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open access

Addressing Technical and Musical Demands of Contemporary Music for Horn through Newly-Composed Etudes

Description: Contemporary music for horn often requires techniques and musical or notational considerations that are unconventional with respect to the standard pedagogy of the instrument. As such, these considerations often represent a level of challenge to which the average-intermediate to advanced-hornist is unprepared to approach or altogether unfamiliar. The most prominent of these demands arising in the last few decades of the twentieth century through today include microtonality (such as extended jus… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Hessel, Eric
open access

An Analysis and Performance Guide of Selected Works for Saxophone by Cuban Composers Jorge Luis Sosa and Andrés Alén-Rodriguez

Description: A large portion of the standard repertoire for saxophone and piano has already been recorded and performed many times and has received significant scholarly study. For a performer, remaining relevant requires learning and performing new compositions. Jorge Sosa and Andrés Alén are both accomplished composers, yet outside of the Latin-American community they remain virtually unknown to most saxophonists. This project serves as an introduction to both composers. Combined, Sosa and Alén have nine … more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Friel, Stephan
open access

An Argument in Favor of the Saxhorn Basse (French Tuba) in the Modern Symphony Orchestra

Description: The French tuba was a much-needed addition to the brasswind musical instrument family, adding depth, projection and a unique color to French orchestral literature. Its ancestors the serpent and ophicleide both lacked the tonal stability and sonic power to adequately present the bass wind role in a robust orchestra. Through the efforts of its developer and patent-holder Adolphe Sax, the French tuba made converts among players and composers, effectively creating its own niche in music history. Mu… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Kleinsteuber, Carl
open access

The Art of Marimba Articulation: A Guide for Composers, Conductors, and Performers on the Expressive Capabilities of the Marimba

Description: Articulation is an element of musical performance that affects the attack, sustain, and the decay of each sound. Musical articulation facilitates the degree of clarity between successive notes and it is one of the most important elements of musical expression. Many believe that the expressive capabilities of percussion instruments, when it comes to musical articulation, are limited. Because the characteristic attack for most percussion instruments is sharp and clear, followed by a quick decay, … more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Davis, Adam Benjamin
open access

An Assessment of Extant Euphonium Methodologies for Developing and Performing in the Upper Register

Description: This dissertation presents a categorization of existing methodologies of upper register development for euphoniumists with evaluation of effectiveness and current use of these methodologies. The purpose of this study is to provide euphonium musicians as well as educators with essential references and guides to applicable methods for developing the upper register more effectively with greater efficacy. The assessments of current methodologies include three steps: categorization, summarization, a… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Chou, Wei Chien
open access

Background, Compositional Style, and Performance Considerations in the Clarinet Works of David Baker: Clarinet Sonata and Heritage: A Tribute to Great Clarinetists

Description: David Baker (b. 1931) is an educator, composer, and jazz legend. He has composed at least fifteen works that include the clarinet. Baker’s Clarinet Sonata (1989) has become a standard of clarinet repertoire and a popular recital inclusion. His chamber work Heritage: A Tribute to Great Clarinetists (1996) interweaves solo transcriptions of five jazz clarinetists. The compositional style of Baker’s clarinet works frequently links jazz and classical idioms. The two works discussed in this document… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Lin, Sheng-Hsin

Beyond Nothingness: A Broader Nihilism in Cinema Paradiso by Stephen Goss

Description: Stephen Goss composed Cinema Paradiso, a six-movement suite for solo guitar, as an homage to films and film directors. Goss cites nihilism as a theme in Dogville, the film that inspires the fourth movement, "Mandalay," but I assert that all the films and many musical devices throughout the piece can be read through the lens of nihilism. The first movement, "Paris, Texas," depicts the stark landscape of the opening scene of the 1984 Wim Wenders film of the same name. "Modern Times" chronicles Ch… more
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Date: August 2019
Creator: Kyzer, Dan
open access

Commissioning Music for Trombone and Percussion: A Collaboration Between Composer and Performer with an Accompanying Survey of Trombone and Percussion Repertoire

Description: The repertoire for trombone and percussion has grown in popularity since the later 1980s. There are currently more than 110 pieces written for the ensemble. This project follows the commissioning and collaboration of Dr. Blake Tyson, Professor of Percussion at the University of Central Arkansas and well known percussion composer, in the creation of a new piece for trombone and percussion. The project also created a survey of works for trombone and percussion duet that includes 32 works. The sur… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Cook, Justin Hastings
open access

