Foreword to Aria Da Capo The libretto of the opera is a verbatim setting of Edna St. Vincent Millay's one act play "Aria da Capo." World events, especially World War II and the current Korean War influenced the choice of this timely, yet timeless play. Miss Millay's death occurred during the composition of the opera. She never knew, therefore, of the composition or performance of her play as an opera. The form of the opera is that of the "da capo" aria. he form, of course, was determined by the play which ends exactly as it started. Thematic material consists mainly of two themes: the opening theme or Scene I (Pierrot and Columbine's scene) and the opening theme of Scene II (the Shepherd's scene). All of the significant motivic material used in Scene I is derived from the opening theme of that scene. In the shepherd's scene, material derived from both of the above mentioned themes is used. The musical style of the two scenes is intentionally contrasting. In Pierrot and Columbine's scene an attempt was made to express their characters by means of a pseudo-popular music style which is rhythmic and lively but has no real depth of emotional feeling. In the shepherd's scene an attempt was made to express their changing characters by means of a very simple style eventually evolving into a more complex style. In order to make the score more easily understood all the orchestrated parts are written in concert. For the same reason all directions to the musicians are given in English instead of the usual Italian. The opera was produced under the direction of Dr. Lucas Underwood. Thomas Haynes, musical assistant to Dr. Underwood, deserves special recognition, not only for his excellent job of conducting the opera, but also for designing the set and staging the opera and for his untiring efforts in rehearsing the cast and the orchestra.

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The German Protestant church composer and organist, Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785), is recognized primarily for his sacred compositions written during his time as cantor at the Kreuzkirche and the director of music at the three main churches in Dresden. The forerunner of Homilius research, Uwe Wolf, together with Carus-Verlag, brought forth Gottfried August Homilius: Studien zu Leben und Werk mit Werkverzeichnis (2008) and his thematic catalogue (2014) as products of the public’s renewed interest and research in the composer and his music. Homilius’ oratorio passion, Johannespassion, represents one of the valuable discoveries of this recent revival of Homilius research. While musicologists celebrate such an exciting expansion of the music library of the mid-eighteenth century, a bigger task ensues before us: the equal sharing of joy with the performers. Indeed, the resonance of Homilius’ music in the concert halls and churches beyond the bounds of the research papers and music p / Music Performance

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The Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT) is an emerging paradigm that envisions ecosystems of interconnected smart musical instruments and devices dedicated to the production and reception of musical content. Realizing the IoMusT vision requires addressing key challenges in real-time audio streaming over networks, including ultra-low latency, high reliability, and perceptual audio quality. One of the central components of the IoMusT paradigm is represented by Networked Music Performance (NMP) systems, which aim at enabling geographically displaced musicians to play together in a realistic way over the network. Prior to this thesis, there was a lack of comprehensive studies evaluating the ability of fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), and transitional 4G/5G networks to support the strict Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of NMP and IoMusT applications in realistic multi-user scenarios. On the device side, a knowledge gap existed in quantitatively comparing the real-time audio performance of different embedded Linux architectures for IoMusT devices. Furthermore, tools and frameworks were needed to systematically evaluate and compare Packet Loss Concealment (PLC) algorithms, which are crucial for maintaining audio quality under inevitable network losses, especially considering the unique challenges posed by musical signals. The fundamental objective of this thesis is to address these research gaps in order to advance the state-of-the-art in real-time audio streaming over Internet Protocol (IP) networks for musical applications. The key research questions investigated include: Can 4G, 5G, and mixed 4G/5G networks meet the demanding latency, reliability, and quality requirements of IoMusT applications in multi-user scenarios?How do different embedded Linux architectures compare in terms of real-time audio performance metrics relevant for IoMusT devices?How can PLC algorithms be systematically evaluated and compared, taking into account the perceptual aspects of musical signals?Can perceptual aspects be taken into account to design better metrics and loss functions for PLC in NMP?To answer these questions, this thesis conducts realistic network simulations, develops opensource tools, and explores novel techniques. The outcomes demonstrate that 5G significantly improves IoMusT support compared to 4G, provide quantitative insights to guide platform selection for IoMusT devices, deliver a modular framework for evaluating PLC methods for NMP systems, and propose perceptually-motivated approaches to enhance concealment algorithm design. Overall, the research presented in this thesis advances the understanding of real-time audio streaming over modern wireless networks and provides concrete tools and techniques to support the realization of the IoMusT vision, enabling new forms of distributed musical experiences and collaborations.

