In the mid-1950s, Japan’s Daihachi Oguchi revived the taiko piece Suwa Ikaduchi, which had traditionally been played at the Nagano Prefecture Suwa Shrine. Until then, the song was played by a single male drummer for ritual at the shrine, a common use of Japanese drums throughout history. Oguchi made changes to the music, creating an ensemble of drums that emulated the Western drum kit, resulting in a new musical genre, which we now refer to as “taiko” in English. Nearly 60 years later, this musical form has spread across the globe with great popularity. The main points of this thesis are to clarify the distinct reference to an historic past required to discuss taiko within Hobsbawm’s theory of invented tradition, to present individuals and communities involved in the formalization of taiko, and to consider what can be learned from the ordinary musician. All of these lead to a better understanding of the process of the formalization, or metamorphosis of taiko, which has not previously been examined. Following the Introduction, Chapters One and Two provide background on both the instruments and the music of taiko. A survey of the inception of pioneer taiko groups in Japan and the United States, where taiko developed simultaneously, can be found in Chapter Four. The preceding Chapter Three presents new research regarding the community where the Suwa Ikaduchi score was discovered, and begins to consider the relationship between the taiko ensemble and the community in which it is formed. This connection between the taiko ensemble and community is reinforced by the story of Eitetsu Hayashi in the fifth chapter, a former member of one of Japan’s first professional taiko groups. Taiko is still developing as a music and a performance art, but we are able to draw conclusions about what is special about taiko in considering the relationship between taiko and community throughout these early years of development. The final chapter tells the stories of two non-professional taiko musicians, one in the United States and one in Japan, concluding that the “traditional” roots of taiko helped to develop a musical genre today with a purpose greater than the music itself. Appendix I includes a copy of the Suwa Ikaduchi drum score, instructions on how to read it using taiko’s system of oral transmission, and a chart explaining the basic rhythmic value of the system. A chronology of events in Japanese American history can be found in Appendix II. Appendix III includes figures of the different kinds of taiko, photos of the Osaka region’s danjiri, and newspaper articles printed during taiko’s formative years. / published_or_final_version / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

Beatrice / Sam Rivers -- Pent-up house / Sonny Rollins -- Everything I love / Cole porter -- Darn that dream / Jimmy van Heusen -- Django / John Lewis -- Laverne walk / Oscar Pettiford. / text

The writer of this master thesis was acquiring an education in classical percussion and deeply respecting the music genre named djent. He was so impressed by metal music that he taught himself how to use the notation programme Sibelius 7 and arranged a number of his favourite songs for the percussion ensemble so he would be able to play them. The following text supports and describes the process. A short analysis of 16 arrangements is included as well.

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Concerto for violin and wind ensemble is a 25-minute virtuosic work for the violin and accompanying winds, brass, and percussion. As a trained violinist, among the first works I learned were the concerti of J.S. Bach. Thus, I pay special homage to Bach in this piece by using the famous B-A-C-H motive (each letter corresponding to a pitch) to generate much of the musical material in the work. The analysis of the Concerto details the processes in which B-A-C-H affected and shaped the melodic and harmonic language of the piece, while also touching upon the use of orchestration and the problems associated with balancing a single solo instrument against a large ensemble. I also discuss the several existing works for violin that were highly influential in composing the Concerto and the "anxiety of influence" associated with each model. / text

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This document details the creation of a new type of multiple percussion solo from pre-composed percussion ensembles. The author transcribes three works for percussion ensemble by Lou Harrison (1917-2003): Suite for Percussion, movement I, Bomba and Simfony #13 so that they can be performed as percussion solos. Each composition requires a different type of solo version because of the diverse instruments and musical materials in the original scores. Learning to perform these new versions will expand the technical capabilities of a soloist and offers complex challenges not found in the original ensembles. The document includes complete scores and set-ups for each new solo version and discussion of performance practice and techniques to play each work. Although Harrison’s original works were conceived for amateur players, the solo versions require the skills of a virtuoso performer. The new versions confirm the artistic merit of Harrison’s work in a format both practical and satisfying to the solo percussionist. The project illustrates new methods for further developing percussion technique to enable ensemble works to be performed by soloists. The solo versions of Lou Harrison percussion ensembles presented herein result in new repertoire for the percussion soloist.

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This dissertation describes research designed to enhance hydrometeorological forecasts. The objective of the research is to deliver an optimal methodology to produce reliable, skillful and economically valuable probabilistic temperature and precipitation forecasts. Weather plays a dominant role for energy companies relying on forecasts of watershed precipitation and temperature to drive reservoir models, and forecasts of temperatures to meet energy demand requirements. Extraordinary precipitation events and temperature extremes involve consequential water- and power-management decisions. This research compared weighted-average, recursive, and model output statistics bias-correction methods and determined optimal window-length to calibrate temperature and precipitation forecasts. The research evaluated seven different methods for daily maximum and minimum temperature forecasts, and three different methods for daily quantitative precipitation forecasts, within a region of complex terrain in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. This research then examined ensemble prediction system design by assessing a three-model suite of multi-resolution limited area mesoscale models. The research employed two different economic models to investigate the ensemble design that produced the highest-quality, most valuable forecasts. The best post-processing methods for temperature forecasts included moving-weighted average methods and a Kalman filter method. The optimal window-length proved to be 14 days. The best post-processing methods for achieving mass balance in quantitative precipitation forecasts were a moving-average method and the best easy systematic estimator method. The optimal window-length for moving-average quantitative precipitation forecasts was 40 days. The best ensemble configuration incorporated all resolution members from all three models. A cost/loss model adapted specifically for the hydro-electric energy sector indicated that operators managing rainfall-dominated, high-head reservoirs should lower their reservoir with relatively low probabilities of forecast precipitation. A reservoir-operation model based on decision theory and variable energy pricing showed that applying an ensemble-average or full-ensemble precipitation forecast provided a much greater profit than using only a single deterministic high-resolution forecast. Finally, a bias-corrected super-ensemble prediction system was designed to produce probabilistic temperature forecasts for ten cities in western North America. The system exhibited skill and value nine days into the future when using the ensemble average, and 12 days into the future when employing the full ensemble forecast.