Harmonic Convergence

DePaul Magazine

Learn about the remarkable relationship between DePaul University's School of Musica and Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), which is anchored by the prevalence of CSO musicians who serve on the school's music performance faculty.

Key Center Workout: Scale Patterns For Trombonists, Ryan M. Heinlein

Sabbatical Projects

No abstract provided.

Ferdinand Rebay And The Sonata Paradigm, Luiz Mantovani

Soundboard Scholar

With an output of over thirty sonatas or sonata-structured works, Viennese composer Ferdinand Rebay (1880–1953) may be considered among the most significant composers of guitar sonatas; as yet, however, little has been written to place Rebay’s sonatas in historical context. Departing from a review of a guitar concert held in Vienna in 1925, which clearly indicates a shift in the perception of the instrument’s role and capabilities among mainstream audiences, I begin this investigation exploring the guitar club environment in German-speaking territories around the turn of the century, with a focus on the activities of the IGV (Internationale Gitarristenverband; International …

Integrating World Percussion Into Graduate Jazz Training: A Practitioner Reflection, Eugene Seow

Publications and Research

This reflection explores the pedagogical and artistic impact of a non-traditional instructional choice made during the author’s final semester of graduate study at Queens College (CUNY). Initially enrolled in the Jazz Studies: Performance Track (Drum Set), the author elected to substitute formal principal study lessons with a personalised programme of world percussion study under Professor Michael Lipsey. This decision, initially motivated by artistic restlessness, led to foundational experiences in frame drumming, South Indian rhythmic structures, gamelan ensemble, and classical snare etude work. The outcomes of this shift have since permeated the author’s teaching, performance, and curriculum development practice, including the …

Teaching Students Who Have Been Identified With Autism In The Private Piano Teaching Studio: An Application Of General Music Resources And Interviews With Specialists In The Field, Joy Parker

Dissertations

This dissertation is a practical resource for private piano teachers seeking to gain a better understanding of teaching students with autism. Resources used in general music instruction of students with autism were consulted, and relevant information was adapted for the private piano setting. Additionally, resources that are tailored to private piano teaching of students with an identified disability were consulted.

Interviews with three individuals who have experience working with individuals with autism were conducted, and methods and strategies that they found to be most successful were ascertained. One of the interviewees was Dr. Derek Polischuk, Professor of Piano and Director …

An Application Of Vocal Pedagogy For Thai Singers, Phitchaya Klimov

Dissertations

Vocal pedagogy incorporates diverse techniques and methodologies that aim to maintain longevity of the voice and to improve vocal performance, range, and tone. While vocal pedagogy has been extensively studied in Western music traditions, its application in the context of Thai singers remains unfamiliar. This dissertation will investigate the application of vocal pedagogy for Thai singers, with a focus on understanding the unique challenges faced by them. It will outline pedagogical approaches to address these challenges and will therefore lead to more authentic performances. “Complete mastery of the voice as an instrument is an idea toward which every singer must …

0895: Whear Family Papers, 1909-2019, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Dr. Paul W. Whear was a noted composer and Marshall University professor and founded the Huntington Chamber Orchestra. Nancy Robinson Voiers Whear was a renowned musician who worked in Morrow Library at Marshall University and wrote several articles that were published. Their children were Allen Whear, violoncellist, brother Bill, a prominent photographer, and Cynthia, another distinguished musician.

The Whear Family Collection includes original compositions and musical scores by Paul W. Whear, research materials used by Nancy Whear, photography by Bill Whear, and documentation of the musical career of Allen Whear. Also included are programs and other materials from the Huntington …

A Study Of The History, Repertory And Instrumentation Of The Band Of The Corfu Philharmonic Society From 1840 Until 1920, Foteini Angeli

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

The Corfu Philharmonic Society band was founded in 1840 and is still active today. It is considered the one of the oldest continuously operating music education organizations in Greece. The people, repertoire, and instrumentation of this band influenced all other wind bands in Greece. There are important resources available on the topic, but dedicated research to the organization is in its infancy. Focusing on the changes in instrumentation through original manuscripts from the inaugural band (1840) through the end of the First World War reveals significant multinational influences that continue to be felt to this day. This is the first …

Crazy - Ep, Ben P. Focht

Music Summer Fellows

A collection of four songs, written, recorded, and mixed by me as part of an EP. Created under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Davis, and featuring fellow student Nico Yanzaguano on drums. Exploring the themes of power dynamics and identity, these songs display various stylistic elements highly inspired by grunge bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden. These songs are the result of two months of creation, exploring what it was like to write and produce original music.

