Zdeněk Lukáš (1928-2007) was one of the most prolific Czech composers of the 20th century having composed over 300 pieces. His works include a wide array of genres including symphonies, operas, chamber music, and a large amount of choral and vocal music. He was influenced by Czech folklore and music and was self-taught until he was nearly 40 years old. Lukáš began his career as a teacher but later began working for the Czechoslovak Radio Studio in Plzeň where he founded the mixed choir, Česká Píseň (Czech Song), which became quite famous and still enjoys great fame. Requiem per coro misto, op. 252 is considered by many to be Lukáš’s most famous choral work. It was written in 1992 for a cappella SSATB chorus. The piece is divided into seven movements; “Requiem aeternam,” “Dies irae,” “Lacrymosa,” “Offertorium,” “Hostias,” “Sanctus,” and “Agnus Dei.” This document presents an analysis and conductor’s guide of Requiem. The analysis includes an examination of Latin pronunciation employing Germanic Latin when possible and an IPA pronunciation guide and translation of the text. Also included in the analysis is discussion on form, tonality, and development of melody, harmony, and rhythm all of which reveal that Lukáš wrote this piece in a very traditional style. The conductor’s guide points out many of the issues that a choir may face in preparing Requiem. Some of the issues include intonation, range, and dynamics. One specific issue is that although the piece is tonal, there is considerable use of modes and scales that many singers would consider exotic. One such scale is the Hungarian Gypsy which is essentially a harmonic minor scale, but includes a raised fourth degree. Many of the intonation issues that could arise stem from the frequent parallel motion. Lukáš believed that a cappella singing is one of the purest forms of music and that singers should be allowed to sing without regard to any instrumental influence whether it be from the composer or some other source. Requiem exhibits this belief through its challenges and its beauty. The work or its individual movements can be challenging yet accessible to singers of all levels.

For decades, many brass teachers have relied heavily upon speech as a means of conveying pedagogical concepts. Additionally, a significant number of teachers in the brass community continue to use speech sounds to teach specific kinesthetic responses (i.e. using specific vowels for tone production, particular consonants for articulation, and variations of vowels for different pitch registers). These teaching concepts have been perpetuated over time, though many intricate aspects of human anatomy were yet to be understood at the inception of these methods, including the physiological processes used during speech. As technology has evolved, researchers in the field of linguistics have made significant discoveries regarding the production and perception of speech. As a result of these innovations, researchers now understand more about individual languages than ever before. This document aims to critique popular beliefs regarding speech directives often utilized in trumpet pedagogy, such as guiding a student by saying “tah,” “too,” “tee,” etc. to produce a desired sound concept. A significant portion of this document also outlines an ultrasound experiment conducted by the author in the Phonetics Laboratory at the University of Kentucky, in which exercises were designed to determine if speech vowels are in fact used during trumpet playing. During this study, subjects wore a lightweight headset with an ultrasound probe placed under the chin. The ultrasound probe allowed the researcher a midsaggital (side) view of the subject’s oral cavity, displaying vowel placements and articulatory phenomena. While using the ultrasound imaging technology, subjects played a short selection of musical exercises on B-flat trumpet and then read aloud a pre-selected list of English words, designed to display multiple combinations of vowel and consonant pairings. Both the trumpet exercises and reading of the word list were audio recorded and simultaneously paired with the corresponding ultrasound video data. After playing the selected exercises, subjects completed a brief written questionnaire of personal language history to ascertain possible influences upon dialect. The ultrasound videos were then analyzed with the audio recordings to map each individual’s tongue placements during speech as compared to the placements utilized during trumpet playing. The author concluded that a majority of participants did not use the specific placements of speech vowels while playing the trumpet, although some participant data displayed a slightly stronger correlation than others. While many conclusions could be drawn from this research study, the corresponding data is intended for a purely observational understanding of the influence of linguistics upon trumpet performance and pedagogy. This document is presented in two parts: Part I contains introductory research material, as well as the process, analysis, and conclusions from the experiment outlined above. Part II contains recital programs and corresponding program notes in fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance, as well as a personal vita.

Jean Ahn (b. 1976) is one of the active Korean woman composers in the U.S. Ahn’s goal is to introduce her works in the U.S. by composing pieces that combine Korean musical elements with Western compositional techniques. The purpose of this study is to provide an introduction to and analysis of Folksong Revisited for solo piano by Jean Ahn. This work demonstrates how Jean Ahn integrates Korean traditional musical elements and Western musical compositional techniques. For better understanding of Ahn’s three Korean folksong arrangements in the Folksong Revisited, this document provides brief information about Korean traditional music and explores elements of it. This document also examines the folksong sources of each piece and Ahn’s compositional approaches to them, and then provides performance suggestions.

