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.

Master of Music / Department of School of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Frank Tracz / The following report is a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one work for small chamber ensemble, prepared by Patrick Sullivan. The report was completed in addition to a Graduate Conducting Recital, taking place on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 3:00pm. The concert featured the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble and took place on the Kansas State University Campus in McCain Auditorium, the conductors were Andrew Feyes and Patrick Sullivan. Audio and video recordings of the conducted performance can be found within the K-State Research Exchange database. The following report includes three comprehensive Unit Studies or Teacher Research Guides found in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series. The report also includes three Tracz Analysis Grids, newly published in The Art of Interpretation of Band Music. The examined pieces are as follows. Full band works, Flight by Claude T. Smith and Baron Cimetiére’s Mambo by Donald Grantham. A chamber work for double woodwind quintet, Suite Persane by André Caplet.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank Tracz / The following report is a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one work for brass ensemble, prepared by Adam Ladd. The report was completed during the Spring semester of 2014 and culminated with live performances of each piece by the Kansas State University Concert Band and Brass Ensemble with Adam Ladd conducting. Audio and video recordings of the conducted performances can be found within the K-State Research Exchange database. The following report includes three comprehensive Unit Studies or Teacher Research Guides in the format that is described in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band book series. The report also includes three Tracz Analysis Grids in the format that is found in The Art of Interpretation of Band Music. The examined pieces are as follows. Toccatta for Band, by Frank Erickson, Mutations from Bach, by Samuel Barber, and Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, by John Philip Sousa, arranged by Philip Sparke.

Master of Music / Department of Music, Theatre and Dance / Kurt R. Gartner / The current study is an in depth look of the impact of steel pan ensemble within the college curriculum of the Midwest. The goal of the study is to further understand what perceived impacts steel pan ensemble might have on student learning through the perceptions of both instructors and students. The ensemble's impact on the students’ senses of rhythm, ability to listen and balance in an ensemble, their understanding of voicing and harmony, and appreciation of world music were all investigated through both the perceptions of the students as well as the instructors. Other areas investigated were the role of the instructor to determine how their teaching methods and topics covered impacted the students' opinion of the ensemble. This includes, but is not limited to, time spent teaching improvisation, rote teaching versus Western notation, and adding historical context by teaching the students the history of the ensemble. The Midwest region was chosen both for its high density of collegiate steel pan ensembles as well as its encompassing of some of the oldest pan ensembles in the U.S. The study used an explanatory mixed methodology employing two surveys, a student version and an instructor version, distributed to the collegiate steel pan ensembles of the Midwest via the internet. The researcher intends for the current data to serve the music community in several ways: first, by determining exactly what the students and instructors value about the ensemble, we will better understand how an instrument created less than a century ago was able to infiltrate music programs all over the world. Second, giving instructors insight on the students' perspectives will also enable them to create a more effective and enjoyable curriculum. And lastly, with this information, instructors and program supervisors will be better suited to determine just how large of a role the ensemble should play in their students' education.

Master of Music / Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Frank C. Tracz / This report provides a comprehensive research and teaching guide for three works for wind ensemble, brass ensemble, and chamber winds: Three Songs from Sussex by Hugh M. Stuart, Fanfare for Brass and Percussion by Karel Husa, and Serenade No. 10 in Bb, Largo, Allegro molto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each chapter provides information on the composer, composition, historical perspective, technical considerations, stylistic considerations, musical elements, form and structure, other listening suggestions, and seating arrangement considerations. Also included are the lesson plan outlines that were used to teach each work, and a detailed score analysis grid. The report documents the full process of selecting, researching, rehearsing, and performing the selected literature with the hope that it will aid in future performances of the works.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Kurt Gartner / This is a report intended for musicians and scholars who seek to enhance their understanding of any number of the following compositions: Prelúdio No. 1 Mi Menor (E Minor), op. 11 by Ney Rosauro, Prelúdio No. 2 la maior (A minor) by Ney Rosauro, Rotation IV by Eric Sammut, Water Falls for a Desert by Greg Coffey, Strands of Time by Brian Blume, Surface Tension by Dave Hollinden, bitsmoke by Casey Farina. Each work has been analyzed examined in accordance with Jan LaRue’s Guidelines For Style Analysis. For some compositions including only relative-pitch instruments, analysis of harmony has been omitted. For all compositions, the author has added notable performance considerations, essential technical and interpretive considerations in accord with LaRue’s guidelines. Therefore, the approach taken in analytical categories of this document can be exhibited as Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, Growth, and Performance.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Mary Lee Cochran / This Master’s report encompasses form, harmonic analysis, and style analysis of the four works performed on February 11th, 2007 for the author’s Master’s recital. Analysis was based on the author’s experience with the pieces. Many sources were utilized to discuss composer biographies, background information of the solos, and historical information of musical terms and periods. The pieces are Georg Philipp Telemann’s Sonata in F minor, John La Montaine’s Sonata for Flute Solo, Kelly McCarty’s Cinco Mundos, and Otar Taktakishvili’s Sonata for Flute and Piano.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document was submitted to the Graduate School of Kansas State University in partial fulfillment for the Master’s in Music degree. It contains theoretical, historical, and rehearsal analyses for the Graduate Conducting Recital of Edward Garret Stein. The recital was performed by members of the Kansas State University Symphony Band in McCain Auditorium on Wednesday, March 13, 2007. The concert was intended to be an exploration of three important and diverse chamber works for winds. Selections included Pantomime by Pierre Mercure, Tafelmusik by Godfrey Ridout, and From Chaos to the Birth of a Dancing Star by Allan Gordon Bell. Employed in this report are the analytical methods based on the Blocher/Miles Unit Study from the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series as well as the Tracz concept of macro-micro score analysis.