This thesis discusses the development of Albanian choral music from the early 20th century to the present. It provides a general history of Albanian culture and politics as context for the rapid changes that happened during the 20th century and how that has influenced the musical life of the Albanian people. The significance of this influence is then represented and analyzed through the works of three prominent Albanian choral composers from different generations, whose lives and body of work span the last century. Through these analyses, we explore the evolution of Albanian choral music and how modern composers preserve traditional folk elements, yet are influenced by the cultural and political environment of their respective time.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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The problem of this study was the inconsistency between perceptions of secondary choral music educators and college and university choral music professors pertaining to needed leadership and administrative training in undergraduate music teacher education programs. The main purpose of this study was to attempt to develop a list of recommendations pertaining to necessary leadership and administrative tasks of music education majors. Two subpurposes of this study were: to help university and college school officials evaluate the present curriculum and adjust it to help meet the needs of their music education graduates; and to help expand the limited literature base concerning administrative and leadership tasks that are required of bachelor of music education degree graduates. This descriptive study was conducted to attempt to identify administrative and leadership tasks necessary for secondary choral music educators. A four point Likert-type scale was used to identify the importance level of administrative and leadership tasks of secondary choral music educators. A preliminary questionnaire was developed and mailed to a selected panel. After changes were made based on respondents suggestions, two pilot studies were conducted. The results were tested for reliability and validity. It was then sent to 899 secondary choral music educators (25.0% of the population) and to all 131 college and university choral music educators within the Southern Division of the Music Educators National Conference. The conclusions of this study were based on 486 responses from secondary choral music educators and 63 college and university choral music educators. No significant difference existed between the two groups. Developing rapport with parents and conducting fund-raisers were the only two tasks that obtained absolute significant differences. This analysis provided the rationale that 49 of the 51 tasks are basically valued at the same level of importance by secondary choral music educators and college and university choral music educators. All of the tasks, except for attending school board meetings and employing special service personnel received a majority percentage level from both groups for inclusion in a music teacher education program. Recommendations were based on the analyses that the majority of tasks were important and should be included in a teacher education program.

The Florentine Jew Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968), garnered international acclaim as a composer and performer in the 1920s and 1930s. He studied composition with Ildebrando Pizzetti and became associated with the International Society for Contemporary Music. Castelnuovo-Tedesco received particular attention for his operas, winning the Concorso Lirico Nazionale in 1925 for La Mandragola, and his concertos, with prominent performances by Jascha Heifetz and Andrés Segovia. During the 1930s, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and his family were negatively affected by the Fascist government’s racial laws restricting the rights of Italian Jews. In 1938, after public performances of his music were canceled and his children were forbidden from attending public school, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and his wife Clara decided to immigrate to the United States. They sailed for the U.S. in 1939, settled in Beverly Hills, and gained citizenship in 1946. In 1949, at the end of that turbulent decade, Castelnuovo-Tedesco completed his first oratorio, The Book of Ruth. This study features a new edition of The Book of Ruth, the first complete publication of the work in full score. The edition is accompanied by a musical analysis that examines melody, harmony, rhythm, text setting, vocal texture, orchestration, and formal design in The Book of Ruth, comparing it with his other works. Furthermore, selected passages from Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s autobiography, newly translated into English, provide insight into the eventful decade preceding the work’s composition and uncover several personal connections that exist between Castelnuovo-Tedesco and the story of The Book of Ruth.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University, 2005. / "The focus of this dissertation is the sacred choral compositions of three of the composers active in the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music ... Lazare Saminsky, Joseph Achron, and Moses Milner"--p. v. "Included in the appendices [p. 72-329] are new editions of Unsane Tojkef by Moses Milner, the Sabbath Evening Service and Sabbath Morning Service by Lazare Saminsky and the Evening Service for the Sabbath by Joseph Achron"--p. vi. Includes bibliographical references (p. 330-332). Also available on the Internet.

Composer Joseph Willcox Jenkins (b. 1928), longtime professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania (since 1961) and the first arranger for the United States Army Chorus (1956-1959), has composed and arranged a prolific amount of choral music, much of which has remained unpublished. After presenting a brief biography of Jenkins, this essay examines a sample of seven of his choral works, with analyses and scores of each. Catalogs of the choral compositions to which he assigned opus numbers and his U.S. Army Chorus arrangements follow, along with a classified list of remaining choral works and arrangements. The document concludes with the transcription of a conversation between Jenkins and the author about his career and music. It is hoped that this resource for choral musicians will encourage a more widespread knowledge of Jenkins’ choral music, providing increased possibilities for performance and further study.

Thesis (D.A.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 12, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. [224]-229) and indexes.

Thesis (M.M.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2009. / "A thesis in music education." Advisor: Charles Robinson. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Nov. 25, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 153-163). Online version of the print edition.

This research explores possible applications in choral rehearsals of techniques, methods, and theories of acting that were established by Russian actor, director, theoretician, and pedagogue Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938). The parallel between the dramatic art and the art of choral music focuses on the discussion of the Stanislavski ‘system’ as described in detail in his ‘Acting Trilogy’ and other critical literature as well as on the use of psycho-technique by Romanian conductor Marin Constantin (b. 1925) and his Madrigal Choir of Bucharest. The introductory chapter presents the premises of this parallel and the complexity of Stanislavski’s artistic personality, his pivotal role in the history of theater and performing arts. The second chapter reviews existing literature that is pertinent to the topic, explaining all the elements of Stanislavski’s acting theory; this process divides the sources into three categories, namely the body of English translations of Stanislavski’s writings, the authoritative source materials that clarify and confirm the practicality of the ‘system,’ and the references on the use of psycho-technique in choral practice. The third chapter describes possible usage of key artistic elements, principles, and techniques of the acting ‘system’ in choral rehearsals, including concepts such as creative mood, concentration of attention, imagination, given circumstances, ‘magic If,’ inner motive forces, action (as in singing and conducting gestures), units (bits) and objectives (tasks), relaxation of muscles, ensemble work, communion, emotion memory, tempo-rhythm, active analysis, through line of action, and super-objective. The fourth chapter explores concrete applications of psycho-technical elements made by this researcher in a practical study with two student ensembles. Limitations and special circumstances about this collaboration are indicated. The rehearsal process is described in detail and focuses on the work on three choral pieces, namely Kasar mie la gaji by Venezuelan composer Alberto Grau (b. 1937), If Music Be the Food of Love by David C. Dickau (b. 1953), and There Will Be Rest by Franck Ticheli (b. 1958) on a poem by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933). The findings of this research, summarized in the final chapter, reflect not only the possibility of using elements of the Stanislavski ‘system’ of acting in choral rehearsals, but also the necessity to employ psycho-technique in choral practice; the results also recommend further applications of the ‘system’ in areas of formation of individual choristers as true artists, of building ensemble unity of expression of emotions, and of developing an effective and meaningful vocabulary of conducting gestures. / School of Music