Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographies.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1952. / Typescript. Sponsor: N. L. Church. Dissertation Committee: J. L. Mursell, L. T. Hopkins. Type C project. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (PhD) Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: André J. Thomas, Florida State University, College of Music. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 5-14-2007). Document formatted into pages; contains 187 pages. Includes biographical sketch. Includes musical examples. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Kentucky, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 69 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-68).

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Memphis State University, 1989. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaf 50).

The six piano suites of R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) constitute a substantial body of piano music that illustrates the musical development of an important, but historically neglected American musician. Dett was a seminal figure in the preservation and study of spirituals, both as a writer and choral leader, and as a great teacher and inspirer of African-American musicians in the generations that followed him. Educated at Oberlin and Eastman, he was lauded as the first American composer to fuse Negro folk music with European art music tradition. The writing of a series of like-genre works over a composer's lifetime, reflecting stylistic changes and a deepening world view, is a special event in the history of keyboard music. Unfortunately, Dett's piano music is rarely performed except for the second of the suites, In the Bottoms. Although his importance to African-American musical history is generally acknowledged by musicologists, his works for piano have remained largely unexplored by performers. Dett's eclectic pursuits included poetry, the Rosicrucian Society, and religion. This study explores the connections between the suites and other musical styles and traditions, Dett's many extra-musical interests, and his performing life. It also offers some possible explanations for the relative lack of attention received by his piano music. This study incorporates research from readily-available sources, as well as the Nathaniel Dett archives at the Niagara Falls New York Public Library and Hampton University. The first three chapters give an overview of Dett's style and influences, as well as a description of how his musical language developed from his first suite, Magnolia (1912), to his last, Eight Bible Vignettes (1941-43), written at the end of his life. Each suite is examined individually in detail in the following six chapters. It is hoped that this work will stimulate appreciation of Dett's piano music and lead to more frequent performances. Its goal is to give to the reader the same sense of admiration and joy that the author's exploration of these works has given him. / Music Performance

George Walker, pianist, composer and pedagogue, composed piano sonatas in 1953, 1957, 1975, and 1984. The Sonata No. 4 demonstrates the composer's continued fascination with a relaxation of traditional forms, coloristic effects of persistent interval combinations, incorporation of folk elements into his thematic material, and harmonic and rhythmic underpinnings as structural bases to his work.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Includes abstract. Vita. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-05, Section: A, page: 1598. Adviser: Ian Hobson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-181), discography (leaves 181-182), and webliography (leaves 182-183). Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Dissertation (PhD) Florida State University, 2007. / Advisor: Jane Piper Clendinning, Florida State University, College of Music. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed 8-21-2007). Document formatted into pages; contains 170 pages. Includes biographical sketch. Includes bibliographical references.

Through studying the poetry and its context, the lives of the poets and composers, and the musical choices which emerged from these combined influences, students of the "Millennial" generation may experience a deeper connection to art song and its role in defining and reflecting national character. Not yet a part of the traditional canon of American art song, the songs of African-American composers are of particular value in this regard, offering teachers, students, and recitalists less frequently-performed repertoire to explore. Representing a broad spectrum of literary and cultural influences, these songs are just as diverse, multi-faceted, and full of variety as any other body of art song repertoire and richly contribute to the past and present life of the genre. Going beyond the music and the words can only reinforce the study of technique and enrich the studio experience, while at the same time providing a multicultural learning environment which more accurately reflects the America in which these same students will become the singers and voice teachers of tomorrow.