A Comparative Analysis of Haydn's Horn Concerto and Trumpet Concerto

Description: Among the existing solo instrumental concertos of Joseph Haydn's oeuvre are two concertos for brass instruments. These are the Horn Concerto in D Major (Hob. VIId: 3) and Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major (Hob. VIIe: 1). In addition to their standing as the only two concertos for solo brass instruments written by Haydn in existence, the two concertos provide a unique opportunity for insight into the history of the concerto genre and Haydn's change in compositional style. This is because of their… more
Date: August 2016
Creator: Adamson, Daniel
open access

A Comparison of Methods for Sight-Reading Development Utilizing Collegiate Saxophonists

Description: The ability to sight-read well is held as a highly regarded and important skill in music performance and education. Over the past 90 years, researchers have investigated several aspects of music sight-reading, especially those attributes possessed by skilled sight-readers. A significant and recurrent finding from this body of research is the relationship between sight-reading and rhythm recognition. Though these studies have found positive effects and correlations between rhythm recognition and… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Campbell, Scott (Saxophonist)
open access

A comparison of Petar Christoskov’s Op. 1 and Op. 24 Caprices for Solo Violin: The effect of the changing Bulgarian political climate on his compositional style

Description: Bulgaria, though a fairly small Eastern European country, boasts an ancient history of folk traditions and music; however, very few notated works exist due to the people's primitive lifestyle throughout Bulgaria's history. Singing and dancing as well as creating instruments from wood and animal skin were considered an integral part of everyday life, equal to cooking, sewing, herding, or farming; in fact, one almost always accompanied the other. Thus, more than 1500 years of folklore was orally … more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Vassileva, Veronika
open access

Comparison of the Méthode Pour La Guitare by Fernando Sor with the Méthode Complète Pour La Guitare Par Ferdinand Sor, Rédigée Et Augmentée De Nombreux Exemples Et Leçons Suivis D'une Notice Sur La 7e Corde by Napoléon Coste

Description: The nineteenth century presents a great increase in publications of guitar methods. Most authors of the time published several versions of their works. Fernando Sor, perhaps the most prominent guitar composers of the time—whose Méthode is regarded today as the most important of the period—only published one edition. However, Napoleon Coste took on the task to do a second account. The literature reviewed shows substantial existing information regarding background, type of text, tone, and content… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Rodriguez, Sergio (Guitarist)
open access

A Comprehensive Performance Guide for the Use of Advanced Technology in Euphonium Repertoire with Electronic Media through Analyses of Works by D. Edward Davis, Neal Corwell, and Lucy Pankhurst

Description: Solos for euphonium with electronic media present the unique challenge of incorporating an active, physical involvement in the live accompaniment through sound-altering technology such as guitar pedals or digital processors. Instructions for this solo genre are often vague and demand a general knowledge of how to use non-traditional devices. Due to the lack of information available on newly-composed pieces for this medium, students and professionals easily overlook the artistic merit of electro… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Ray, Irving
open access

A Concept-Based Pedagogy Approach to Selected Unaccompanied Clarinet Repertoire

Description: While unaccompanied music encompasses an ever increasing portion of clarinet literature, it comprises a comparatively small percentage of music performed. However, study of unaccompanied repertoire provides a valuable pedagogical bridge between etudes and accompanied music that is abundant with opportunity to address larger universal musical concepts, rather than repertoire-specific solutions. This dissertation demonstrates the application of concept-based pedagogy to selected unaccompanied cla… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Davis-McKay, Vanessa
open access

The Concerto for Bassoon by Andrzej Panufnik: Religion, Liberation, and Postmodernism

Description: The Concerto for Bassoon by Andrzej Panufnik is a valuable addition to bassoon literature. It provides a rare opportunity for the bassoon soloist to perform a piece which is strongly programmatic. The purpose of this document is to examine the historical and theoretical context of the Concerto for Bassoon with special emphasis drawn to Panufnik's understanding of religion in connection with Polish national identity and the national struggle for democratic independence galvanized by the murder… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Ott, Janelle (Bassoonist)
open access

Confronting the Enemy Within: An In-Depth Study on Psychological Self-Handicapping among Collegiate Musicians

Description: Self-handicapping is a psychological behavior people engage in to protect their self-image, project a desired image to others, and to augment feelings of success and achievement. Self-handicapping occurs when individuals have a positive but uncertain self-image about their competence in an arena of life fundamental to their self-identity. Musicians have been underrepresented in self-handicapping studies; yet the very competitive nature of their education and craft, the strong identification mus… more
Date: August 2016
Creator: Flowers, Michelle C.
open access

The Contemporary Bassoonist: Music for Interactive Electroacoustics and Bassoon

Description: As the bassoon has evolved over time, the music written for the instrument has evolved around it, and was many times the catalyst for its evolution. Bassoon music of the seventeenth through early twentieth centuries has defined much of the curricula for bassoon studies, and has established how we consider and experience the bassoon. We experience, write, and consume music in vastly different ways than just a generation ago. Humans use technology for the most basic of tasks. Composers are using… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Masone, Jolene
open access

Contemporary Double Bass Techniques: An Advanced Technical Approach

Description: Diverse practicing methods are evidence of the importance of applying creativity in our practice regimes. Regardless of a player's technique - traditional or modern - it must be regularly practiced and then applied. One of the most common ways to do that is through practicing technical exercises, which generally means the practice of scales, arpeggios and etudes. These exercises generally function as a warm-up regime for all musicians, but this regime doesn't necessarily provide enough referenc… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Meyer, Mariechen
open access

Crystal Clear: A Performance Guide and Electronic Accompaniment of Mario Lavista's Marsias for Oboe and Crystal Glasses

Description: Mario Lavista (b. 1943) is a dominant figure in Mexican classical music. In the second half of the twentieth century, he promoted the use of contemporary techniques, leading to a series of collaborations with expert instrumentalists to explore extended techniques. Marsias for Oboe and Crystal Glasses is one of those pieces. Due to the nature of contemporary techniques, different oboes and reed styles produce different effects with the same fingerings. This document analyzes the contemporary fin… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Thompson, Jonathan (Oboist)
open access

Depiction through Evocation, Representation, and Introspection: An Examination of David Maslanka's Unaccompanied Marimba Solos

Description: The primary purpose of this study is to provide connections between a formal motivic analysis and the programmatic content of David Maslanka's three works for unaccompanied marimba: Variations on Lost Love (1977), My Lady White (1980), and A Solemn Music (2013). A comparison of the compositional process of each of these works is proposed through terms of Maslanka's use of depiction. Depiction is the action or result of representing through drawing, painting, or other art form, in this case, mus… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Robinson, Corey, 1990-
open access

Drum Music: A Performance Guide and Discussion of John Mackey's Influential Concerto for the Modern Percussionist

Description: John Mackey is an influential and prolific composer of wind band literature. His focus on and exploration of the percussion section are defining characteristics of his compositional voice. Mackey's concerto for percussion and wind band, "Drum Music," is a perfect example of his exploitation of the myriad timbres available within the percussion family, and also serves to showcase the versatility required of a modern percussionist. This dissertation and accompanying lecture recital provide a comp… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: McWilliams, Chris
open access

Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr: American Clarinet Performer and Pedagogue

Description: Method books are a major means by which musicians study techniques and performance practices of the past. In addition to being practical tools for learning one's craft, these books serve as a historical reference into the minds of famous performers and teachers. Today's use of nineteenth century method books ensures the instructional lineages of famous clarinetists are carried forward. However, clarinet researchers and historians would be remiss if they did not also record and preserve the dist… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Daffinee, Jennifer Mendez
open access

Embracing Internationalism: An Examination of Mario Lavista with an Analysis of Cinco Danzas Breves

Description: Mario Lavista (b.1943) is widely acknowledged as one of Mexico's foremost living composers. Having acquired his music education in his native Mexico and in Europe alike, he is similar to numerous other Latin composers who were building a career in the latter half of the twentieth century. During this time, composers were relying on international aspects of avant-garde techniques, and using nationalistic Latin rhythms and melodies less. Lavista embraced internationalism, and aimed to compose wor… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Thiemann, Amy
open access

Examining the "Portfolio Careers" of Classical Musician Entrepreneurs through the Lens of Seven Clarinetists

Description: Many classically-trained clarinetists do not know how to use their performance skills and life experiences to create financially sustainable and artistically fulfilling musical opportunities. Music careers have traditionally included teaching positions in academia and performance positions in professional ensembles. Because of the limited number of jobs in these two areas, clarinetists, and classical musicians in general, often turn to work that provides financial security but may lack artistic… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Guzmán, Jen (Jennifer)
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