This thesis accompanies the portfolio of compositions written between 2006 and 2010 and discusses both the overall theoretical concepts, and the specific musical tools, that lie behind their construction. Chapter 1 presents theories of perceptual grouping mechanisms and temporality in reductive music, and applies these to the transformational surface layer from the sustained tones in my music. The use of repetition and gradual process in my music is explored, leading to the application of a decentralised approach towards my structural models. The notion of a 'closure spectrum' contextualises my own music with others, and facilitates a discussion of the teleological nature of my music. Chapter 2 describes the tools which are used in the application of these concepts; in particular, the use of harmony, glissando, duration, use of instruments and notation are reviewed. The individual portfolio pieces are discussed in chapter 3, detailing the various employments of the these tools in different instrumental contexts. This chapter also demonstrates the overall refinement in my compositional approach which took place throughout the doctoral course: my gradual shift towards simpler processes, indeterminacy in notation, and extended note-duration. Less successful aspects of these pieces are also considered in the context of this evolution, along with those aspects which were retained and employed in future pieces. The conclusion evaluates the overall progression, and discusses areas for future development which have arisen from my own research through composition.

This body of writing serves to accompany a portfolio of scored works composed between 2007 and 2011. The first chapter deals with the definition of “experimental music,” first asking the question “what is experimental music?”, and then by giving a possible working definition of the term based on certain processes informed not only by music, but also by historiography and philosophy. The second chapter lays out the relationship between a piece of music and the score in relation to a mathematical model of understanding. This chapter further explores the different ways in which scores operate in terms of performer interaction, the different types of notation that composers can use in these scores, and how these topics may be related in practice. The third chapter deals specifically with performance of scored experimental works. “Audience” is considered as the performers who receive scores from composers. This relationship is then explored in various ways, based not only on the types of scores and notation presented in the previous chapter, but also on the different types of performers who may encounter the work. Aspects inherent to the performance of experimental music are often discussed. Finally, the question is raised as whether or not such a thing exists as experimental music performance practice, and if this can be catered to by a composer through scores and notation. In these first three chapters, numerous visual examples and quotes from other composers are provided to give context for the work in the portfolio. In contrast, final chapter consists of commentaries on pieces within the accompanying portfolio. Appendices after the first three chapters lie somewhere in tone between these commentaries on individual works and the main chapters, by way of personalising the abstract concepts laid out therein.

This research project consists of a portfolio of musical compositions and an accompanying commentary on these works. It was undertaken from the fall of 2009 to the summer of 2012. I am concerned in this project with developing a wide range of musical materials to serve as a pool of resources that I may draw upon when composing. I engage with these materials in a painterly fashion, repeatedly reworking them with respect to their physical reality much like a painter reshapes an image on canvas. I cultivate different emphases within materials ― such as the tac)lity of sound produc)on, superimposed rhythmic layers, and stasis ― to explore diverse musical functionalities. I interweave common source materials to create extensive networks of relationships within and across individual pieces. These relationships lead to composite and multipartite structures built from material inter references. Transferring materials into different contexts allows me to develop the same musical idea in multiple directions, leading to a diversity of forms and durations, from five-second solos isolating a specific gesture to twenty-plus minute pieces incorporating a range of instrumental groupings and material combinations. This diversity is most evident in An Incomplete Survey of the Act of Impingement, an extended project integrating a variety of materials, structures, and independent compositions into a composite whose interconnections allow for multiple programming possibilities. My understanding of such interconnection between heterogeneous elements is extended through resonance with the work of other artists and philosophers: for instance, Gilles Deleuze's and Felix Guattari's concept of the rhizome, Anthony Braxton's interwoven musical system, Ben Marcus's approach to organizing and categorizing his writings, and Matthew Ritchie's multimedia installations. The materials and methodologies cultivated in this project provide a foundation for future developments in my work.

The main focus of this commentary is the examination of the Vox Circuit Trilogy (2007) consisting of The Suicided Voice (2003/2007), Hand-to-Mouth (2007) and Etch (2007). The innovative use of interactive technologies and the architecture of the Bodycoder System in terms of its software, hardware and human-computer interface will be examined. Kinaesonics will be discussed in relation to the coding of real-time one-to-one mapping of sound to gesture and its expression in terms of hardware and software design. The compositional processes will be discussed, in particular: the use of performance simulations, workshop collaboration with the performer and the negotiation of creation, composition and performance in the final work. Rehearsal processes will be examined with particular reference to The Suicided Voice. The notion of expressivity will be interrogated and how four principle forms of expressivity are interconnected, modelled and realized to generate a totally integrated performance modality.

