Dr. Eph Ehly is one of the most sought after choral conductors in the United States today. Ehly has conducted over seventy All-State choirs. However, no previous source outlines the fundamental principles of his philosophy and rehearsal techniques.This study was designed to capsulize Ehly's contributions. The writer produced a videotape entitled, "Eph Ehly: A Source of True Inspiration." This video captures Dr. Ehly's philosophy regarding the All-State choir experience and demonstrates his rehearsal techniques. The author attended three All-State festivals where Ehly was the guest conductor (Indiana, New York, and Oklahoma). The video contains rehearsals and performances and videotaped interviews with Dr. Ehly.The cornerstone of Ehly's approach is this: using music to express. There are three components to Ehly's philosophy: 1) the physical component, 2) the emotional component, and 3) the spiritual component. The writer identified four forms of the physical component: 1) handshake, 2) hug, 3) clapping, and 4) other spontaneous physical gestures. The writer identified eight aspects of the emotional component: 1) expressivity, 2) sensitivity to the world, themselves, and their own emotions, 3) sympathy, 4) reality of emotions, 5) creating mood, 6) building ensemble, 7) music as a reflection of life, and 8) awareness of a "sixth sense." In describing the spiritual component, two divisions were identified: 1) the development of character, and 2) reaching a level of spirit-awareness.The study also summarizes Ehly's rehearsal techniques by outlining his idiosyncratic approach to the treatment of traditional musical elements. The video presentation highlights nine technical concerns and demonstrates Ehly's approach to these common problems. The areas addressed are: 1) tone quality, 2) diction, 3) rhythm, 4) dynamics, 5) phrasing, 6) articulation, 7) breathing, 8) vowel modification, and 9) vibrato. The videotape is supported by a written document containing background information, a script of the video, a summary by the author, a representative list of programs from AllState choirs conducted by Dr. Ehly, and transcripts of the interviews with Dr. Ehly. Church musicians, professional conductors, educators, and students of conducting can all benefit from the opportunity to view and evaluate Ehly's approach. / School of Music

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of scholarly research on the orchestral performance practice of conductor Raymond Leppard.This study presents, with supporting evidence, what an international conductor does today to incorporate the results of research into the interpretation of music. From this study, the writer has presented the influence scholarly research has had on orchestral performance practice, how one of today's conductor and orchestras deal with the issues raised and how they are carried into current performances, and to what degree do musicologists influence his performance. Orchestra conductors continue to learn from performance practice research and young conductors must be encouraged to gain knowledge from this field.Three scholarly musicians, Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940), Edmund H. Fellowes (1870-1951), and Thurston Dart (1921-1971), among many others, did much to revive authentic performances of earlier music. Their critical and historical writings are based on original sources and the concept of interpretation by studying composers' original manuscripts and editions in order to better present their musical style and heritage. This developed a strong movement towards the study of incorporating authentic music research into music performance.Maestro Leppard is known particularly for his interpretations of seventeenth and eighteenth century music. He prepared the revivals of Monteverdi and Cavalli's Italian operas. Maestro Leppard has had many experiences with European and American orchestras and has made many recordings. The contents of the interview focused on (1) orchestra size and seating, (2) the authenticity of music, (3) some basic performance practice elements such as tempo, rhythm, dynamics, articulation and phrasing, ornamentation, vibrato, and portamento, (4) string bowing, (5) editions, and (6) interpretation and personal observations. / School of Music

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: color thresholding; video for Windows; center of mass calculation; contour extraction; area calculation; virtual orchestra; Broadway. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63).

