The Ephesus Seventh-day Church, one of the first Black SDA churches that were formed in the New York City area during the late 1920s and early 1930s, is one church that has been faced with the challenge of maintaining traditional repertoire and musical practices, while including more popular genres and styles that lay outside the SDA guidelines. Located in Central Harlem, Ephesus is surrounded by the cultural and historical influences within the Harlem community. The Ephesus Church, based on extant hymnals and the recollections of church members, continued in the Euro-centric musical traditions of early SDA churches until the 1960s, when it began to explore African-inspired musical practices. Around 1970, close in time to the SDA 1972 Music Guidelines were instituted, a struggle between Euro-centric versus Afro-centric musical cultures became apparent. Following introductory chapters on the history of African-American membership in the SDA Church from the 19th century to the early 20th century and early musical leaders of Ephesus Church, the musical practices of Ephesus from 1970 to 2010 serves as the focus of this study.

This study offers a reconsideration of the music of Villa-Lobos and its relationship to diverse musical expressions and musical syntheses in Brazil. Its primary purpose is to present a line of interpretative thought for Heitor Villa-Lobos’s piano compositions, emphasizing significant elements reflective of the folk and popular culture of Brazil that the composer integrates with stylistic features influenced by European art music traditions. It highlights Villa-Lobos’s adaptation of characteristic Brazilian dances, dance rhythms, melodies, direct quotations, and fragments of folk and popular tunes in Choros no. 5 (Alma Brasileira) and Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4 (Brazilian Bachianas no. 4). In the latter work, this study also considers the composer’s blend of Brazilian-based material with elements inspired by the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. In addition to stylistic analyses, an examination of the composer’s influences, intentions, and methods is fundamental to this study. This exploration offers insights into Villa-Lobos’s piano music and clarifies possible misinterpretations generated by lack of information about the composer’s musical contexts and his desires to represent Brazilian culture in his music. This discussion is intended to provide a basis for performing or interpretive solutions to the musical (including rhythmic and technical) complexities created by the use of folk and popular ideas in this repertoire. Divided into five chapters, this document begins with a brief overview of Villa-Lobos’s life and overall works in the second chapter. The third chapter contains a brief overview of the entire set of Choros with a focused examination of Choros no. 5. The fourth chapter discusses Villa-Lobos’s mixture of neoclassical and Brazilian elements within the set Bachianas Brasileiras, specifically no. 4, for piano. Descriptions and interpretations of the selected works are offered in the third and fourth chapters. The fifth chapter presents the conclusion of this research.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici (b. 1937) has gained recognition as a composer for both instrumental and vocal settings. Although his instrumental contributions include solo, chamber, and orchestral works, to date he has only written one composition for wind band. A conductor must devote himself / herself to score study and analysis in order to form an accurate interpretation and to conduct effective rehearsals. A vital part of score study and analysis is familiarity with the composer’s technique and style of writing. A brief biographical sketch presents Del Tredici’s background, education, honors and awards, academic career, and influences, as well as a discussion of his compositional and orchestration techniques. Both movements of In Wartime are analyzed using the elements of melody, harmony, form, rhythm (which includes tempo, meter, rhythm, and rhythmic techniques), orchestration, texture, and dynamics. Rehearsal considerations for each movement are presented based on the author’s experience rehearsing and conducting In Wartime. The intention of this document is to facilitate conductors in their study and preparation of In Wartime in order that they may realize more effective rehearsals and inspired performances. Included in the appendices are trumpet parts transposed to the key of B-flat and instructions for the construction of the wind machine indicated in the score.

