Music Performance Commons^™

Review Of Jon Stratton And Nabeel Zuberi's Black Popular Music In Britain Since 1945 (2014), Tim Engles

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A review of Jon Stratton and Nabeel Zuberi's book Black Popular Music in Britain since 1945.

Understanding And Implementing Extended Saxophone Techniques, Tyler R. Bokman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Contemporary classical music often pushes the boundaries of how instruments should be played and what kinds of sounds they should produce. A great deal of contemporary music requires the player to utilize playing techniques that may seem very strange and difficult to those who are unfamiliar with them. These unusual practices, known as extended techniques, can include playing in extreme ranges, manipulating pitches in particular ways, and applying abnormal articulations. While once seen as a sort of novelty, these extended techniques are becoming increasingly essential to the contemporary musician. This is especially true of the saxophonist.

While nearly every other …

A Summary And Reflection Of The Percussion Repertoire For My Senior Recital, Christopher Scimecca

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Honors Recital Presentation, David Rutter

Honors Projects

The purpose of this project was rooted in the belief that the reception of a piece of music can be altered or enhanced when the audience is given a compelling historical or cultural background of each composition. With sometimes hundreds of years between the audience members and the composers, to deliver an emotionally stirring and relevant performance to a modern audience is an incredible feat. In the spirit of making my senior violin recital more accessible and entertaining to my own audience, I devoted my Honors project to gathering information on the philosophies, personalities, successes and tragedies of each of …

The Variety Show: Why Classical String Musicians Are Exploring A Multistyle Approach To Teaching, Kelly C. Wiedemann

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The Variety Show: Why Classical String Musicians are

Exploring a Multistyle Approach to Music

Kelly C. Wiedemann

This case study examines the experiences of five classically trained string teachers who now include alternative styles in their teaching. The research questions are: (1) What factors inspire a classically trained string educator to begin teaching alternative styles to their students? (2) Why is it important to keep classical music in string pedagogy? (3) How have these teachers, their peers, students, and community reacted to multistylism? The interviews revealed four major points of motivation: Opportunities for developing creativity and finding a personal voice …

Fright Night, Music Department

Concerts

Peter and the Wolf by Prokofieff, narrated by Allen Lanham, Green Eggs and Ham by Kapilow, with Marilyn Coles (mezzo soprano) & Rachel Sapp (soprano), and “Carol Ann’s Theme” from Poltergeist with a Children’s Chorus from Charleston Elementary and Middle Schools. Performed by The Eastern Symphony OrchestraConducted by Richard Robert Rossi.

Cathedrals, Castles, & Colonies, Music Department

Concerts

Cathedrals, Castles, & Colonies, performed by the EIU Choral Ensembles, and conducted by Richard Robert Rossi & April Lee.

Collage Concert, Music Department

Concerts

Collage Concert, featuring the talents of EIU's Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, WInd Symphony, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Combos, Concert Choir.

Gesture-Sensing Technology For The Bow: A Relevant And Accessible Digital Interface For String Instruments, Zachary Boyt

Masters Theses

Technological advances in powerful, miniaturized electronics have created a growing potential to continue the evolution of string instruments through an accessible digital interface. Although many new types of instruments and controllers have explored this goal, gesture-sensing technology, when paired with the expressive nature of the bow, has provided the most eligible solution towards bridging technology and tradition. Through a selective showcase of technical development, artistic application, and future possibilities, this thesis traces the evolution of gesturesensing bow technology as an accessible digital interface in string instrument performance.

Your Guide On Learning How To Play The Piano, Jankiben Patel

Senior Theses

I’ve had a strong desire to learn how to play a piano ever since my first music class in elementary school. I asked my parents if I could receive piano lessons. They saw how extremely excited I was and they agreed to seek out a piano instructor for me. Unfortunately, my parents soon realized that they simply could not afford the fees. I brought up the topic a few more times, but to no avail. In middle school, I joined the band to play the clarinet. Although my hopes of playing the piano were put on hold, I grasped this …

Spring Music Series (May 6-10, 2014), Lindenwood University

Student Music Performance Programs

Program for Spring Music Series (May 6-10, 2014).

