Ēriks Ešenvalds is an early twenty-first century composer who has been commissioned to write works for some of the most noteworthy ensembles in the world. Having written over 100 compositions to date, 72 of which are choral pieces, Ešenvalds is quickly becoming one of the most prolific and significant composers of his time. He currently works as a full-time composer out of Riga, Latvia. Ešenvalds’s choral works are primarily unaccompanied, while some include brass band, saxophone quartet, percussion, or orchestral accompaniment. Textures vary from three to twelve voice parts. His oratorio Passion and Resurrection (2005), written for soprano solo, SATB quartet, SATB chorus, SS soli, and strings, is an amalgamation of compositional techniques drawn from all eras of music history. This project identifies characteristics of Roman Catholic and Byzantine chant that are imitated throughout Passion and Resurrection. A succinct history of both styles is presented along with a detailing of Ešenvalds’s compositional technique and an overview of his oratorio. Aspects of form, melody, text, rhythm, harmony, and texture present in each movement are also discussed. This study provides conductors with insight into the chant-like aspects of Ešenvalds’s work and any influences on performance. Listings of notable Passion settings and Ešenvalds’s choral output are also included.

This study provides a comparative analysis and performance suggestions for three Cirandinhas and three Cirandas for solo piano by Heitor Villa-Lobos in order to demonstrate their aesthetic and pedagogical value. The primary objective is to argue for the significance of the Cirandas as concert works and of the Cirandinhas as didactic ones. To better explore these two sets of pieces and their interconnections, the selected Ciranda-Cirandinhas pairs are all based on the same folksong theme. Thus, the analyses also demonstrate Villa-Lobos’s desire to represent Brazilian culture through his music and the ingenuity with which he treated the same melodic material within performative and pedagogical contexts. Heitor Villa-Lobos is recognized as the most significant creative figure in twentieth-century Brazilian art music and as one of the distinguished Latin American composers to date. His distinctive compositional style represents a thorough synthesis of influences from European art music with the African, Indo-American, and cosmopolitan urban idioms of Brazilian vernacular music. Villa-Lobos’s output comprises more than 2000 compositions in a wide variety of genres: symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music, art songs, and solo piano music. Throughout his career, he was a devoted supporter of music education for young people and of the development of a distinctively Brazilian art-musical tradition. The Cirandinhas and Cirandas represent an intersection of these two concerns. This study will be meaningful to both performers and piano teachers, whom it will encourage to include Villa-Lobos’s works within their concert repertory or teaching curricula. The document includes an introduction, a brief contextualized biography of the composer, a comparative analysis of the selected Cirandinhas and Ciranda with performance suggestions that touches on stylistic, pedagogical, and technical features of the pieces; a conclusion; appendices that include a chronological list of Villa-Lobos’s piano works and the titles and translations of all the Cirandinhas and Cirandas; and a bibliography.

Musicians are universally reliant on practice to improve and perfect their craft and there is substantial evidence that suggests mastery can only be achieved after 10,000 hours of practice early in life. This dissertation explores the validity of this theory as it pertains to master percussionists and examines their discoveries and recommendations as to how those 10,000 hours should best be spent. Research sources include selected published literature and personal interviews with thirty-six percussionists, conducted between 2010- 2013. The research is summarized in the following six sections: the 10,000-hour threshold; planning a practice session; warming up; learning new music; problem spots; and performance preparation. The primary goal of this dissertation is to detail the specific practice methods currently implemented by many of today’s most successful percussionists. This research should reveal the various ways success can be achieved in the practice room and help aspiring and accomplished professionals alike explore and integrate new practice methods and philosophies into their own careers and the careers of their students.