Undergraduate students who double major in music performance and music education often face issues with identity perception unlike those of their single-major counterparts. As they simultaneously develop both identities, double majors cope with additional challenges as they determine who they are and who they hope to become. Some easily adapt to both identities--incorporating values of both majors to create a well-rounded persona--while others struggle to find balance between the two identities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the early stages of performer-teacher identity by examining double majors in various stages of their programs of study who aspire to become a performer and music educator. Using individual and focus-group interviews and e-mail prompts, I investigated the experiences of five undergraduate students majoring in music education and music performance. Participants were asked to describe influences that led them to the double major. They were also asked to consider which of their majors they felt to be more prominent, and how they intended to utilize each major in their future. Participants also described qualities of ideal performers and teachers. They responded to questions regarding training received and perceptions of superiority and inferiority within the school of music. Six themes emerged from the analysis. I found that participants were enveloped in varying degrees of blended musician identity depending on the length of their experience. Participants had been socialized primarily by family and teachers, and secondarily by applied professors and practical experiences. They felt most like performers or teachers when involved in hands-on experiences, and those experiences that were considered in real-life situations were the most helpful in identity development. Participants expressed concerns regarding heavy workloads and their ability to develop adequate skills for success. I also discovered a tendency of participants to cater to the perceptions of those within their environment. Concern for the opinions of others often led to a superiority/inferiority conflict between performance majors and music education majors both within and across applied studios. Implications for music school faculty and music students are included.

Estonian composer Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) is one of the most prolific in his country’s history. A significant portion of his writing has been for choirs. Tormis composed most of his works under Soviet rule. During this communist reign of Estonia, Tormis turned to using traditional music. The source material for a large portion of Tormis’ choral output is regilaul, a type of ancient Estonian folk song. In 1991, Estonia gained their independence, thereby allowing Tormis’ compositions to be more easily seen, heard, and performed around the world. This dissertation presents a conductor’s analysis of a set of choral cycles composed by Tormis between 1964 and 1969, Looduspildid, or Nature Pictures. A set of cycles representing all of the seasons and incorporating prominent Estonian poetry, Loodispuldid represents one of Tormis’ most important works. It illustrates Tormis’ maturing style as he utilized a variety of 20th Century techniques like extended tertian harmonies, modal scales, pandiatonicism, clusters, and mixed meters. Tormis also employs his own orchestrally-derived techniques of carefully constructed simultaneous articulations along with cumulative chording. Each cycle contains its own unique style and feel. Sügismaastikud is perhaps the most tonal of the four. Most movements are pandiatonic and one uses the whole tone scale. On a macro level, Sügismaastikud moves from soft in the earlier movements to a fff climax on the final chord of the last movement. Talvemustrid also begins at a very soft dynamic level on a unison D4, grows to multiple ff dynamics throughout, and ends back at a soft dynamic on Db. The cycle is more harmonically adventurous than Sügismaastikud, with consistent chromaticism, octatonic scale, and marked dissonance. Suvenmotiivid only contains three movements, but continues the harmonic and rhythmic complexity of Sügismaastikud. The first movement, Põualim, immediately begins on a tritone with octatonic scale. Different meters occur simultaneously during the second movement, which also moves quickly through 4 keys. The final movement ends with orchestral voicing and a 10-note chord cluster. Kevadkillud contains six very short movements, most of which are pandiatonic like Sügismaastikud. There is far less chromaticism and harmonic complexity than the middle two cycles, almost as if Tormis is bringing the set full circle. Moreover, the final movement of this cycle (and the entire set) is really just one major chord with embellishments. As a set, Loodispuldid represents a thorough perspective of Tormis’ mature style. The analyses done as a part of this paper reveal an incredible efficiency in his writing. Motives have purpose and context. Each movement possesses a well-defined harmonic language and rhythmic identity. A variety of formal structures exist, from binary to rondo. Even the many through-composed movements are expertly crafted with clear direction.

The trumpet and electronics genre of music has been in existence since 1965. While various dissertations have discussed other composers and their works in this field, there is still a need for a treatise exploring appropriate performance practice for the electroacoustic trumpet music of Meg Bowles. There has been no study of the compositional process nor trumpet techniques required for performance of these works and other electronic compositions. This dissertation will study the compositions for trumpet and electronics by Bowles, develop strategies for performing these works, and explore compositional techniques used to create them. Interviews have been conducted between the author and composer (Meg Bowles), as well as the author and collaborating performer (David Bilger). In addition, existing interviews with the composer are included from journals and websites. This document is presented in two parts: Part I, “Introduction to Music for Trumpet and Electronics,” “Biography of Meg Bowles,” “Compositional Techniques,” “Night Sun Journey,” “Places Where Rivers Meet,” “Shapeshifter,” and “Twilight Embrace.” The second part of this dissertation contains materials which are pertinent to the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree and includes recital programs, program notes, and vita.

