In the composition Archetypal Dreams, musical imagery is created through motifs and ideas that represent the symbolic messages of the unconscious. These motifs are introduced, developed, transformed, and overlapped in contrapuntal dialogue. This unfolding of material grows in significance and complexity building to a resolution of tension. The relationship of motifs to the row is re-established and the row is reconstructed. In this manner the conscious and unconscious elements of the personality are symbolically reconciled. The four movements of the work are entitled: I. Primordial Images; II. Archaic Remnants; III. Mythological Motifs; IV. The Process of Individuation

Concertino for Tuba, Winds, and Percussion is a work for solo tuba and an ensemble consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, and three percussionists. The percussionists play small, medium, and large suspended cymbals, triangle, tam tam, metal wind chimes, five tom toms, snare drum, tenor drum, bass drum, two sets of two timbales, five temple blocks, maracas, glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes, xylophone, marimba, and five timpani. The three movements of the work follow the arrangement of the standard concerto format (fast-slow-fast). The lengths of the movements are approximately four minutes and fifteen seconds, two minutes and twenty-five seconds, and four minutes and ten seconds respectively. The total duration of Concertino is about eleven minutes.

Composed for the JACK Quartet during their Spring residency at BU during the week of Febuary 19-23, 2018. Recorded at the BU Concert Hall on Febuary 21, 2018. Composed between September 2016 - February 2018. duration: approx. 30 min. “ ccidentall , r’s finger touches Ch e’s, their feet, under the table, happen to against each other. W might be eng by the mean of these accidents; e might concentrate ph on these slight zones of contact and d l t in this fragm nt of inert finger or f , fet i tically, without concern for the re- sponse (like od——as t etym y of the word t lls us——the Fe does not reply). But in fact erthe is not pe e, he is in lov : h creates meaning, al ays and ev ry here, out of nothing, a it is meaning wh th ll im: is in crucible of meaning. Every contact, f r t lover, raises qu st on of n answer: the skin s asked to reply. “ Quand mon doigt par mégarde… ” (A squeeze of the hand——enormous documentation——a tiny gesture within the palm, a knee which doesn’t move away, an arm extended, as if quite naturally, along the back of a sofa and against which the other’s head gradu- ally comes to rest——this is the paradisiac realm of subtle and clandestine signs: a kind of festival not of the senses but of meaning.) ” Roland Barthes, A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments

Este trabalho consiste em dois volumes, sendo o primeiro um memorial de composição e o segundo a partitura e gravação do Septeto - para cordas, piano e acordeom, peça que foi composta no segundo ano do curso de mestrado. O memorial inicia com breve comentário sobre o processo de composição e aspectos técnicos do Quinteto para cordas e piano, composição desenvolvida no curso de mestrado durante o primeiro ano e relevante para a posterior composição do Septeto. Relativo ao Septeto, são abordados o planejamento de sua da forma e conteúdo expressivo, seguido da descrição e comentários a respeito do processo de composição de cada movimento. O memorial passa então a uma seção mais analítica que tem como objetivo demonstrar recursos usados na busca de identidade expressiva de cada movimento e de unidade para o todo. Essa análise trata dos desafios e soluções referentes às conexões dos diversos materiais encontrados na música, dos critérios para a organização das alturas, da orquestração, do uso do ritmo e métrica, bem como das referências musicais que estimularam o processo criativo. Ao final é feita uma avaliação crítica do processo composicional e dos resultados alcançados. / The Septet for strings, piano and accordion was composed during the second year of my master’s course and consists of seven movements, with a total duration time of 53 minutes. The volume I of this paper will present and analyze the composition of the Septet and the volume II present the scoring and record of thenpiece. This paper starts with a brief commentary about the composition process and technical aspects of the Quintet for strings and piano, a piece created during my first year of the master’s course and relevant to the later composition of the Septet. Concerning the Septet, it will be addressed the planning of its form and its expressive content, followed by a description and commentary of each movement’s composition process. After that, this project will analyze the resources used in the pursue of the expressive identity of each movement and the pursue of a sense of unity for the whole piece. The analysis addresses the challenges and solutions found in the process of connecting the diverse nature of the different movements, as well as discuss the criteria used for determining the pitch structure, orchestration, use of rhythm and metrics, and musical references that stimulated the creative process. At the end, a critical evaluation of the compositional process and the achieved results will be made.

<p> The purpose of this study is to chronicle the experiences of an elementary music educator incorporating composition and improvisation activities into her elementary general music curriculum. I interviewed a primary music specialist with the purpose of discovering her background in teaching music. The questions focused on the teacher&rsquo;s experience with music composition. After this interview, I observed the teacher in a third-grade general music composition lesson. I documented how the teacher approached the lesson and any steps she took to adapt the lesson to the needs of their students and her teaching style. </p><p> After the observation, I interviewed the teacher again to record her reactions to teaching the lesson. After coding the transcripts of the interviews and observation, four themes developed from the data: Personal Initiative, Teacher Reassurance, Student Engagement, and Teacher Improvement. The participant involved in this study received training in improvisation and reported that it had a positive effect on not only how she taught composition and improvisation, but also how comfortable she felt while teaching. As the training this teacher received was not through her teacher training program, her case may be unusual among experienced music teachers. Although this teacher was successful in teaching composition, her positive reactions to professional development indicate a desire for more training among in-service music education specialists. This study supports the idea that there is a need for more pre-service and in-service teacher training in how to teach younger students to compose. </p><p>