The purpose of this document is to investigate how trumpet students at the University of North Texas experience music performance anxiety and to find out how professors prepare students for controlling music performance anxiety experiences. The interviewees were ten undergraduates and ten graduate students, as well as three trumpet professors who teach at the University of North Texas. The questionnaire responses of the student interviewees were examined, and literature is provided that address the most common performance related psychological and physiological symptoms experienced by the trumpet students. Effective and healthy strategies are discussed that were offered by the trumpet professors, and suggestions are made regarding potential benefits and detriments of trumpet performance anxiety.

The great novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) arguably made his most significant contribution to the artistic world with his literary masterpiece Faust I. Goethe’s love of music and melody is evident throughout all of Faust, particularly in the expressive poetry of the character of Gretchen, whose meaningful words gave inspiration to a variety of musical manifestations, especially in German Lied. This document serves as a performance guide for vocalists. It provides vital information on the setting and arrangement of the poetry within the musical settings, the background and significance of the composer and his works, and the organization of the music. The examination of each piece will involve assessment of musical phrasing, tessitura, and overall vocal complexity in eight German Lieder settings of Gretchen’s soliloquy “Ach neige, du Schmerzenreiche” from Goethe’s Faust. The suggestions within the investigations are based on examination of pedagogical practices as well as personal experience and discoveries made while singing and performing these pieces. Through an investigation of each piece, the singer will be able to attain a successful understanding of the framework and approach to the music and poetry, and thereby achieve awareness of accurate performance practice. This document examines in order of composition, the settings by Bettina von Arnim, Franz Schubert (including the completed fragment as arranged by Benjamin Britten), Conrad Kreutzer, Bernhard Klein, Johann Loewe, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Fredric Joseph Kroll. Because this document serves to investigate only German Lieder settings, it will not examine the choral works of Hans Pfitzner, Antoni Radziwill, Julius Röntgen, Giuseppe Verdi’s Italian setting “Deh, pietoso, oh Addolorata,” nor Richard Wagner’s Melodram. This document will also very briefly discuss the lost and inaccessible settings of Gretchen’s prayer, including those of Carl Debrois van Bruyck, Edmund von Freyhold, Moritz Hauptmann, Justus Lecerf, Leopold Lenz, Louis Schlottmann, and Hans Sommer.

This thesis adduces the benefits in teaching undergraduate theatre majors the competency to create a cabaret. It expostulates that doing so during college gives students an advantage in marketing themselves professionally. It substantiates the general lack of cohesive undergraduate training in this area. The results of a survey of casting directors, assessing the worth of implementing the study of cabaret into theatre curricula, are incorporated. Those that responded agreed that performing cabarets can play a role in a performer’s career, even if the opinions varied as to what that specific role is. There was general agreement that the study of cabaret could benefit students in ways which potentially go beyond securing immediate employment. I have included a sample syllabus for a course focusing on the construction, and performance of a cabaret. It is anticipated this would serve for a performance class taught during a student’s fourth year of undergraduate study.

Many collegiate saxophone performance degree programs are overwhelmingly classical, adopting from other performance programs in the Western music tradition. However, there is a growing number of saxophone compositions that are “crossover” in nature. Crossover is a term used to describe the fusion of popular music styles in a classical setting. There is also evidence that collegiate music education as a whole is moving towards a more diverse curriculum, which emphasizes ethnomusicology. Due to this trend in composition and education, it is becoming increasingly important that saxophonists have the training of both classical and jazz disciplines. The problem is that while many colleges have saxophone majors, there is a strong divide between classical and jazz education. This leaves students in a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance degree track without the ability to accurately perform crossover music or have the opportunity to perform jazz and other genres of music. The purpose of this study is to develop a crossover degree in saxophone performance by highlighting aspects of crossover saxophone repertoire and reviewing current university degree catalogs. The research in this study is meant to diagnose omissions in performance degree programs as far as crossover development and to create a new degree track for saxophonists in an effort to promote diverse performance ability.