This monograph provides an in-depth examination of the background, musical, and performance issues related to Duke Ellington’s wordless melodies, as well as epigrammatic biographies of Ellington and three female vocalists whose voices he employed as instruments: Adelaide Hall, Kay Davis, and Alice Babs. As early as the twenties, Ellington innovatively used the voice as a wordless instrumental color—an idea he extended into both his secular and sacred works. His iconoclastic instrumentalization of the soprano voice in compositions such as “Creole Love Call”, “Minnehaha”, “Transblucency”, “On a Turquoise Cloud”, and “T.G.G.T.” merits consideration by scholars and performers alike; these artistically complex melodies offer valuable insights into Ellington’s organic and collaborative compositional process. Although Ellington’s wordless melodies for the soprano voice have fallen on the periphery of discussions on twentieth-century American music, perhaps out of sheer obscurity, the need for alternative teaching and performance materials gives rise to a host of topics for further study regarding these pieces. Assimilating Ellington’s programmatic and mood pieces for the instrumentalized soprano voice into the canon of chamber repertoire opens a new arena of scholarly and artistic endeavor for the trained singer. Therefore, central to this study are the following considerations: context, pedagogical challenges (range, tessitura, vowels, phrase length, etc.) nature of accompaniment and instrumentation, form, and the nature of Ellington’s vocal writing as it pertains to the wordless obbligato and concert works featuring the wordless voice including, “Minnehaha,” “Transblucency,” “On A Turquoise Cloud,” and “T.G.T.T.” aka “Too Good To Title.” This study evaluates Ellington’s technique of casting the wordless female voice in unique musical contexts via musical analysis, as well as pedagogical and interpretive assessments of selected Ellington pieces,. The resultant amalgam of musical identities, both instrumental and vocal, fostered creative polyphony and epitomized the coined “Ellington Effect.” The following analysis centers on a chronological survey of Ellington’s wordless melodies performed and recorded by Adelaide Hall, Kay Davis, and Alice Babs. The goal of this project is to present a study in historical context and significance, style, device, and pedagogical/performance considerations of those works that employ the flexibility, technique, and aural training of the studied singer with instrumental jazz idioms in a cross-genre context.

A ideia de se permitir que diversos músicos possam interagir remotamente utilizando-se de redes de computadores não é nova, mas nunca se popularizou. O que antes era limitado tecnologicamente devido às condições disponibilizadas por conexões de internet pela linha telefônica, hoje apresenta-se muito mais viável tecnicamente com a massicação da internet de banda larga, seja por cabo ou por tecnologias DSL. Apesar disso, encontrar um ambiente virtual em que a performance musical pareça completamente natural para o músico é uma das maiores diculdades nesta área. Embora a latência obtida na conexão entre computadores esteja vinculada principalmente à distância entre os usuários e à qualidade do serviço oferecido pelos provedores de internet, outros aspectos, como a largura de banda, podem ser controlados pelo software. Para lidar com as limitações de largura de banda no acesso à internet disponíveis comercialmente, um método de compactação de áudio eciente e que alie baixa latência algorítmica com alta qualidade sonora é imprescindível. Para evitar que atrasos muito grandes na transmissão do áudio impossibilitem uma interação musical entre os participantes, uma técnica em que a própria resposta sonora do instrumento seja atrasada localmente torna-se uma alternativa válida na busca de um ambiente para performances musicais via rede. Esta dissertação busca apresentar uma alternativa exível e de fácil utilização para que a realização de performances musicais distribuídas por usuários caseiros seja possível, mesmo que estes não tenham acesso a redes dedicadas para tal nalidade. / The idea of allowing several musicians to interact remotely using computer networks is not new but it never became popular. What was once technologically limited because of the conditions available through dial up internet connections is now much more technically feasible with the massication of the broadband internet, whether by cable or by DSL technologies. In spite of that, nding a place where the music performance feels completely natural to the musicians is still one of the biggest challenges in this area. Even though the latency obtained in the connection between computers is mainly linked to the distance between users and to the quality of the service oered by internet providers, others aspects, like the network bandwidth, can be controlled by software. To deal with the limitations on the internet bandwidth commercially available, an ecient audio coding method that has both low algorithmic latency and high sound quality becomes essential. To avoid letting large audio transmission delays make it impossible for players to have a real musical interaction, a technique where the musical instruments own feedback is locally delayed represents a viable alternative in search of a favorable environment for network music performances. This project aims to oer a exible and easy-to-use alternative so that it is possible for home users to be part of network music performances even if they do not have access to networks dedicated to this end.

