<p> Until recently, female composers have been undervalued for their contributions to the world of music. While much has been done to remedy this omission, there are still some composers whose works have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Florence Price&rsquo;s orchestral works, particularly her <i> Symphony No. 1 in E Minor,</i> are an example of these often-overlooked compositions, and they are deserving of more recognition. It is possible that her works were initially ignored not just because she was a female composer, but also an African-American living in a time when both groups were considered inferior to their white male counterparts in the United States. Now that our society has become more fair-minded about recognizing all races, cultures, and groups, it is time to re-visit the orchestral works of Florence Price and attempt to have them included in standard orchestral repertoire. These compositions represent a little-heard group of composers in American history, and they add a more varied style and voice to classical music literature. </p><p> The first part of this thesis presents an historical background of Florence Price and highlights social and cultural influences that had an impact on her musical compositions. Price&rsquo;s compositions reflect her upbringing as an African-American woman and often include musical characteristics that borrow from Negro spirituals, lending unique qualities to her music. The second part of the thesis focuses specifically on her <i>Symphony No. 1 in E Minor,</i> including a basic analysis of harmony and form, discussion of thematic elements, and an argument for more frequent performances of the symphony. I will also describe my rehearsal and performance experiences of the piece with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music. </p>

<p> The Broadway musical <i>Bloomer Girl</i> (1944) with score by composer Harold Arlen (1905&ndash;1986) and lyricist E.Y. Harburg (1896&ndash;1981) was the first book musical to follow in the footsteps of Rodgers and Hammerstein's <i> Oklahoma!</i> The obvious parallels between <i>Oklahoma!</i> and <i>Bloomer Girl</i> led critics and scholars to compare the musicals at the expense of overlooking the contributions the latter made to the genre. This thesis moves <i>Bloomer Girl</i> out from the shadow cast by <i>Oklahoma!</i> and situates it within a richer historical context. It begins with a brief history of <i>Bloomer Girl.</i> It then focuses specifically on both the dramatic and musical representation of women in the work. Using a comparative methodology, this study examines how the women in <i>Bloomer Girl</i> deviate from the model for the Golden Age musical to create a controversial political commentary about the United States in the World War II era.</p>

<p> This thesis is an analysis and exploration of the feminist themes present in select chamber music theater works by William Osborne for trombonist Abbie Conant. Before analyzing Osborne's compositions, the author provides crucial background information about the lives and experiences of husband and wife and artistic collaborators William Osborne and Abbie Conant. Specifically, the author addresses the sexism that Conant experienced as a trombonist in the Munich Philharmonic. Osborne composed a new genre of works for Conant to perform as an artistic response to the pain both he and Conant experienced during the thirteen year legal battle with the state of Munich and their desire to create fully integrated musical theater works. </p><p> The author traces the evolution of Osborne and Conant's collaboration by examining three works within the genre of chamber music theater: Winnie&mdash;Osborne's adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days; Miriam: The Chair&mdash;Osborne's first completely original work; and Street Scene for the Last Mad Soprano. Through personal interviews with Osborne and Conant, the author became aware of Osborne and Conant's influences from Samuel Beckett as well as the formal structure that Osborne uses in his works, and she traces this structure in each work as a method for understanding and organizing the musical and dramatic events. Since Osborne's chamber music theater works require the performer to play a musical instrument, act, and sing, the author employs balanced musicological, dramaturgical, and theoretical analytical approaches when studying each piece. </p><p> After addressing the formal and compositional devices that Osborne utilizes in each piece, the author focuses her analysis on the feminist themes that are found in the latter two works: Miriam: The Chair and Street Scene for the Last Mad Soprano, for these two works were written as a direct response to the discrimination that Conant experienced in the Munich Philharmonic. The author provides the transcript from her interview with Osborne and Conant as an appendix to the document.</p>

<p> This treatise examines the life and solo vocal works of composer Margaret Allison Bonds (1913-1972). It includes a biographical outline of Bonds's family background, education, and students. Her accomplishments as a concert pianist, composer, and music educator in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles are also described. The second half offers an overview of Bonds's solo vocal compositions. There is one chapter devoted to each of the three styles of song that she composed in her career: African-American spirituals, jazz/popular songs, and art songs. In addition, the treatise explores Bonds's relationship with the poets of the Harlem Renaissance, and her forays into the musical theatre genre. </p><p> Musical excerpts and descriptions of many of Bonds's published and unpublished solo vocal works are included. This document will be of benefit to singers, pianists, coaches, and musicologists interested in finding new repertoire with a distinctly American sound, as well as those who are seeking songs composed by American female composers, African-American composers, or art songs that include musical elements drawn from the spiritual or jazz. </p><p> Over half of Bonds's solo vocal works incorporated the poetry of Langston Hughes. The chapter entitled "The Art Songs: Poets of the Harlem Renaissance" is dedicated to the art song settings of Langston Hughes's poems and also includes one art song setting of a Count&eacute;e Cullen poem. The chapter entitled "The Art Songs" features settings of texts by Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Margaret Bonds, Marjorie May, Janice Lovoos, and Edmund Penney. </p><p> Appendix A of this document includes a list of Bonds's solo vocal works. It includes publication information, poet, and dates of composition. Appendix B includes seven digital photographs, including images of Margaret Bonds, Langston Hughes, William Levi Dawson, Florence Beatrice Price, Leonard Harper, Charlotte Holloman, McHenry Boatwright, and Maya Angelou. </p><p> Many of Margaret Bonds's songs were never published and are located in archival libraries and remain unknown. One purpose of this document is to expose these lesser known pieces to a larger audience, hopefully giving them a deserved place as a significant contribution to the American art song repertoire. </p>

<p> This study seeks to provide female singers and their teachers with insight on achieving career longevity through the collection of data and commentary from seasoned professional female singers. One hundred artists from the United States and Canada, each with a singing career spanning twenty years or longer, were invited to complete the online survey The Professional Female Singer and Career Longevity via SurveyMonkey.com. </p><p> Participants, ages 45-75, responded to an array of questions to create an overview of their vocal careers. Each singer provided answers on physical and vocal health challenges they experienced as well as, the impact of menopause, hormone replacement therapy, and the perceived benefits of teaching to maintain the voice. Respondents also shared information on the lifestyle, dietary, and other choices they believe contributed to career longevity. </p><p> The sample population, composed of forty-nine mezzo-sopranos and fifty-one sopranos, is predominantly made up of baby boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964. It is significant to note that none of the one hundred singers reported being "retired" from the profession. All continue to engage in performing, teaching, or a combination thereof. </p><p> According to the U.S. Census Bureau life expectancy over the past century for women has nearly doubled from an average of 48.3 years in 1900 to 81.3 years in 2010. Women can now expect to live a considerable portion of their life in a postmenopausal state. This document adds first hand reports by female professional singers to the present voice science research on the benefits of diet, exercise, lifestyle choices and hormone therapy. Singers should be educated to the benefits of maintaining hormonal balance and its direct impact on preserving the voice. Further study is warranted to explore which hormone replacement therapies are proving to have the greatest vocal benefit and to disseminate information on which natural/alternative medicines and modalities female singers and voice teachers feel help maintain their voices and contribute to career longevity.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Depts. of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 13, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-12, Section: A, page: 4494. Adviser: Ruth M. Stone.