Singing Our Story: Composing And Writing An Original Musical, Gianna C. Daiuto

Music Summer Fellows

How can we use music to deepen the emotions of the stories we tell? What is the effect of combining song and speech? Through an extensive independent project, I have composed several pieces of original music alongside a script to create an original musical. While it is still in its infancy, this project is the first full draft of this story, and will hopefully be fleshed out to be staged and performed one day in its entirety.

A Performance Guide To Christos Hatzis’ Songs On Poems By Sappho, Maria E. Thomas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Christos Hatzis’ Three Songs of Poems by Sappho (1999) represents a compelling yet understudied contribution to contemporary art song repertoire. This study examines Hatzis’ settings of Sappho’s Fragments 1, 16, and 44, offering both scholarly analysis and practical performance guidance to make the cycle more accessible to singers and scholars. Through musical and textual analysis, this project reveals how Hatzis bridges ancient Greek lyric poetry with modern compositional techniques. The study demonstrates his innovative approach to word painting, rhythmic flexibility, and extended tonality, showing how these elements honor Sappho’s intimate first-person voice while creating a distinctive 20th-century art song …

The Oboe Thread: Tracing The Evolution Of Viet Cuong's Compositional Voice, Devin Gilbreath

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Viet Cuong is an emerging and highly regarded American composer currently serving on the faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches composition, orchestration, and music theory. Cuong's academic credentials include degrees from prestigious institutions such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Over the years, his compositional portfolio has expanded significantly, encompassing a diverse range of genres and mediums, including vocal, orchestral, wind band, and chamber music. His chamber works, in particular, stand out for their fusion of diverse genres and instrumentation. One area in which Cuong has made …

Music, Poetry And Identity In Badakshan, Tajikistan: Singing And Sounding Community, Chorshanbe Goibnazarov

Music & Performance in Muslim Contexts

An illuminating account of Ismaili music, spiritual poetry and social change in Badakhshan.

In the riverine valleys of the Pamir Mountains of Tajik Badakhshan, a thriving millennium-old community of Nizari Ismaili Muslims created a unique spiritual culture in which the performance of music and poetry plays a central role. This book focuses on the central musical and poetic tradition of the Pamiri Ismailis, qasīda-khonī (also known as maddo), tracing its origins, evolution, delocalisation and relocation.

This book introduces readers to leading performers of qasīda-khonī and to the Ismaili gnosis that inspires its music and poetry.

• Based on six …

Relationships Between Modern Marching Percussion And Concert Percussion: An Investigation Of Selected Percussion Ensemble Repertoire, Ian Patrick Mahaffey

Theses and Dissertations

Percussion, as an expansive and diverse art form, encompasses a wide range of performance and cultural aesthetics, all unified by the foundational elements of rhythm, technique, and expression. Within this spectrum, the relationships between marching percussion and concert percussion presents a significant area of study. This document explores the relationships of marching percussion and concert percussion through the contextual analysis of specific percussion ensemble repertoire. By defining the distinct characteristics of concert and marching percussion, the study establishes a framework for comparison and analysis. It highlights how techniques, both musically and compositionally, and the roles of specific instrumentation has contributed …

As Iron Sharpens Iron: Intentional Near-Peer Mentorship In The Collegiate Applied Studio, Morgan Smith Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate students struggle to adjust to the expectations of university music programs. Mentoring programs are consistently cited as tools to build social capital and academic success, but there are few documented studies of mentoring applied directly to the traditional model of conservatory music instruction. Effective near-peer mentoring can build musicianship skills and develop accountability, establishing stronger practice routines and easing the transition to collegiate music study for younger students. This case study examines three models of mentorship to identify ways to create an intentional mentorship program within the applied studio, regardless of scale or specific form of instruction.