Series included:

• Conductors Concert (May 6, 2014)
• Chamber Concert (May 7, 9, 2014)
• Voices Only Concert (May 8, 10, 2014)

Mind, Body, Music, Kimberly Lewis

Honors Projects

Performance anxiety is a phenomenon that all musicians struggle with at some point in their careers. As someone who has been a victim of performance anxiety throughout my life as a musician, I searched for ways that I could eliminate my own performance anxiety, as well as share information with other musicians on how their performance anxiety could be reduced. After doing my research, I realized that many music teachers do not discuss performance anxiety and ways that it can be reduced when teaching their students. I propose that music teachers discuss performance anxiety and performance anxiety reducing techniques with …

Flow, Tommy Bravos

Compositions

Flow was composed in the Spring of 2014 and premiered in it’s entirety during the April Student Composition Concert here at Illinois Wesleyan University. I composed the piece during an emotionally tumultuous time, and it represents many events that were occurring cyclically in my life at the time. The emotional events that directly inspired Flow were like opposite sides of a coin: one being relationships attempting to grow and the other being relationships gradually turning sour, needing to be left behind. These ideas are represented by the piece revolving around the recurring motive, showing how these events constantly wove in …

Rodeo, Music Department

Concerts

Rodeo by Aaron Copland & Concerto in D minor by CPE Bach. Performed by the Eastern Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Richard Robert Rossi. Featuring special guest artist Rebecca Johnson, Flute.

Songs Of Love, Music Department

Concerts

Performed by the EIU Choral Ensembles & EIU Symphonic Honor Choir. Conducted by Richard Robert Rossi and April Lee.

Dolce Stil Novo, Timothy W. Mcdunn

Compositions

Dolce Stil Novo is a slightly unconventional kind of tone poem. As the title suggests, the main inspiration for the piece is the poetry of Dante Alighieri, especially that subset of it which belongs to his so-called "Sweet New Style." While the three successive intermezzi are tied only obliquely to this subject, the first and final movements make direct reference to Dante's Sweet New Style as found in the Vita Nuova, an autobiographical compilation of prose and verse. In this way, the piece is a reflection on Dante's writings from two perspectives: that of the author (in the first and …

Eighteenth Century Techniques Of Classical Improvisation On The Violin: Pedagogy, Practice And Decline, Flavia Claudia Todea

Theses : Honours

The art of improvisation flourished in both instrumental and vocal music during the late seventeenth and throughout the eighteenth centuries. The violin techniques of improvisation taught in the eighteenth century (such as ornamentation of melody, decoration of fermatas, extemporization of cadenzas and creation of preludes) formed an integral part of instrumental pedagogy and performance practice at the time, which then declined significantly from the early nineteenth century onwards. It seems that this practice of improvisation has been neglected and its principles almost forgotten in the world of classical Western music today. This paper makes an argument for the re-introduction of …

Holiday Concert, Music Department

Concerts

Magnificat in G minor by Antonio Vivaldi & Overture on French Carols by Philip Lane featuring the Eastern Symphony Orchestra, the EIU Choral Ensembles, and Charleston High School Advanced Chorus.

Fright Night, Music Department

Concerts

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten & selections from the movie Harry Potter performed by the Eastern Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Richard Robert Rossi.

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom: The Audiotopias Of Selena Across The Americas, Janet Muniz

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Using Josh Kun’s Audiotopia as a framework, this paper will explore the role of Selena’s music as audiotopias, the concept that music functions like a possible utopia for immigrant communities on both sides of the United States and Mexico border in imagining an ideal borderless America. Music serves as a disruption to the oppressive reality of immigrant communities and makes the struggles of marginalized communities audible for those who have been traditionally silenced. This paper will fill in gaps in existing literature of Selena's remembrance by applying Kun’s audiotopia theory for an understanding of the places her music takes …

In Process And Practice: The Development Of An Archive Of Explicit Stylistic Data For Irish Traditional Instrumental Music, Martin Tourish

Doctoral

The study of style in Irish traditional music is very much in its infancy. Although current authors locate its beginnings in the 1980s, valuable information can be found from as far back as the eighteenth century. While style is a much-discussed topic, to date it has not been the subject of a major study. Through what is termed ‘the oral tradition’, much of the genre’s stylistic features are transmitted as implicit knowledge. This type of knowledge is difficult to measure, consciously use and share and while these difficulties have been highlighted in one EU-level report, they are also well known …

Cathedrals, Castles, And Colonies, Music Department

Concerts

Performed by the EIU Choral Ensembles & Collegium Musicum. Conducted by Richard Robert Rossi and April Lee.