This PhD thesis explores dialogue-based, “intimate” collaboration through the creation of new works for clarinet. It borrows from Grounded Theory in order to facilitate an analysis through which emergent themes within a dialogue-based collaboration are discovered. The aim has not been to insist on one model of collaboration, but to discover methods for improving one’s collaborative skills and to identify ways in which one benefits from a focus on dialogue in collaboration. Furthermore, it aims to suggest that through collaboration one can make discoveries about the instrument: original contributions to clarinet technique are made within this thesis. The literature from which the research draws inspiration to further collaborative “technique” is cross-disciplinary and wide-ranging: it draws from social theory, collaborative creative writing, dance, the visual arts and of course, music. Added to this is a select discussion of collaboration throughout the repertoire of the clarinet. Finally, this consists of practice-based research. Seven new pieces for clarinet accompany the text.

This thesis investigates how the specific manipulation of a range of extended techniques for the saxophone can help the performer to highlight key aspects of the music. These techniques can be performed with varying levels of nuance through which the implicit thematic relationships within a composition can be emphasised. The performer's interpretation is therefore aided by the controlled manipulation of extended techniques, with the intention of using these techniques to serve the overall analysis of the composition. A brief summary of the acoustical phenomena which produces the saxophone's range of extended techniques is included, leading to discussion of the necessary physical manipulations of the oral cavity, alterations of fingerings systems, and other such physiological issues. The differences from performer to performer of the resulting sounds of the saxophone's extended techniques are considered through reference to recorded material. A discussion is presented regarding individual performers' attitudes to these techniques including the preparation of extended techniques, the importance of equipment, and the performer's opinion of the composer's utilisation of extended techniques within a composition. The final section outlines the preparation of seven compositions which use extended techniques: four of which are taken from the saxophone's standard repertoire and three of which were written in collaboration with the author. It is not the author's intention to present a global methodology by which extended techniques can be sounded in performance; rather it is the author's intention to highlight how the manipulation of these techniques, through an understanding of the acoustical and physiological nature of their production, can be performed with a nuanced production technique that can enhance the interpretation of the work as a whole.

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Yes / Two subdivisions of human V5/MT+; one located posteriorly (MT/TO-1), the other more anteriorly (MST/TO-2), were identified in human participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on the basis of their representations of the ipsi- versus contra-lateral visual field. These subdivisions were then targeted for disruption by the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). rTMS was delivered to cortical areas whilst participants performed direction discrimination tasks involving three different types of moving stimuli defined by the translational, radial or rotational motion of dot patterns. For translational motion, performance was significantly reduced relative to baseline when rTMS was applied to both MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2. For radial motion there was a differential effect between MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2, with only disruption of the latter area affecting performance. rTMS failed to reveal a complete dissociation between MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 in terms of their contribution to the perception of rotational motion. On the basis of these results MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 appear to be functionally distinct subdivisions of hMT/V5+. Whilst both areas appear to be implicated in the processing of translational motion, only the anterior region (MST/TO-2) makes a causal contribution to the perception of radial motion. / BBSRC

3 Title: Moment-tensor inversion of earthquakes in Greece, method ISOLA Author: Dana Červinková Department: Department of Geophysics Supervisor: Prof. RNDr. Jiří Zahradník, DrSc. Supervisor's e-mail address: jz@karel.troja.mff.cuni.cz Abstract: The possibility of obtaining a reliable moment tensor using a low-frequency waveform inversion from a single seismic station is studied. Deviatoric part of the moment tensor is described in usual way, using its orientation (angles strike, dip, rake), scalar seismic moment M0 and the double-couple percentage (DC%), and also by means of the coefficients of linear combination of elementary mechanisms. We estimate the formal error of the coefficients and study conditionality of the inverse problem. Data from earthquakes Trichonis (Mw = 5.2, April 2007) and Leonidio (Mw = 6.2, January 2008), Greece, are processed using software ISOLA (Sokos and Zahradník). The moment tensor is calculated from many stations and its stability is tested. This reference solution is compared to those independently obtained from single stations. Synthetic tests are performed to understand why the single-station estimates are sufficient for Trichonis, but not for Leonidio, paying attention to the focal depth, station azimuth and epicentral distance. It is found that the depth is crucial at...