribution, we present a set of works in which the guitar is tuned in the 72 or 96 equal temperament. They are representative of Pascale Critonʼs writing and were composed between 1996 and 2019. Each type of tuning favors its own map of harmonic relations and the generation of specific acoustic behaviors. We examine their structural, technical and expressive peculiarities and highlight how the writing and the instrumental gesture are renewed by these tunings.

Largo Teso: The Seven Studies For Guitar By Maurizio Pisati, Maurizio Pisati, Elena Càsoli

The 21st Century Guitar

In this contribution, composer and interpreter talk about the Seven Studies from their respective points of view. Maurizio Pisati explains how he developed a new guitar, departing from a single study and arriving at the overall formal conception through timbres, techniques and articulations; and how the soloistic studies led him to a guitarled ensemble piece. Elena Càsoli deals with issues such as the score's indications and the instrumental techniques.

Jorge Peixinho ‒ In Memoriam For Solo Guitar: A Compositional And Interpretative Tribute, Pedro Baptista, Pedro Rodrigues, Evgueni Zoudilkine

The 21st Century Guitar

This paper focuses on a compositional and interpretative tribute, consisting of a work for solo guitar composed by Pedro Baptista in 2021 and titled Jorge Peixinho ‒ In Memoriam. The piece is intended to crystallize, focus and amplify recurrent and characteristic elements of Jorge Peixinhoʼs (1940-1995) guitar writing, During the second half of the 20th century, shaping the avant-garde musical movement in Portugal, this composer developed and used a range of techniques, effects, gestures and structures, which Baptista now explores in a systematic way. These elements were identified through analysis and hands-on exploration with the guitar of Peixinhoʼs manuscripts, as …

Composing For Guitar Orchestra: Challenges And Advantages Of Homogeneous Orchestration, Jason Noble, Steve Cowan

The 21st Century Guitar

The term orchestration tends to invoke heterogeneous combinations of instruments, especially those of the symphony orchestra. But homogeneous ensembles, comprised of combinations of the same kind of instrument, also make up an important part of the musical and music-pedagogical landscapes. As we argue in this paper, orchestrating for homogeneous ensembles is grounded in the same perceptual principles as orchestrating for heterogeneous ensembles, and may be analyzed using the same taxonomy of orchestral effects. In general, effects based on perceptual similarity between sounds are facilitated in homogeneous orchestration, while effects based on perceptual difference require greater attention to detail on the …

Making Malice Musical: Verdi’S Compositional Journey Through The Eyes Of Six Villains, Michael Chadwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Giuseppe Verdi is a pillar of the operatic world and had a profound impact on the evolution of the art form. From a rudimentary beginning, he developed over time from a popular creator of operas in the solita forma style of 19^th century Italy into a master craftsman of combining music, text, and theatrical drama. Verdi utilized the popular compositional formal convention of solita forma to begin his career. Over time he evolved beyond its boundaries and shifted his focus to the holistic theatrical presentation of the drama. Much has been written about this evolution through analysis of Verdi’s …

Honors Capstone Composition Recital, Kayla L. Bivin

Honors Capstones

The Honors Capstone Composition Recital is an exhibition of my own musical compositions from throughout my undergraduate study. The purpose of the event was to perform original music and share it with the community. The program is completely comprised of original works for a variety of instruments and ensembles and includes five world premiere performances out of the seven pieces, totaling about 45 minutes of music. The performance was held at the NIU Recital Hall (located in the Music Building at 550 Lucinda Ave.) at 7:00 pm CST on April 16, 2023. It was available for free to the public, …

Grant Steinweg Composition Senior Recital, Andrews University

Student Degree Recitals 2022-2023

Grant Steinweg, composer Assisted by many gracious musicians from the Department of Music and the surrounding community.

“An Evening of Creativity, Collaboration, and Worship”

Early Instruments In 21st Century Composition And An Original Composition For Saxophones And Viols, Jacob Bitinas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers continually seek new timbres and sonorities to bend to their will. The early music revival of the twentieth century has resurrected dozens of instruments that have gone unutilized in contemporary composition for centuries. The historically-informed-performance movement has now evolved to a point where early instruments and period performance techniques can add extraordinary new characters to twenty-first century compositions. This thesis explores how composers effectively utilize early instruments like the viola da gamba, harpsichord, lute, and recorder in their compositions.