Side Show: The Musical Direction, Morgan D. Hurd

Music

No abstract provided.

Fearless: Alice Broadway And Gamelan Gita Semara, Alice C. Broadway

SURGE

Next week a group of education students and members of Sunderman Conservatory’s Gamelan Gita Semara ensemble are fearlessly traveling to Ubud, Bali for three weeks for a musically and culturally immersive experience. The group, led by Dr. Brent Talbot has a packed itinerary. Much of the trip will be devoted to working with a local gamelan teacher to learn about different styles of the drumming art. While there, they will also be attending an arts festival and collaborating with locals on various projects. [excerpt]

A Study Of Music, Embodiment, And Meaning In The World Of Portal, Helen A. Rowe

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Interactive video game music is a relatively new and quickly expanding art form, incorporating elements of music history, cinema, and video game theory. This study explores how music functions, reveals meaning, and defines player experience within the interactive world of the video games Portal and Portal 2—and how the paradoxical, twisting essence of the Portal world is created and shaped musically. Ultimately, this is a study of the continued existence and relevance of classical music and traditional music history in the futuristic world of video games.

An Exploration Of Art Song And Aria: Historical Influence And Performance Practice, Eliza Mandzik

Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship and Creativity

Soprano Eliza Mandzik's contribution to the Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship and Creativity was a musical performance. This document presents the progam for Mandzik's performance.

An Exploration Of Art Song And Aria: Historical Influence And Performance Practice, Eliza Mandzik

Music Student Scholarship

Soprano Eliza Mandzik's contribution to the Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship and Creativity was a musical performance. This document presents the progam for Mandzik's performance.

"It's Just That For The First Time, I Feel... Wicked": A Rhetorical Analysis Of Wicked's Elphaba Using Kenneth Burke's Guilt-Purification-Redemption Cycle, Patricia Foreman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the Broadway production, Wicked, and more specifically, the character of Elphaba, or the Wicked Witch of the West. The study utilized Kenneth Burke's theory of the guilt-purification-redemption cycle, and considered Elphaba's journey between the three steps of Burke's cycle. In order to understand this journey better, the researcher considered various facets of the show, including the script, lyrics, costuming, including attire and make-up, and interactions with other characters in the production. Elphaba's causes of guilt, including her mother's death, her relationship with Glinda, her cause in working with Animals, and failed magic …

Fsu Ovation: 2012-2013 Season Fine Arts Series And Chancellor's Distinguished Speaker Series, Lamb Earnest

Choir History

The Department of Performing and Fine Arts Building Community through the Arts

Vision: The Department of Performing and Fine Arts will be the cultural and intellectual center for Fayetteville and its environs.

Mission: The primary mission of the Department of Performing and Fine Arts is to produce graduates in the performing and fine arts — music, dance, theater, visual arts — that will be leaders in their respective fields and its advocate. The Department is also committed to building community through the arts by being a resource for performing and fine arts pedagogy, cultivating a climate where creativity flourishes, engaging …

Program Notes For A Master's Recital In Choral Conducting, Melissa Ann Williams

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Master of Music, and submitted in support of a choral concert conducted by the author on April 28, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church, Mankato, MN. It presents brief biographical information regarding each composer and a conductor's analysis of their compositions performed in the concert. It includes suggestions on performance practice, appropriate rehearsal techniques, and a rehearsal journal of the progress of the chosen recital pieces. The author conducted Henry Purcell's Come, Ye Sons of Art, performed by the University Chorale and …