Orientador: Eduardo Augusto Ostergren / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T16:05:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gomes_HermesCoelho_D.pdf: 5719814 bytes, checksum: 274cc851402575712e732dd571aad832 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O presente trabalho tem como proposta uma reflexão sobre a atuação do regente orquestral neste início do século XXI. Podemos observar que, no exercício da função, sob o ponto de vista pragmático, há uma série de atributos que são pré-requisitos essenciais para quem deseja ter domínio sobre esta arte e exercê-la com conhecimento e seriedade. O estudo aponta uma direção construtiva no sentido de conduzir o regente a refletir tanto no aspecto técnico da sua arte, na busca da sonoridade orquestral, quanto nos aspectos do seu cotidiano inerentes no desempenhar de sua função. No primeiro capitulo apresentamos uma visão histórica das atividades próprias ao cargo e sua evolução ao longo do tempo. No segundo, um estudo direcionado ao aspecto técnico da regência e de sonoridade de uma orquestra. No terceiro são abordadas questões relativas à sua contribuição para o desenvolvimento progressivo e aprimoramento da plateia ao levar conhecimento e estimular reflexões que conduzam o público a uma apreciação mais atenta e aprofundada da música sinfônica. Por último são abordados aspectos relacionados à parte administrativa enquanto na direção da orquestra, especificando problemáticas ligadas à gestão de pessoal, à produção de concertos, à captação de recursos e à sua contribuição para a melhora da qualidade de vida da comunidade em que a orquestra está inserida / Abstract: It is the aim of the present work to propose a reflection on the role of the orchestral conductor at the beginning of this XXI Century. One can observe that, from a pragmatic standpoint there are a series of attributes and pre-requisites for the exercise of this activity much essential for those that wish to learn the practice of this form of art with knowledge and seriousness. This study points the way in a constructive direction so to lead the conductor to reflect on the many different aspects of this art be it technical, the search for the orchestral sonority, or elements of his daily routine, all inherent in the exercise of his job. In the first chapter the author presents a historical perspective and its evolution throughout time of the many activities involved in the position of the conductor. The second discusses the technical elements of conducting and the orchestral sound palette. In the third the author elaborates on the many questions related to the conductor's role in audience development, the sharing of his knowledge to stimulate people's participation leading to a more attentive and a deeper appreciation for symphonic music. Finally items pertaining to the artistic administrative area are discussed, more specifically personnel management, concert production, fundraising and the conductor's involvement in social and artistic affairs and his contribution toward a better quality of life in the community in which the orchestra is inserted / Doutorado / Praticas Interpretativas / Doutor em Música

This study investigated the relationship between selected measures of self concept as perceived by a group of choral conductors, their eye dependency on score, and the measures of expressive voice. The problems were (1) to determine the degree of perceived self concept of a selected group of choral music teachers through measures of (a) total self, (b) physical self, (c) moral-ethical self, (d) personal self, (e) family self, and (f) social self? (2) to assess eye dependency on score of the same teachers; (3) to assess the aspect of expressive voice through measures of (a) pitch levels of modulation, (b) speech flow, and (c) voice energy level; and (4) to examine the relationship between the measures of self concept, eye dependency on score and expressive voice.

The problem with which this study was concerned was that of measuring and examining the level of job satisfaction among Texas high school band directors. The specific methodology included a quantitative comparison through confirmatory factor analysis of the factor structures of the sample of 109 Texas high school band directors and the norming population of 1460 industrial workers. There were two purposes for conducting the study. First, the relationships between an assortment of demographic variables and measured job satisfaction were examined. The second purpose was to measure the degree of fit of the Frederick Herzberg Dual-Factor Theory to the factor structure of the sample. Correlation, t ratio, and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare the demographic variables with measured job satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis through LISREL was used to examine and compare factor structures. Job satisfaction was measured with the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire which was developed and tested through the Work Adjustment Project, Industrial Relations Center at the University of Minnesota. The twenty-item short-form retained the general reliability and validity measures of the 100-item long form. The Demographic Data Sheet is a researcher-constructed document used to gather data for use in classifying respondents by educational background, school classification, and out-of-Texas teaching experience. Respondents were also asked to indicate chronological age and number of years creditable teaching experience. Only when classified by educational background and school classification were respondents found to have significant differences in satisfaction scores. Those band directors who hold degrees in fields other than music have significantly lower satisfaction scores than those who have only music degrees. Directors from larger UIL classification schools have higher measured levels of job satisfaction than do those in smaller Texas schools. While there are strong similarities between the factor structures of the sample group and the norming population, the sample contained three distinct factors. The third factor, not identified in the norming population structure, was defined by the constructs of Social Status, Social Service, Authority, Ability Utilization, and Achievement. It was concluded that the Herzberg Dual-Factor Theory does not completely explain vocational adjustment among Texas high school band directors.

"Orchestral Excerpts for Conductors" is a compilation of sixty-five full score excerpts from the orchestral repertory arranged for string quartet and piano. The purpose of this collection is to provide conducting students with a pedagogical resource for learning how to handle technically challenging excerpts in orchestral music. This dissertation serves as a plan for the final publication of the excerpts book; while it includes the full score excerpts, it does not include the arrangements for string quartet and piano.