The document also contains interview transcripts from eight composers and performers, including Nico Muhly, Liam Byrne, Martha Bishop, David Loeb, …

A Composer's Perspective On The Clarinet Concerto, Sarah Marze

Honors Scholar Theses

While seminal literature on concerto form analysis and compositions for clarinet and orchestra has been conducted, this undergraduate thesis is an exploration from a young composer’s perspective. My priority was discovering the breadth of what the clarinet concerto has to offer in order to learn how to place my own work as a composer into historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts.
First, I present an abridged history of the clarinet concerto. Despite this musical form being hundreds of years old, concerto composition is still relevant today because it is a display of balance; the best concerti are delicate balancing acts of …

Bloom: A 21st Century Mandolin Concerto, Ashley Hoyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have created a career performing various types of music on the mandolin. Very little of the concert repertoire, however, includes music originally written for the mandolin with most of it consisting of rearrangements of violin, cello, or piano music. This observation has led me down a path to learn why there is a lack of mandolin concert repertoire as well as to create new music specifically written for the instrument. In this thesis, an original mandolin concerto, Bloom, aims not only to add to the instrument’s repertoire, but bring it into the twenty-first century using contemporary compositional techniques. I …

"Overture" (For Emmanuel), Katherine Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

“Overture” (For Emmanuel) is a piece derived from twelve melodies from the composer’s original musical, Emmanuel. The piece is for full orchestra, and is five minutes and forty-seven seconds long.

The Planets, Reimagined: Translating Science Into Music, Kaitlyn Wincup

Honors Projects

Inspired by Gustav Holst’s The Planets, this project analyzed the qualitative properties of the planets in our Solar System and translated them into a composition, created by Connor Gibbs, to represent an overall aural depiction of each planet. Where Holst created an astrological depiction of each of the planets, this piece is an astronomical depiction that broadens the perspectives of its listeners.

Escape Beneath: An Original Game Score Inspired By An Analysis Of Garry Schyman's Music, Daniel Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video-game music has grown into a vast array of different styles, sounds, and applications. As a newer field of music, game scoring has begun to receive high acclaim. Garry Schyman has become one of the most successful composers within the video-game industry. His music has received many awards and nominations throughout the years. Despite this, research and analysis into his compositions and techniques are almost non-existent. This thesis studies his techniques within the video-game scores for BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Middle Earth Shadow of War, and Torn; and then applies them into an original …

"Now, Then, Then:" An Original Composition And Examination Of The Influence Of Blues, Bluegrass, And Rock In Western Concert Music, David Klock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines four pieces by three composers and one creative team, focusing on connections to bluegrass, blues, and rock music in each. The pieces are Raphael by Bryce Dessner, Cognitive Consonance II: Westering by Christopher Trapani, Bog Bodies and other Macabre Miniatures by Nicolas Lell Benavides, and “Three Dots and a Dash” by Punch Brothers. Each of these works uses distinct instrumentations, but every ensemble includes guitar in some fashion. This examination informs the original composition entitled Now, Then, Then, scored for violin, cello, electric guitar, and marimba. In this original composition, Klock uses devices found within these …

Phantasticus: An Exploration Of The Sound World Of 17th Century Italian Instrumental Music, Ian Jones

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

The Baroque period is home to some of the most prolific composers known today: Handel, Vivaldi, Bach all fill the standard repertoire of many instrumentalists today. However, who came before, and why should we care? Prior to these notable composers of the High Baroque, the 17th century marked an era of immense musical discovery. The early 1600s was a time of exploration and excitement within the realms of music making and musical thought. Claudio Monteverdi was a pivotal figure in the development of the early Baroque world, and with that, new styles of music emerged, noted as stil concertato …

Digital Evolution: How The Development Of Digital Audio Technologies Have Changed The Way Video Game Composers Create Music, Mason Cooke

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

This work provides annotations for a collection of sources relevant to the topic above.

Copland And Bernstein: How The American Left Responds To Mccarthyism Through Music: An Annotated Bibliography, Rachel Clausing

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein were not only two of the most influential American composers but were also important cultural figures in left-wing American politics throughout their lifetimes. As public figures with sometimes communist sympathies, they fell victim to McCarthyism’s Red Scare tactics like so many others did, facing scrutiny from the US government. The Cold War era, marked by a contradictory combination of a cultural push for family values and consumerism with the overarching fear of foreign infiltration and nuclear annihilation, led to a feeling of anxiety and mistrust. In this paper, I examine the ways in which Copland’s …

Listen To The River: Dolores, Ophelia, And Female Resistance In Opera, Daniel Aaron Barnidge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The music of female characters in the great masterpieces of opera often demonstrates resistance to and undermines the abuse they have historically received in opera plots. The Mexican folktale that my opera, The Tragedy of La Llorona, draws inspiration from plays on many of the same tropes historically found in female characters in opera including madness, sexuality, and lack of agency. This led to research into the portrayal of women in opera as part of my pre-compositional process and my desire to access this tale free from the traditional 'marianismo' and 'machismo' narratives it is associated with and which …