A presente dissertação trata de um estudo realizado com adultos maduros, que têm no seu cotidiano o fazer musical, seja através do canto, regência, execução instrumental ou da prática de ensino. O foco deste trabalho é elucidar as razões que os levam a esta prática e qual a repercussão na sua qualidade de vida, visto ser a longevidade um tema atual e desafiador para todas as áreas do conhecimento. Foram entrevistados treze sujeitos, sendo sete amadores e seis profissionais de diferentes áreas da arte musical. Adotou-se a metodologia da elaboração de histórias de vida, apoiada nas visões de Bosi (1994) e Marre (1991). Na área da música as escolhas priorizaram Gembris (1998) e Costa (2004). A partir das respostas obtidas foram organizadas cinco categorias para os amadores e seis para os profissionais. Os dados mostraram que a prática musical traz contribuição significativa aos indivíduos porque mobiliza os organismos intensamente, ativando suas funções psico-biológicas. Constata-se que há ampliação na qualidade de vida evidenciada pelos relatos que contemplam os benefícios que a música proporciona às pessoas que dela desfrutam e com ela interagem. Conclui-se, também, que a longevidade alarga a vida e as possibilidades de crescimento da mente humana. Estas são resultado das ações desenvolvidas ao longo das experiências de vida, sendo a música um importante canal que possibilita que a criatividade e a consciência formem um construto dinâmico de aprendizagem e sabedoria. / This dissertation refers to a study performed with senior adults that have in its daily activities the music, through singing, conducting, instruments and music teaching. The focus of this project is to identify the reasons that leads this group of individuals to practice music and which is the consequence of this in its life quality, once that the longevity is a major and challenging subject to all knowledge areas. Thirteen individuals were interviewed, seven amateurs and six professionals of different areas of the musical art. The methodology adopted was the life span elaboration, supported by the thoughts of Bosi (1994) and Marre (1991). In the musical area the choices focused on Gembris (1998) and Costa (2004). From the answers obtained, five categories were organized for amateurs and six for professionals. The data obtained showed that the musical practice brings a major contribution to the individuals because it stimulates the organisms intensively, activating its psycho-biologics functions. It was also concluded that there is an improvement in the life quality supported by answers referring to the benefits that the music brings to the persons that are involved directly with it. Finally, it was percept that the longevity allows to amplify the life and the possibilities of the development of the human mind. These are the results of the actions developed through the life experiences, being the music an important channel to allow that the creativity and the conscience become a continuous flow of knowledge and wisdom.

A presente dissertação trata de um estudo realizado com adultos maduros, que têm no seu cotidiano o fazer musical, seja através do canto, regência, execução instrumental ou da prática de ensino. O foco deste trabalho é elucidar as razões que os levam a esta prática e qual a repercussão na sua qualidade de vida, visto ser a longevidade um tema atual e desafiador para todas as áreas do conhecimento. Foram entrevistados treze sujeitos, sendo sete amadores e seis profissionais de diferentes áreas da arte musical. Adotou-se a metodologia da elaboração de histórias de vida, apoiada nas visões de Bosi (1994) e Marre (1991). Na área da música as escolhas priorizaram Gembris (1998) e Costa (2004). A partir das respostas obtidas foram organizadas cinco categorias para os amadores e seis para os profissionais. Os dados mostraram que a prática musical traz contribuição significativa aos indivíduos porque mobiliza os organismos intensamente, ativando suas funções psico-biológicas. Constata-se que há ampliação na qualidade de vida evidenciada pelos relatos que contemplam os benefícios que a música proporciona às pessoas que dela desfrutam e com ela interagem. Conclui-se, também, que a longevidade alarga a vida e as possibilidades de crescimento da mente humana. Estas são resultado das ações desenvolvidas ao longo das experiências de vida, sendo a música um importante canal que possibilita que a criatividade e a consciência formem um construto dinâmico de aprendizagem e sabedoria. / This dissertation refers to a study performed with senior adults that have in its daily activities the music, through singing, conducting, instruments and music teaching. The focus of this project is to identify the reasons that leads this group of individuals to practice music and which is the consequence of this in its life quality, once that the longevity is a major and challenging subject to all knowledge areas. Thirteen individuals were interviewed, seven amateurs and six professionals of different areas of the musical art. The methodology adopted was the life span elaboration, supported by the thoughts of Bosi (1994) and Marre (1991). In the musical area the choices focused on Gembris (1998) and Costa (2004). From the answers obtained, five categories were organized for amateurs and six for professionals. The data obtained showed that the musical practice brings a major contribution to the individuals because it stimulates the organisms intensively, activating its psycho-biologics functions. It was also concluded that there is an improvement in the life quality supported by answers referring to the benefits that the music brings to the persons that are involved directly with it. Finally, it was percept that the longevity allows to amplify the life and the possibilities of the development of the human mind. These are the results of the actions developed through the life experiences, being the music an important channel to allow that the creativity and the conscience become a continuous flow of knowledge and wisdom.

