Master of Music / Department of Music / Anna Marie Wytko / In 1838, Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax created the saxophone. The saxophone was officially patented on June 24, 1846. Sax became the first Professor of Saxophone at the Conservatoire de Paris. This conservatoire has been and continues to be a historically important school of music in Europe. There have been four saxophone professors at the Conservatoire National Supèrieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris since the instrument’s creation. These professors include: Adolphe Sax (1814-1894), Marcel Mule (1901-2001), Daniel Deffayet (1922-2002), and Claude Delangle (born 1957). Each instructor has championed the saxophone to new heights by refining pedagogical approaches and by advocating for the creation of new saxophone compositions. The music examined in this document represents pieces composed for each of the four saxophone professors who have taught at the Conservatoire de Paris. Paul-Agricole Génin’s composition Variations sur un thème espagnol: pour saxophone alto et piano was inspired by Adolphe Sax, Fernande Decruck composed Sonata in C-Sharp for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1943) for Marcel Mule, Ida Gotkovsky wrote Variations pathétiques: pour Saxophone Alto et Piano (1980) for Daniel Deffayet, and Sequenza IX for Alto Saxophone (1980) by Luciano Berio was dedicated to Claude Delangle. All of these pieces demonstrate how composers continually strive to expand the boundaries of the skilled saxophonists’ musical style, technical facility, and overall flexibility on the saxophone. This master’s report, presented as extended program notes, includes biographical information about the composers, a historical and stylistic overview of the selected compositions, and a harmonic and formal analysis of the music with respect to performance considerations.

Master of Music, Theater, and Dance / Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance. / David Littrell / This report provides detailed analyses of several orchestral works. Current orchestras have striven to rejuvenate their programs by balancing canonical literature with newer or less familiar works; such a practice has become especially important in an age when audiences are dwindling and orchestras are disbanding. The works included in this report follow that balanced blueprint, including staples such as Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 in E-flat Major (the “Drumroll”) and Berlioz’s “Hungarian March” from The Damnation of Faust to new orchestrations of 20th century works, such as Bryce Craig’s arrangement of the toccata from Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, as well as works composed within the last six years, such as Casey Cangelosi’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra No. 2. Each work’s formal design is straightforward, and the technical skills required are not virtuosic. The chapters below explore each work from a historical, theoretical, and performance perspective.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Craig B. Parker / Igor Stravinsky and Aldous Huxley maintained a sincere and abiding friendship for nearly two decades while both men were living in Los Angeles, California. Huxley’s command of music literature and understanding of musical concepts promoted a vital exchange of ideas between the two men. By the time of their meeting in Hollywood, each man appreciated the importance of the other in his field of expertise, despite Huxley’s negative criticisms of Stravinsky’s music in the 1920s. This mutual respect led to collaborations between Stravinsky, Huxley, and the American conductor Robert Craft on a series of concert-lectures and recordings. Stravinsky esteemed his friend so highly that he was compelled to dedicate a composition that he had been writing at the time of Huxley’s death to the writer’s memory. This paper includes a chapter of biographical information on Aldous Huxley, a chapter detailing the friendship of Stravinsky and Huxley in chronological order, a chapter about Huxley’s criticisms of Stravinsky’s music, a chapter about Huxley’s concert collaborations with Stravinsky and Craft, and a chapter detailing the compositional history and techniques of Stravinsky’s Variations for Orchestra (in Memory of Aldous Huxley). The first appendix lists additional meetings between Stravinsky and Huxley, as detailed in the writings of Igor Stravinsky, Vera Stravinsky, and Robert Craft. The second appendix is a chronological list of all Huxley writings mentioning Stravinsky.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document was submitted to the Graduate School of Kansas State University as a partial requirement for the Master’s of Music Education degree. Enclosed is information pertaining to quality literature selection, a music education philosophy, theoretical and historical analyses, and rehearsal plans for the Graduate Conducting Recital of Anna K. Eaverson held on Wednesday, March 19, 2010. The analytical methods used in this document are based on the Blocher/Miles unit studies found in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series as well as macro-micro-macro score analysis. The selections analyzed using these methods include Symphony in Brass by Eric Ewazen, Dances with Winds by Shelley Hanson, and March from Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber by Paul Hindemith.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document was submitted to the Graduate School of Kansas State University as a partial requirement for the Master’s of Music Education degree. It contains the historical, theoretical, performance, and rehearsal consideration, for each of the three pieces that were performed on the Graduate Student Conducting Recital on Wednesday, March 12, 2010. Selections performed on the recital included in the document’s analysis portion include First Suite in E Flat by Gustav Holst, Japanese Overture by Ney Rosauro, and Inferno by Daniel Bukvich. The analysis format for this report is based on the Blocker/Miles Unit Study technique found in the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, as well as the Tracz concept of macro-micro score analysis. The performances of the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble served as the basis for the technical, musical, and stylistic evaluations and analysis.