Choral ensembles often operate as hierarchical institutions where the conductor maintains a position of control over the musical, educational, and social aspects of singing with little or no input from singers. This dissertation reconceptualizes the choral experience as a dialogical process where conventional boundaries between conductor and singers blur. This study was conducted online with a vocal ensemble of ten experienced adult avocational singers and asks how a collaborative spirit may transform the ensemble, individual singers, and the conductor. Using a critical participatory action research approach, we engaged in dialogue and group problem solving as we created collective and individual musical projects over the course of ten rehearsals. The research design emphasized collective reflection and democratic decision making. This research journey is presented through a collection of multimodal data fragments such as musical recordings, practitioner reflections and collated singer reflections, rehearsal transcriptions and narratives, photographs, and poetry. Informed by decolonizing and post-qualitative methodologies, this dissertation highlights the ethical dilemmas, rewards, and uncertainties of both collaborative research and learner-centered approaches to education. In investigating how singers might increase their influence within the ensemble setting, we discovered that singers talking back to the conductor set in motion conditions for a choral paradigm that I describe as back talk choral pedagogy. This pedagogical orientation draws on critical and relational perspectives and is characterized by four interconnected commitments: (a) relational accountability; (b) mutual recognition of knowledge; (c) cultivation of a public square; and (d) responsiveness to input. Singer back talk manifested itself in myriad ways, including the reporting of information or observations, sharing opinions and suggestions, directly contesting the conductor, storytelling, and silence. Singer back talk produced noticeable fruits—a culture of shared vulnerability and trust, unique singer contributions, role fluidity between conductor and singers, and choral communion—which positively impacted the learning environment. This inquiry suggests that by centering relational and ethical aspects of musical collaboration, back talk choral pedagogy has the potential to build flourishing, dynamic musical spaces, increase singer ownership, and challenge conductors to expand their teaching practice.

xv, 166 p. : col. ill. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and the time that middle and high school orchestra directors engaged in seven specific teaching behaviors in a rehearsal setting. Of particular interest was the amount of time orchestra directors engaged in conceptual teaching behaviors operationally defined as verbal behaviors of orchestra directors in which they attempt to make students aware of, have an understanding of, and/or be able to transfer any musical concept. Participants ( N = 12) were full-time middle and high school orchestra directors teaching in Washington, Oregon, or California. Each participant submitted a video recording of two regular orchestra rehearsals. Video recordings of participants were divided into 20-minute segments and randomly selected for observation of seven specific and operationally defined teaching behaviors: (a) nonmusical behavior, (b) nonverbal instruction (direction), (c) verbal instruction (direction), (d) noninteractive listening, (e) nonverbal feedback, (f) verbal feedback, and (g) conceptual teaching. These seven teaching behaviors were analyzed using the Simple Computer Recording Interface for Behavioral Evaluation (SCRIBE) of Duke and Stammen (2007). The data were reported in the form of the frequency with which each behavior occurred, the average time for each behavior expressed in minutes and seconds, and the percentage of time used on each behavior. Findings on conceptual teaching were reported. The results indicated that, on average, orchestra directors spent slightly more than 5% of the observed rehearsal time on conceptual teaching. Most of the instructional time was used on nonverbal instruction (28.15%) and verbal instruction (27.76%). Orchestra directors observed in this study used the least amount of time (2.42%) on nonverbal feedback. The most concerning finding of the study was the time orchestra directors used on nonmusical behaviors (14.70%), and the most interesting finding of the study was that middle school orchestra directors used twice as much time (7.40%) as high school orchestra directors (3.21%) on conceptual teaching. The findings of this study provided suggestions for future research and implications for music educators. / Committee in charge: Dr. Frank Diaz, Chair; Dr. Phyllis Paul, Member; Dr. Eric Wiltshire, Member; Dr. Leslie Straka, Member; Dr. Julie Hessler, Outside Member

F. Melius Christiansen was very influential in the a cappella choral tradition. He started his career in Norway and brought his expertise to the American Midwest. Christiansen established a name for himself while working at St. Olaf Lutheran College as the head of the music department. It was the blended choral sound and precision he was able to achieve and display with his new choir in 1912 that caught everyone's ear. He continued to succeed with national and international tours, allowing him to spread his new "St. Olaf" choral sound through his music, compositions, and conducting school. This study explores the influence of F. Melius Christiansen (1871-1955) and the Minnesota choral tradition on six subsequent conductor-composers' compositions and conducting styles, including: Olaf Christiansen (1901-1984), Paul J. Christiansen (1914-1997), Kenneth Jennings (b. 1925), Robert Scholz (b. 1940), René Clausen (b. 1953), and Kenneth Hodgson (b. 1939) using Schenkerian analysis.