What Is Standard? Defining The Orchestral Percussion Excerpt Canon Through Comparison To Annual Symphonic Programming, Julia Kathleen Ross

Theses and Dissertations

The present study seeks to compare requirements for orchestral auditions with season programming for 15 American orchestras to gauge the perception that the most frequently requested percussion excerpts are from works that are rarely, if ever, performed. Examination of required repertoire lists for 35 auditions held by the surveyed orchestras from 2000-2025 shows the relative frequency of each excerpt among eight instrument categories and demonstrates that certain selections are more firmly entrenched in the audition canon than others. This analysis complements a comprehensive review of each orchestra’s Masterworks programming from September 2014-June 2025, wherein the appearance of the larger work …

Reimagining Musical Collaboration: Ai And Music Real-Time Communication (M-Rtc), The Future Of Musical Creativity, Dana Kemack Goot

Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction

This project explored the intersection of Music Real-Time Communication (M-RTC), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) in online musical collaboration. Presented at the 2023 National CMS/ATMI conference, the project served as a preliminary inquiry into how online musicking technologies impact human-to-human interactions and sought out the capabilities in creativity in music technology. The live performance featured three musicians performing from different geographic locations using an AI-generated composition and an AI-powered accompaniment application. The project demonstrated the creative potential of integrating AI and ML into M-RTC, expanding the possibilities for remote collaboration, composition, and performance. The musicians navigated both the …

Clarifying Issues Surrounding The “First” Jazz Recording, Mark C. Gridley

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

Ten questions are answered regarding the first jazz recording, whether it was really the first, and if so, how it qualifies as jazz. They touch on the nature of swing feeling, the extent of improvisation in the recordings, the primacy of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the recordings of Wilbur Sweatman, and the comedy team of Harlan and Collins, and why the Original Creole Orchestra of Bill Johnson, featuring Freddie Keppard, did not record.

East Asian And “Extraordinary”: Intersecting Racial And Musical Identities In The Classical Music Solo Career, Audrey Chen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A performer’s success within the classical music industry is reliant not only on musical merit but also on extramusical factors like race, gender, class, and culture, all of which influence a musician’s upbringing. For East Asian musicians, distinctions of merit can be accompanied by racialized and often paradoxical narratives about Asian identity that essentialize their performance, personality, and background. This dissertation examines how Asian and Asian-American performers of Western classical music navigate this interplay of racial and musical identity within their careers, with a specific focus on string players and pianists.

Chapter 2 introduces five major racialized narratives used to …

Friends And Family: How To Prepare A Themed Recital, Henry Broughton

University Honors Theses

Recital preparation is an essential part of being a successful musician that can be very challenging to students that are unfamiliar with the process. A recital that revolves around a theme can lead to greater audience engagement and make a sense of continuity to multiple pieces on a recital. Though there are countless method books to brass playing, very few of them discuss a method or process for organizing recitals, especially recitals revolving around a theme.

In this paper I will discuss the methods that I used to prepare my senior thesis recital: the techniques I used to practice difficult …

Breath, Void, Ground, Huichun Yang

Masters Theses

Before the sound, there is breath. Before the explosion, there is a threshold. Before the noise, there is silence.

Inspired by the physicality of balloons, this thesis explores breath as sonic material that carries memory, moves through bodies, and resonates across spaces. The balloon becomes a skin that holds breath: a force inhaling trauma, ritual, and intimacy. When released through mouth and latex, breath conjures alien, untranslatable voices that hiss and hum.

It begins with a balloon and expands with endless breath. The balloon becomes a site where the history, body, and voice disintegrate and reform. The pressure and tension …

Kevin Bobo's Boboland: A Performer's Guide, Tyler D. Whitehead

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Kevin Bobo is an active American percussionist, educator, and performer that continues to leave a lasting influence in the percussion community. His works for chamber percussion ensemble and solo marimba continue to push the limitations for percussionists in terms of technical ability, new compositional methods and techniques for expanded timbral effects. Bobo’s compositions such as Boboland, a marimba solo with percussion quartet, present technical and musical challenges that are generally unaligned with traditional performance practices in percussion and especially the marimba. This document aims to provide detailed guidance and instruction for the performance of Boboland and will cover all aspects …

Sweet Talk "Switch On", David Turner, Soren Walker

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

“Switch On” is the debut album by Melbourne’s Sweet Talk. Founded in 2018 by D. M. Turner and Soren Walker, Sweet Talk was created as a means to explore their love of American music of the mid to late 20th century through a uniquely Australian lens. Australia and the United States have a close relationship stretching back over 100 years. This bond continues to be expressed geopolitically and is prevalent in the cross-cultural exchange found in contemporary music. Sharing a British and Irish heritage, the countries have developed several musical styles in parallel including country music and rock n roll. …

