This portfolio consists of four diverse original compositions written in 1999 : a string quartet, a cello suite and a set of two choral pieces.

Introductory remarks: Being a middle-class white South African, I grew up on a diet of predominantly "white" music: rock, pop and Western classical music. I was later introduced to a broader range of musics: blues, jazz, kwaito and traditional Southern African idioms. I found myself particularly attracted to the traditional music of the amaXhosa (especially that of the uhadi bow), possibly due to the fact that this music is hexatonic (that is, based on two major triads whose tonics are one tone apart), a system that bears certain resemblances to the Western tonal idiom. However, much of my musical experience tended to be entrenched in the piano and flute music I played: mostly works by composers who were neatly ensconced in the traditional Western canon. Therefore, despite the broad range of musics with which I was familiarisedduring my tertiary studies, I feel that this early experiential background is the reason I feel most comfortable with Western-influenced music. More recently, I discovered a whole new genre to explore: film music, particularly the work of Elliot Goldenthal, Danny Elfman, John Williams and Philip Glass, whose unique brand of minimalism has extended from the concert hall to thefilm theatre. I am fascinated by the ways in which film scores function. A "main titles" theme usually appears as the film opens, upon which most of the subsequent music is based. This is not a linear process, like a theme and its variations, but a lateral, where the main titles theme is the core that engenders other themes that all share a familial resemblance.

The three movements of this piece are related proportionally in that movements one and two represent three-fifths of the length of the whole. Movement three represents two-fifths of the length of the whole. Another proportional relationship exists between movements one and two. Movement one represents two-fifths of the length of the first two movements, while movement two represents three-fifths of the length of the two. An additional link between the three movements is pitch content. Movements one and two have little in common in this regard, but movement three combines elements of the first two. The duration of the entire piece is approximately fifteen minutes.

Capriccio -- Rhapsody -- The Miliky way. / Li Cheong. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Capriccio (for four percussion players) --- p.1 / Rhapsody (for string quartet) --- p.16 / The Milky Way (for orchestra) --- p.31

String quartet -- Eternal light : for orchestra -- The Lord's prayer : for baritone, clarinet and piano. / Wong Yat Wai Joseph. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1. --- String Quartet --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- Eternal Light for Orchestra --- p.21 / Chapter 3. --- "The Lord's Prayer for Baritone, Clarinet and Piano" --- p.58

published_or_final_version / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

雨(Rain) : for SATB choir and piano -- String quartet no. 1 -- The Ferris wheel fantasia : for double-winds orchestra. / Yu (Rain) : for SATB choir and piano -- String quartet no. 1 -- The Ferris wheel fantasia : for double-winds orchestra. / Kwan Lai-yan Livia. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1. --- 雨(Rain ) --- p.1 / For SATB Choir and Piano / Chapter 2. --- String Quartet No.l --- p.23 / Chapter 3. --- The Ferris Wheel Fantasia --- p.41 / For double-winds Orchestra

Quintet for winds and piano -- Preludes and fugues for piano solo -- Variation for string quartet. / Wong Kong Yu. / Thesis submitted in: December 2002. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves ). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.1 Page / Scores with Notes: / Chapter 1. --- Quintet for Winds and Piano / Note --- p.2 Pages / Score --- p.30 Pages / Chapter 2. --- Preludes and Fugues for Piano Solo / Note --- p.2 Pages / Score --- p.31 Pages / Chapter 3. --- Variations for String Quartet / Note --- p.2 Pages / Score --- p.9 Pages / Total Duration: 38 minutes

This submission comprises a portfolio of fifteen original musical works and an exegesis that comments on five of these works. Recordings of twelve of the fifteen compositions are included. These pieces demonstrate an ongoing investigation into structure, and the discussion will provide an insight into the constant process of experimentation and consolidation involved in developing such a body of work. In the exegesis I open with a general conversation on the compositional process and then focus on the formal problems inherent in this process. I then discuss the five scores included in the main volume, looking at how each are formed, and comparing their formal characteristics. This involves an analysis of the musical materials and how such materials are treated through repetition and transformation. I will also look at the aesthetic and stylistic concerns and how they inform the formal architecture of each work. An appendix includes the scores of a further ten works, with a brief introductory commentary on each. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1351235 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 2008

Black Snow, an orchestral work composed by Michael Smetanin in 1987, was named after the book Black Snow by Mikhael Bulgakov. Newspaper articles, reviews and the literature researched, all comment on Smetanin’s style and on the influences that shaped that style. The aggressive and confrontational style of much of Smetanin’s music can be attributed partly to his love of rock music and jazz and partly to his mentor in the Netherlands, Louis Andriessen. The same sources quote other composers who also influenced Smetanin’s style. Three works in particular are named, that is, Trans by Stockhausen, Keqrops by Xenakis and De Tijd by Andriessen. It was decided, in the light of previous investigations into Smetanin’s music, to take one of these composers, namely Stockhausen and his work Trans, and discover how much Smetanin was influenced by this composer and this particular work. Trans was chosen because the similarities with Black Snow are less obvious. All aspects of Black Snow were examined - namely the harmony, rhythms, the important textures, serial/mathematical techniques, orchestration, the dramatic program, how the instruments are played - and then compared with Trans for similarities and differences. The results of the analytical investigation show that, while the internal organisation of the two works is very different, there are significant similarities between the two works in most of these areas. Serial/mathematical techniques could only be demonstrated in one area, and this is only conjecture.