La version intégrale de ce[te] mémoire [thèse] est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Pendant mes études au niveau du Maîtrise, j’ai écrit quatre compositions : (1) Four Pieces for Solo Cello, (2) To Earth : II. Forest pour piano solo, (3) The Centre Cannot Hold pour trois flutes et deux percussionnistes, et (4) To Heaven, pour treize instrumentalistes. Le mémoire suivant est une étude de ces quatre pièces en décrivant mes intentions, en expliquant l’organisation et la structure de la musique, et en soulignant les développements d’orchestrations et de l’harmonie. / Throughout my studies at the Master’s level, I have written four compositions: (1) Four Pieces for Solo Cello, (2) To Earth: II. Forest for solo piano, (3) The Centre Cannot Hold for three flautists and two percussionists, and (4) To Heaven for thirteen instrumentalists. This document will be a study of those four pieces, and will explain the organization and structure of the music, while highlighting various orchestral and harmonic developments.

Ce texte présente une analyse de quatre de mes compositions réalisées pendant la maîtrise. Les pièces choisies abordent la musique de chambre, la musique orchestrale, et la musique vocale. La mise en pratique des connaissances assimilées pendant la formation est mise en avant à travers une étude sur la forme, le développement thématique, l'harmonie, et l'orchestration de chaque pièce. De plus, j'ai souhaité par l'analyse de mes compositions, partager mon approche du processus créatif et donner une meilleure compréhension de ma musique à l'auditeur. Ainsi, exposer les références multiples aux musiques des Ballets russes du début du XXe siècle dans L'Odyssée d'un songe, ou montrer par exemple les nombreux figuralismes réalisés dans Nuit de neige permettra je l'espère à l'auditeur de mieux cerner mon travail et d'approfondir l'écoute de ces pièces. Aussi, j'espère faire ressortir dans ce texte la présence de certaines constantes dans mes compositions, de manière à mettre en avant le développement de mon langage personnel. / This document presents an analysis of four of my compositions written during my studies at the Master’s level. The chosen works include chamber music, orchestral music, and vocal music. The implementation of learned techniques is emphasized through a study of form, thematic development, harmony, and orchestration of each musical piece. Furthermore, I wished with the analysis of my compositions, to share my approach to the creative process and thereby give the listener a better understanding of my music. For example, it is hoped that an account of the multiple references to early 20th century Ballets Russes music present in L'Odyssée d'un songe, or a discussion of the numerous examples of figuralismes in Nuit de neige, will allow the listener to better identify my work and to listen to these pieces with a deeper understanding. Also, I hope to highlight the presence of certain constants in my compositions, in the context of which the development of my personal musical language will be made evident.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / The following document is research and analysis from the comprehensive examination question based on the Graduate Conducting Recital of Marcus L. Riegel. The recital, performed by the Chapman Middle School Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Bands, was given in the District Gymnasium at the Spring Arts Concert on April 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm. The repertoire included but was not exclusive to Bells of Freedom by David Gillingham, Rising Star by Samuel R. Hazo, Achilles’ Wrath by Sean O’Loughlin, Kenya Contrasts by William Himes, On the Wings of Swallows by Michael Sweeney, and Old Churches by Michael Colgrass. This document contains theoretical and historical analysis- and outlines the procedures of planning and performing the graduate conducting recital.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Julie Yu / This document is focused on three excerpts from a graduate vocal recital, completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree. The recital was held on January 23, 2012 at seven-thirty o’clock in the evening at All Faiths Chapel on the campus of Kansas State University. Selections for this recital were selected upon the theme of Seclusion. The three characters examined further in the document are Alcina in the G. F. Handel opera, Alcina (HWV 34), Gretchen in German Lieder Gretchen am Spinnrade (D. 118) by Franz Schubert, and Lily from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, The Secret Garden, by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. Each chapter, devoted to a specific work, contains the following: 1) biographical information on the composer, 2) textual analysis, and 3) compositional, stylistic, and technical considerations.

Master of Music / School of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Anna Marie Wytko / Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra is considered a master concert work in saxophone literature. The work was written for saxophone pioneer Sigurd Rascher who was active in commissioning new works for the instrument. Piet Swerts’ Klonos, composed over 40 years after Dahl’s Concerto, is a much newer composition. The work has gained national recognition as a popular competition piece and is a synthesis of new and old compositional styles. These two works strongly showcase the flexibility and virtuosity capable of the skilled saxophonist. This master’s report, presented as extended program notes, includes biographical information about the composers, a historical and stylistic overview of the selected compositions, and a harmonic and formal analysis of the music with respect to performance considerations.