abstract: This fifteen-minute cyclical mass uses excerpts from the text of the Mass Ordinary and is laid out into five movements and across three different languages: Kyrie (Latin), Gloria (Chinese), Credo (English), Sanctus (Chinese), and Agnus Dei (Latin). Rather than following the tradition of celebrating devotion, this mass tells the story of the abuse of power in political and religious leadership. Movements sung in Latin represent the devout Christian base whose motives and inspiration remain pure and divine. The English movement, Credo, has been altered from the original and represents the manipulation and distortion of scripture, truth, and facts by self-serving leaders and politicians. Finally, Chinese movements represent those who are persecuted for their convictions and their identity. The turmoil of the Chinese movements is characterized by atonality and fast tempos with contrasting, meditative, lyrical B sections. The outer Latin movements contain the familiar Kyrie and Agnus Dei texts in triple canon with the orchestra. The English middle movement is simultaneously familiar and awkward, with harmonies that almost function, under an altered Credo text. After an aria-like passage, the orchestra takes the “I believe” figure and manipulates it in a modal fugato, culminating in a climactic version of the main motive. A repeated double-dotted quarter note—sixteenth-note rhythm followed by a fast tremolo in the castanets make up the central “bangu motive.” This motive is derived from traditional Beijing Opera, in which the bangu is the principal percussion element. As a rhythmic motive, fragments of it appear in every movement and in several different instrument groups. These fragments undergo various transformations before a version of it arrives as the final Agnus Dei rhythmic figure. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Music 2018

abstract: As with many concertante, Fantasy focuses on the interplay between the soloist and the orchestra. Contrast is a fundamental principle for creating the formal design of the composition. Adjacent sections are related to one another by the contrast of any or all of the following: register, timbre, and texture. Fantasy derives inspiration from the musical languages of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Moravec, and Debussy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

abstract: Lux Aeterna is scored for Flute (Piccolo), Bb Clarinet (Bass Clarinet), Oboe, Bassoon (Contra-Bassoon), French Horn, Trumpet in C, Tenor Trombone, Soprano Voice, Alto Voice, Tenor Voice, Bass Voice, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Double Bass. The piece lasts 17-18 minutes. The text, in its original Latin, is from the Requiem Mass. The pitch material for the four voices is directly derived from the original Gregorian Chant (B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A). The primary pitch materials for the instrumental ensemble are drawn from the overtone series, with the fundamental of B natural. As found in the natural overtone series, the chords produced in this composition include microtones found both naturally from the series along with microtones added by the composer to create harmonic friction. This treatment of microtonal materials is juxtaposed with the “pure” nature of the B minor modal scale sung by the 4 vocalists. Lux Aeterna uses the performance space so that the sixteen performers and conductor surround the audience in an oval shape. Entrances of instruments are determined by their position around the audience and the way in which those sounds interact with one another across the space of the hall. The instruments are strategically placed so that timbres can be balanced in a specific way and the listener can hear the pitches blend in the acoustics of the hall. The goal is to create an immersive listening experience for the audience. Although there are some spectral techniques involved in this composition, no computers or software programs were used to analyze harmonic materials. The pitch material is either from the overtone series or the B minor scale. Essentially, the music is instinctually composed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2019

abstract: Light Emerging is a symphonic dance suite in five movements. The work’s approximate length is 25 minutes; it is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C with loop pedal, trombone, percussion, electronic percussion, piano, strings, and fixed media. Each movement of the dance suite is written to be performed as a standalone piece or together as one multimovement work. The music showcases open quintal sonorities layered in conflicting substructures, which contract into denser brooding passages and transform into tonal fanfares. Attempting to capture the essence of how humanity uniquely experiences light and assigns personification to it, the composer presents light and dark as the main characters in a grand ballet of good and evil. Prism (Movement I) is an overture that is constantly shifting and evolving. A rainbow of colors is presented by the various orchestra members, as timbral and pitch evolutions showcase the ever-changing perspectives of a prism held to light. Yin/Yang (Movement II) explores the relationship between light and dark. The solo clarinet represents light breaking through the darkness as its colorful flourishes pierce through the brooding fixed media. Sunrise (Movement III) captures the impressive majesty of light bursting over the dark horizon in the early morning. Lux (Movement IV) is a dance of light, using solo trumpet and a chorus of phantom trumpets. Light Eternal (Movement V) expresses the deep need for humans to worship that which is unknown and eternal, and the power of light to overcome the dark. The “March of Eternal Light” signals our end in this world and the journey to the beyond. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2019

abstract: Reverend Stormfield Goes to Heaven is an operetta in six scenes for seven vocalists and flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and double bass. The work’s approximate length is 40 minutes. The libretto is written by the composer and based on the short story by Mark Twain titled “Captain Stormfield Goes to Heaven.” The short story features the typical biting sarcasm of Mark Twain. The libretto combines part of the original text with alterations to satirize modern day Christianity and religious values in general. The story follows Reverend Stormfield as she arrives in Heaven and quickly learns that the locations and people she expected to see and meet are shockingly different. The journey takes her through comical scenarios and deeper philosophical dilemmas, and in the end she is left to confront her own disturbing past. The musical elements of the operetta include traditional and octatonic scales, twelve- tone rows and set theory based on the overriding intervallic relationship of the perfect fourth. The sets implemented as motivic ideas: 0-1-4-5, 0-1-6-7, and 0-2-5-7 are based on the perfect fourth and serve as the framework for many of the melodic ideas. The instruments provide an accompanimental role often incorporating melodic fragmentation and contrapuntal textures and techniques. Instrumental solos are featured prominently in arias and the instrumental interludes between scenes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Reverend Stormfield Recording: Scenes 1,3,4,6 / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2019