A presente dissertação trata de um estudo realizado com adultos maduros, que têm no seu cotidiano o fazer musical, seja através do canto, regência, execução instrumental ou da prática de ensino. O foco deste trabalho é elucidar as razões que os levam a esta prática e qual a repercussão na sua qualidade de vida, visto ser a longevidade um tema atual e desafiador para todas as áreas do conhecimento. Foram entrevistados treze sujeitos, sendo sete amadores e seis profissionais de diferentes áreas da arte musical. Adotou-se a metodologia da elaboração de histórias de vida, apoiada nas visões de Bosi (1994) e Marre (1991). Na área da música as escolhas priorizaram Gembris (1998) e Costa (2004). A partir das respostas obtidas foram organizadas cinco categorias para os amadores e seis para os profissionais. Os dados mostraram que a prática musical traz contribuição significativa aos indivíduos porque mobiliza os organismos intensamente, ativando suas funções psico-biológicas. Constata-se que há ampliação na qualidade de vida evidenciada pelos relatos que contemplam os benefícios que a música proporciona às pessoas que dela desfrutam e com ela interagem. Conclui-se, também, que a longevidade alarga a vida e as possibilidades de crescimento da mente humana. Estas são resultado das ações desenvolvidas ao longo das experiências de vida, sendo a música um importante canal que possibilita que a criatividade e a consciência formem um construto dinâmico de aprendizagem e sabedoria. / This dissertation refers to a study performed with senior adults that have in its daily activities the music, through singing, conducting, instruments and music teaching. The focus of this project is to identify the reasons that leads this group of individuals to practice music and which is the consequence of this in its life quality, once that the longevity is a major and challenging subject to all knowledge areas. Thirteen individuals were interviewed, seven amateurs and six professionals of different areas of the musical art. The methodology adopted was the life span elaboration, supported by the thoughts of Bosi (1994) and Marre (1991). In the musical area the choices focused on Gembris (1998) and Costa (2004). From the answers obtained, five categories were organized for amateurs and six for professionals. The data obtained showed that the musical practice brings a major contribution to the individuals because it stimulates the organisms intensively, activating its psycho-biologics functions. It was also concluded that there is an improvement in the life quality supported by answers referring to the benefits that the music brings to the persons that are involved directly with it. Finally, it was percept that the longevity allows to amplify the life and the possibilities of the development of the human mind. These are the results of the actions developed through the life experiences, being the music an important channel to allow that the creativity and the conscience become a continuous flow of knowledge and wisdom.

Este trabalho apresenta uma reflexão antropológica a acerca da prática musical do pop sul coreano (Kpop) em São Paulo. Na etnografia que se apresenta, descrevo e analiso como vídeos e coreografias Kpop afetam os fãs do gênero musical, construindo relações sociais no seu entorno. Apresento, para tanto, primeiro, como o Kpop é visto e ouvido por fãs em São Paulo, dando especial atenção ao videoclipe, que compartilhando características visuais e sonoras únicas, é capaz de gerar nos espectadores reações próprias ao gênero musical. Mostro ainda que esses videoclipes, junto a outras mídias que circulam na internet sobre os artistas sul coreanos, são parte da pessoalidade desses artistas e mediadores de sua capacidade de afetar pessoas. É na cena Kpop de São Paulo que esses vínculos entre fãs e artistas sul coreanos se desdobram, produzindo novas relações entre pessoas, artefatos e lugares. Por fim, apresento uma etnografia da dança cover de Kpop, mostrando como esses fãs constroem em seu próprio corpo essa capacidade de agência apreendida dos ídolos Kpop. Considerando essas diferentes facetas da prática musical estudada, reflito neste trabalho sobre os modos de produzir relações sociais por meio de práticas musicais. / This research presents an anthropological reflection about Korean pop (Kpop) music practice in São Paulo. In this ethnography, I describe and analyze how music videos and choreographies affect fans of the genre, constructing social relations in its vicinity. Firstly, I present how Kpop is seen and heard by these fans in São Paulo, driving special attention on music videos. These medias share visual and sound characteristics that allow them to make Kpop fans react in a unique way. I also state that these music videos combined with other medias about South Korean artists that circulate on the internet are part of Kpop idols personhood that mediates their capacity to affect people who get in touch with them. It is in the Kpop musical scene in São Paulo that these affection ties between fans and artists take place and unfold. In the scene, new relations between persons, artefacts and places are produced. At the end, I present an ethnography of Kpop cover dance, paying attention to the way Kpop fans construct in their own body the capacity for agency apprehended from Kpop idols. Looking at different aspects of the Kpop music practice, this work reflects upon the production of social relations through music practices.