The Application Of Syncopated Rhythms In The Development Of Sight-Reading Skills For Non-Keyboard Music Majors, Ronald David Rodriguez Herrera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of integrating syncopated rhythms into the group piano curriculum for undergraduate music students with varied levels of piano proficiency. Participants (N=76) enrolled in Group Piano II and IV were assigned control and experimental groups across multiple class sections. Three research questions guided the study: (1) How does the introduction of syncopated rhythm patterns affect group piano students’ sight-reading performance? (2) How does consistent practice of syncopated rhythms influence students' ability to sustain a steady pulse? (3) Do students consider exposure to syncopated rhythms a valuable component in their future careers as music educators …

Graduate Harpsichord Recital, Dongyuan Chen

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The thesis consists of a harpsichord recital that will include the Suite No. 3, “Melpomene” in A Minor by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer; The First Pavan and Galliard by William Byrd; Sesta Toccata by Michelangelo Rossi; Sonata No. 1 in C Major: The Fight between David and Goliath by Johann Kuhnau; Keyboard Sonata No. 37 in E Minor by Carlos de Seixas; Keyboard Suite in D Minor, HWV 436, by George Frideric Handel; and Passacaglia Ungherese by György Ligeti. Accompanying the recital is an extended research document, which includes program notes with introductions to the composers and their musical styles, …

East Meets West In Chinese Orchestral Repertoire: The Fusion Of Chinese Nationalism And Western Musical Influence, Tianxi Wen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This doctoral document explores the intersection of Chinese musical traditions and Western orchestral influences, focusing specifically on how Chinese composers have navigated this blend to create distinctive orchestral works. Grounded in my background as a doctoral student in orchestral conducting and enriched by my ethnomusicological expertise, this document examines how these composers have integrated both traditions into their music.CHAPTER 1, “Introduction”, introduces the document’s structure, central argument, and the selection of orchestral works for analysis. It also defines the document's purpose and scope. CHAPTER 2, “A Brief History of the Orchestra in China”, examines the origins, evolution, and development of …

The Jack Pine And Four Other Solo Piano Works Composed By Five Canadian Women In The Twenty-First Century, Huanwen Wang

Dissertations, 2020-current

This document aims to shine a light on five distinctive piano works by five twenty-first century Canadian women composers. The pieces are Minute Etudes (Book Two) (2002) by Emily Doolittle, From Wapta Ice (2003) by Diana McIntosh, The Jack Pine (2010) by Jocelyn Morlock, Smoke Darkened Sky (2021) by Kelly-Marie Murphy, and …our inner lives were entwined… embroidered with the same pattern... (2021) by Karen Sunabacka. The main objective of this document is to identify stylistic traits in the selected pieces, discuss the source of inspiration of each piece and illustrate how the musical elements reflect the source of …

The Sonata For Double Bass And Piano By Ruth Gipps: A New Performer's Edition With Commentary, Nicholas M. Greer-Young

Dissertations, 2020-current

The Sonata for Double Bass and Piano by Ruth Gipps (completed in 1996) presents unique challenges for performers. The piece was previously only available in a published version of the manuscript which lacks many articulation markings, dynamics, and other expressive indicators. This allows performers justification for a wide variety of interpretations but also requires a high level of analytical investment to produce a compelling performance. The new, fully edited, score makes the sonata more easily accessible while the opportunity to engage in in-depth analysis and interpretation offers tremendous pedagogical value to students who would like to start from the first …

A Discussion Of Rodion Shchedrin’S Ten Piano Pieces, Op. 20, Wei Mo

Dissertations, 2020-current

Russian composer and pianist Rodion Shchedrin (b. 1932) is considered one of the most successful contemporary Russian composers. He established his reputation at a young age. This document will discuss Shchedrin’s early musical style as reflected in his Ten Piano Pieces, Op. 20, a collection of ten pieces composed between 1952 and 1961. By analyzing the structure, harmony, and character of these pieces, this document aims to explore the commonalities among them and explore the distinctive appeal of Shchedrin's music.

Elements Of Greek Identity In The Eight Dances From The Greek Islands By Yiannis Constantinidis, Afroditi Mitsopoulou

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this research is to present elements of Greek style and identity in the composition for solo piano, Eight Dances from the Greek Islands (Οκτώ Νησιώτικοι Ελληνικοί Χοροί, για πιάνο) (1954) by Yiannis Constantinidis. What is regarded as Greek national identity? How was it formed and developed throughout the centuries, and what compositional techniques did Greek composers before Constantinidis use in their works to define Greek identity? A topic examined in this document was the construction and deconstruction of Greek identity, and the question addressed was whether Greek identity can ultimately be defined. Constantinidis (1903-1984) was …