The following document was created in order to promote intonation consensus in ensembles and to better facilitate learning in educational settings. Non-keyboard instruments provide musicians an opportunity to make nearly infinitesimal adjustments to pitch while performing; this creates difficulties for students and challenges even the most seasoned professionals. Non-keyboard musicians struggle their whole lives to play in tune, and even when one knows exactly where they want to place a pitch, technical difficulties can foul any musician's performance. When performing solo, the musician must choose a tuning system that is suitable for the music being performed, and attempt to realize it. When performing in ensembles, the need for consensus and a systematic approach become more apparent. When performing with keyboards, the difficulties are increased as further compromises are required. This research was conducted with the intention to assist non-keyboard instrumentalists in selecting and recreating an appropriate temperament. Additionally, the author hopes that keyboard instrumentalists will be inclined to make a consideration for the non-keyboard instruments when selecting their temperament. The following document contains information useful to those wishing to employ a consistent approach to tuning. Presented here are the acoustic phenomena that have perplexed scholars around the world for the last 2600 years. The history and science of these acoustic questions will be demonstrated and discussed.

Since the 1950s, composers worldwide have explored the use of the trombone in new and exciting ways, from expanding the functional range of the instrument to creating unique timbres through the use of mutes and extended techniques. Since then, many standard works in the literature have been born from this pushing of the envelope from composers like John Cage, Luciano Berio, Iannis Xenakis, and Daniel Schnyder. On the forefront of the newest crop of composers expanding the voice of the trombone is Tyler Kline (b. 1991). This project will function as a formal analysis and performer’s guide to his 2015 work render for bass or tenor trombone and fixed electronics. Through examination of this music, as well as a discussion with the composer and performances of this work, the performer will gain insight into the inspirations behind this work, Kline’s compositions on the whole, as well as performance considerations for this work. In addition to the performance guide, a recording of render, as well as several other works of Kline’s, will be produced and released as an album through New Branch Records in Lexington, KY.

After the strict processes of mid-twentieth-century minimalism, a new musical style has emerged which retains extensive use of repetition, but is generally more aurally accessible, based in non-functional triadic harmony, and flexible in its compositional structure. Frequent use of non-minimalist resources, musical resources from multiple styles in a single composition, and quotation from previous historical periods define this flexibility. American choral music has many popular compositions that exhibit characteristics of this new musical style, in part because of its accessibility relative to earlier minimalist styles, and in part because it adapts easily to the choral setting. At the same time, teaching this music to choirs requires resources that are not in standard-practice choral pedagogy textbooks or peer-reviewed choral journals. This monograph utilizes newer research in musical analysis and several recent writings attempting to generalize the postminimalist style to develop a definition of choral postminimalism. Then, this monograph also suggests analytical approaches and resources for choral warm-ups, score preparation, and other pedagogical tools for three pieces: Arvo Pärt’s The Beatitudes, Nico Muhly’s Bright Mass with Canons, and Tarik O’Regan’s The Ecstasies Above.

Premise and Objectives In our increasingly technology driven society, the impact of technology touches nearly every aspect of our lives in some form or another. This has been acutely felt within the world of percussion, with electroacoustic works representing perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of concert percussion over the last twenty years. Electroacoustic music couples electronic technology with traditional acoustic instruments and/or performance practices. Broadly, this paper outlines a systematic approach to teaching electroacoustic performance practice, based on elements found in a cross-section of percussion literature. In using such an approach, not only does each student become more capable of dealing with this growing body of literature, but also the process of educating these students becomes more efficient for the teacher. As a result, delivery becomes more effectively standardized, and resources can be shared more efficiently among multiple students who may be studying different types of electroacoustic repertoire. Method To organize this exploration, three main genres of electroacoustic repertoire for percussion are compared: prerecorded soundscape, live processing, and electronic pieces. This comparison illuminates the tools and techniques that are relevant to each type of repertoire and reflects not only the narrower focus of electroacoustic percussion, but also the broader goals of applied percussion instruction in the context of a “total” percussion program. Each classification is explored by addressing its critical elements using prime examples from the relevant standard repertoire. For the first classification of works, tape pieces, the project includes discussion on signal flow, balancing electronic and acoustic sound sources, an introduction to digital audio workstations (DAWs), and monitoring techniques. Two primary examples of the repertoire are used to contribute to this discussion; Javier Alvarez’s Temazcal for maracas and tape, and Brian Blume’s Strands of Time. Live processing works present increased challenges with concepts, including sound reinforcement, recording production, how to edit and creatively manipulate sound both in post-production and live, and detailed concepts of signal flow, often including MIDI protocol. To explore the concepts specifically relevant to live processed works, Nigel Westlake’s classic work, Fabian Theory, for amplified marimba and three toms, is offered. Electronic works give students further opportunity to explore MIDI mapping, patch and parameter changes using both hardware and software, and sometimes sound design. In this context, there is a brief exploration of Steve Reich’s Violin Phase. Finally, an exploration of Hans Werner Henze’s, Prison Song demonstrates how all of this technology and technique can come together in combination works. The work requires live sound reinforcement, pre-recorded soundscapes, separate monitoring, live processing, and live MIDI controllers. The paper closes with a brief summary of extra pedagogical considerations, including resource management, pedagogical philosophy, and further implications. Conclusion By examining the logical steps of pedagogically developing through the different broad categories of electroacoustic music, with an emphasis on its reflection of broader liberal values and critical applied analysis, it is believed that this research could yield a model for a more thoughtful approach for applied percussion teachers.