This document assesses the introduction of pants roles in opera and includes a historical overview to understand the background of these roles. This dramatic conceit concentrates on the development of the operatic art form from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. In Italy during the seventeenth century, the castrato voice, which had been a crucial aspect of church music, was now developing a position in opera. Within this document, the castrati’s transition from sacred music to the opera, where lies the bulk of their success, will be studied. As opera expands rapidly throughout the music scene, the demand of singers, specifically castratis, grew. The document will also deal with the introduction of castrati operatic roles. Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice" is analyzed. Gluck’s opera exhausted several editions and demonstrates how the role Orfeo, as well as other castrati roles, evolved once castrato slowly went extinct. The terms referring to cross-dressing roles, and their specific repertoire, as well as the process in which women came to assume these roles will also be discussed. The shift from male to female in operatic repertoire is examined, as well as the traditional pants role for women in opera. The document will also discuss the pants role Cherubino as an example. This is the embodiment of a young boy in love, experiencing the admiration of a woman for the first time, as well as the vulnerability of his feelings for a woman. Cherubino’s arias are analyzed as well as a description and explanation of his possible intentions while singing his arias will communicate the subtext of the character. This document also discusses similar characters in Italian and French repertoire. The German repertoire for pants roles is separately presented and is based on the role of Octavian in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. It is interesting that although the roles of Octavian and Cherubino were developed centuries apart, it is possible to compare similarities between the characters, from their creation, librettists’ perception and the composers’ execution in their compositions. This analysis was intended to exhibit the evolution of the pants role in opera and how writing current pieces for women in pants is an entirely different challenge as it was in previous centuries. In an attempt to expose different viewpoints on the subject, these questions will be addressed. The characters addressed so far are the pants; when a woman represents a male character. Meanwhile, there is a discussion about how a pants roles should be classified, although the pants role is the representation of a man played by a woman, she is not attempting to convince the audience that she is a man. The alteration of sex of a character when it is visible to the audience, and the conversation of categorizing a pants role; for example, the role of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio, is debatable.

Women percussionists have historically been the minority in professional percussion roles. After a discussion of women’s roles as drummers in ancient history, this document reviews the role of women percussionists in the rapidly evolving field of percussion. The purpose of this study was to see if there has been an increase in female percussionists in professional positions since Meghan Aube’s 2011 study, Women in Percussion: The Emergence of Women as Professional Percussionists in the United States, 1930-Present. Because female percussionists have been subject to gender stereotyping of instruments and gender discrimination, this study also aimed to discover if any progress has been made toward the presence of women in percussion education and as performers. In order to update results from Meghan Aube’s study, the personnel lists of the top two tiers of orchestras (the top 11.28 percent of 452 orchestras according to the ranking system established by the League of American Orchestras) were surveyed to find the gender ratio of their percussion sections. Likewise, data collected from the College Music Society directory was used to determine the number of women teaching percussion at universities in the United States. In addition, percussion professors from institutions offering graduate degrees in music were surveyed and asked to provide their experiences with gender discrimination toward female percussionists. This document may serve as a resource for further studies and research on the evolving roles of female percussionists.

This study examined the musical background characteristics, self-efficacy beliefs, and practice behaviors of string students auditioning for an all-region orchestra in one large South-Central district. Purposes of the study were: (1) to describe the musical backgrounds and self-efficacy beliefs of high school string students, (2) to measure the relationship between self-efficacy scores and performance achievement, and (3) to describe the practice behaviors and thoughts of high and low self-efficacy string students. Questionnaires were given to 101 high school string students; 65 competed in all-region orchestra. Descriptive data from the questionnaire revealed information such as how many took private lessons and that those who did tended to have a higher sense of perceived self-efficacy in relation to playing their string instruments. Other descriptive items asked questions such as whether or not students started in public school and how much they practiced outside of orchestra. The relationship of summed self-efficacy scores to a competition ranking was found to be statistically significant and inverse. For all string participants (n=65) Spearman's rho was, rs= -.37, (p=.001) with 14% of the variance explained (r2 =.14). This inverse relationship documents the linear trend for students with better rankings (lower ranking numbers) to also tend to have higher self-efficacy scores. Observation and interview data of 8 higher and 8 lower self-efficacy sub-group students were also analyzed. The higher self-efficacy sub-group students tended to use more cognitive practice strategies, while the lower self-efficacy sub-group tended to use dissimilar and less advanced strategies. Understanding string students' musical background experiences and characteristics and the possible relationship self-efficacy may have with practice and achievement could benefit certain students. Helping these students gain a higher sense of perceived self-efficacy in their musical endeavors, or obtain certain characteristics that successful students share, could possibly enable them to develop and understand more complex practice strategies and compete more confidently.