Rima, Gregory J. Menillo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Instrumental work for violin and piano based on a sestina by Dante Alighieri; written to commemorate the poet on the 700th anniversary of his death. Commissioned by Elena Augilar Kosta for Eriko Sato and David Oei. This piece received its premier by Curtis Macomber and Steven Beck on May 20, 2022 in Elebash Hall at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Using Geologic Principles And Data To Create A Symphony For Wind Ensemble, Thomas J. Davis

2022 Symposium

Geology and geologic processes have featured in many pieces of classical music such as Alan Hovhaness’ symphonic works after Mt. St. Helens and Glacier Peak but these pieces are impressionistic and only take general inspiration from the geology of their subjects. This paper describes the creation of Tectonics (2021) a piece which incorporates and describes many geologic principles and processes, such as mantle convection, through the musical form of cannon, the formation of fold and thrust belts whose cross sections are directly visually recreated in the score, and the physical dynamics of earthquake waves demonstrated through variations of pitch and …

Reborn: The Documentation And Processes Of A Fusion Project, Natalie Merrill

Composition/Recording Projects

Many musicians aim to create something new, fresh, unprecedented, unpredictable. They seek uniqueness, attempting to create a sound that will be traced back to their work as music history progresses. As they work to find their distinct voices, musicians spend years trying to find their right sound, hoping it will leave a legacy of music tied to their original creativity. Composition, when based on various musical influences, is an incredible tool for the musician because it can bring together styles – and more importantly, people and cultures – from all over the world. The chapters of this paper tell the …

On The Subject Of Loneliness., Isaac Raymond Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Loneliness has been experienced since ancient times, but all were made acutely aware of the need for social interaction during the long periods of lockdown during 2020 and 2021. on the subject of loneliness draws inspiration from a variety of texts which examine the complex effects of loneliness from emotional, scientific, and spiritual viewpoints. Redactions and rearrangements of these texts form a new narrative which does not always follow a linear form or work toward a clear goal. The speaker’s internal dialogue formed from the disparate texts reflects the impact of loneliness on the music itself; only in retrospect do …

Grrrls, Grrrls, Grrrls: Incorporating Feminist Theory Into Punk Rock Composition, Bryan M. Waring

Composition/Recording Projects

This project argues that one can make rock music with anti-sexist values by incorporating feminist criticism and gendered performance into the composition of punk rock music. To test this thesis, the history of feminism and its implementation within musical discourse were examined. Using feminist music theory as a lens for observation, several songs from female artists and mix-gender bands within the punk genre were analyzed. This was done in order to find similarities in compositional practices and to explore punk rock’s symbolic representations of gender. Areas covered were the expression of jouissance by the proto-punks, the use of détournement by …

Jeremy Lee In A Student Composers Recital, Jeremy Lee

Honors Thesis

This recital and collection of original sheet music represent the culminating work for senior Music major (Contemporary Styles and Practices concentration) Jeremy Lee at Loyola Marymount University. The program features a selection of musical compositions that encapsulate different styles, genres, and unique compositional devices. Pieces also utilize a variety of arrangements and mediums, including compositions for multiple instruments and for film. Program notes for the included selections describe the historical influences and/or the personal stories and inspirations behind each piece. Performed live on April 21^st, 2022, in Murphy Recital Hall.

A Synthesis Of Contemporary Music Composition Pedagogy Practices For The Undergraduate And Graduate Level Sequences, And An Exploration Of Time, Sound, And Space: An Aleatoric Event Score In Collaboration With The Lsu Museum Of Art, Jeremi Wayne Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part consists of a synthesis of contemporary music composition pedagogy practices for the undergraduate and graduate level sequences. A conversation of the study of music composition pedagogy is used to investigate current pedagogical practices in music composition and present those findings as a resource guide for new and future teachers. The second part presents an Exploration of Time, Sound, and Space, an Aleatoric Event Score Collaboration with the LSU Museum of Art. This event score is a product of the development of this dissertation commenced with a straightforward question; can we experience/consume …

Strength And Vulnerability In Maurice Ravel’S Sonata For Violin And Cello And Osvaldo Golijov’S Mariel For Cello And Marimba: An Analysis Through Performance And Composition, Andrea Casarrubios

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to “stimulate more ambitious performances,” as David Lewin writes in his Studies in Music with Text, this dissertation is meant to provide new perspectives into two preexisting works, Maurice Ravel’s Sonate pour Violon et Violoncelle, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel for cello and marimba, through the active making of two original compositions written for similar instrumentations, La Libertad se levantó llorando for violin and cello, and Speechless for cello and percussion. Taking Lewin’s proposition into consideration, I share performance insights and discuss how the creation of these new compositions have influenced my interpretations of the two respective …

To Launch A Thousand Ships, Daniel Silva

Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Madeline Miller’s novel The Song of Achilles (2012), To Launch a Thousand Ships is a four-movement orchestral piece that depicts the story of Achilles and the Trojan War.