The French baroque petit motet was the most prolific genre of seventeenth-century France. In this study, three petits motets, specifically Regina caeli settings of French composers Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Nicolas Bernier and François Couperin are examined with an emphasis on the motets’ historical context in relation to the French monarchy and the Italian concepts that the composers incorporated into each work. All three Regina caeli settings display some Italian compositional techniques of the stile moderno in various degrees and were written in different contextual ecclesiastic milieux. The intersections of, as well as distinctions between, musical ideas of traditional French style and Italian innovations was at the center of music and musical discourse during the baroque period. The French were introduced to Italian style by travelling musicians at the court of France; however, when Louis XIV gave Jean-Baptiste Lully the important position of surintendant de la musique, the idea of an authentic unaltered French sound became prevalent among musicians and critics. Lully, strongest defender of “pure” French style, created a strict environment for musicians at court, and only after his death, did composers gain in freedom. The study suggests that a closer association to Louis XIV permitted musicians to integrate more of the Italian stile moderno techniques than those who did not have this opportunity. Crucial figures of the French monarchy, Louis XIV, Philippe II d’Orléans and the duc de Bourgogne were connected to the three composers central to this project and impacted the outcome of their work. With the musical-historical study of three Regina caeli settings, this project demonstrates the importance of the petit motet genre within the repertoire and the need for additional research to increase the accessibility of this inestimable music

Partita for 8 Voices (2012) is a groundbreaking a cappella work that earned its composer, Caroline Shaw, the record of youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013. While the work continues to receive performances from its premiere ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, no transcription of the piece to any other ensemble type existed at the beginning of this DMA project. The author sought to transcribe a piece by a living female composer with no work for band into the wind band medium. The resulting transcription, Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble, adds a new work to the repertoire of band literature that includes new, esoteric, and proprietary extended technique for wind and percussion instruments. The purposes of this DMA project are 1) to provide a brief analysis of Partita for 8 Voices, 2) to provide details of the trials, errors, and successes during the transcription process of Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble as well as recommendations for future conductors of the work, and 3) to provide anecdotal evidence of the important relationship conductors build with composer intent by embarking on a transcription process. The first chapter includes a biography of Caroline Shaw, the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, and a timeline of Shaw’s compositional process regarding Partita for 8 Voices. The second chapter is a brief theoretical, timbral, and technical analysis of Partita for 8 Voices. Chapters three through seven discuss the transcriptional process and conductor’s insights for each of the four movements of Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble and general considerations. Chapter eight discusses anecdotal evidence of what conductors learn from the transcription process. An appendix of information including interviews, a graphical analysis of technical and timbral events in Partita for 8 Voices, and the full score for Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble is also provided.

John Mackey’s Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band(2014) is a work of epic proportions and was the winner of the William D. Revelli Composition Contest of the National Band Association in 2015. Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Bandhas received much acclaim and many performances including a recording by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in 2016. The purposes of this dissertation are 1) to provide historical information on the genesis of the work through interviews with its composer, John Mackey, and commissioning director, Jerry Junkin; 2) to provide an analysis of how the programmatic elements of Homer’s Odysseyinteract with the musical aspects of the work. The first chapter discusses biographical information essential to the understanding of John Mackey’s music. Chapter two includes information specific to the creation of Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band. Chapters three through five provide analytical information alongside programmatic information to provide a clear understanding of how the music and programmatic elements combine to create the work. Chapter six concludes the document with some performance suggestions for the conductor. An appendix of information including graphs of how dynamic range corresponds to programmatic elements and interviews with the composer, John Mackey, and the commissioner, Jerry Junkin, are also provided.