In the United States, school music groups perform in some sort of music festival every year. Most festivals are competitive in some way, but non-competitive festivals exist as well—even if they are not as well known. The purpose of this study is to observe an elementary school choir as they prepare for and participate in the “America Sings!” festival—a non-competitive music festival—in Washington, D.C. on May 4–5, 2014. This investigation sought to answer the following research questions: 1) What guides the decision to participate in the “America Sings!” festival?; 2) For the choral director, what personal experiences and past musical backgrounds shape the teacher’s feelings and attitudes about participating in an “America Sings!” festival?; 3) What are the benefits and challenges of attending an “America Sings!” festival?; 4) Does the service component of the “America Sings!” festival affect the participants?; 5) Does attending a non-competitive festival affect the self-reported attitudes of students and their teacher?; and 6) What range of student behaviors can be observed during their preparation for and performance in the “America Sings!” festival? Using qualitative case study, this study employed direct observation of the entire choir as well as recorded interviews with six students and their teacher. After data analysis, open coding, and theme construction, common themes began to emerge into two groups: pre-trip (performing, comparing types of festivals, preparation, service projects, and John Jacobson) and post-trip (benefits and challenges, performing, learning, John Jacobson, the “America Sings Effect”, and comparing types of festivals). These themes are presented, the research questions are answered, and recommendations are made for future researchers as well for those in the profession.

Orientadora: Gisela Gomes Pupo Nogueira / Co-orientadora: Carolina Lindenberg Lemos / Banca: Mariana Luz Pessoa de Barros / Banca: Luciano Cesar Morais e Silva / Resumo: O presente trabalho investiga o estatuto do intérprete de violão. Partindo da hipótese de que o intérprete contribui para a construção de sentido em uma realização musical, constatou-se a insuficiência de um instrumental teórico que possibilitasse a averiguação de sua relevância enquanto instância participativa do fazer musical. A perspectiva de uma abordagem enunciativa mostrou-se oportuna para os propósitos deste trabalho, além de contribuir para a construção de uma cientificidade na área musical. A dissertação foi desenvolvida em quatro capítulos. O primeiro trata das principais designações atribuídas à atividade do intérprete e das consequências teóricas de cada assunção. No segundo, é traçado um paralelo entre linguística e música, apresentando a afinidade de problemáticas presentes em ambas as áreas, ao mesmo tempo em que desenha paulatinamente o panorama enunciativo sobre essas questões. No terceiro, foram apresentados os princípios da teoria enunciativa, basicamente: as categorias de pessoa, tempo e espaço; os mecanismos de instauração dessas categorias no enunciado; além dos conceitos de dialogismo, uso linguístico e contrato veridictório. Foram apontadas algumas possibilidades de transposição desses princípios e sua aplicação mostrou-se, assim, exequível na área musical. Por fim, no quarto capítulo, foram analisados, dentro de uma perspectiva enunciativa, dois enunciados musicais em vídeo de diferentes intérpretes -Paul Galbraith e Kazuhito Yamashita-tocando a mesma... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This work investigates the status of the guitar performer. Starting from the hypothesis that the performer contributes to the construction of meaning in a musical performance, we have come across the insufficiency of the theoretical tools to ascertain his/her relevance as a participating instance in music making. The perspective of an enunciative approach has proven to be opportune for the purposes of this investigation, also contributing to the establishment of a more specific perspective in the music field. This Master's thesis is divided into four chapters. The first one deals with the most prominent designations attributed to the performer's activity and the theoretical consequences of each assumption. On the second one, a parallel is drawn between linguistics and music, presenting the kinship between the issues in both areas, at the same time progressively sketching an overview of the enunciation aspects related to them. On the third chapter, the principles of the enunciation theory were presented, in short: the categories of person, time, and space; the mechanism for the establishment of these categories on text/speech; as well as the concepts of dialogism, linguistic usage, and veridictory contract. Some possibilities of transposition of these principles were presented and thus their application has proven viable in the music domain. Finally, on the fourth chapter, two performances were analyzed from an enunciative perspective: videos of two different interpreters - Pa... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre