The output submitted in this portfolio manifests the composer’s search for a distinctive voice in an era of musical diversity. From my total output of some sixty original compositions (see Appendix 2 on page 71) seven have been selected for inclusion here. The reasons for their selection will be explained more fully in later sections of this overview but I feel it would be helpful to outline briefly the thinking behind their selection at the outset. Essentially the first three compositions here are works that I consider to be mature and successful ones despite the fact that they each inhabit a very different sound world from the others to the extent that the listener might, with some justification, doubt that they could have been written by the same composer. Their very lack of any hint of a unified line of progression from one work to the next graphically demonstrates the point, to be further developed later, that the process of sifting through potential compositional influences with a view to developing one’s own original voice is often more protracted and difficult for composers active from around the mid-point of the 20th century onwards than it was for earlier generations of composers. In the past young composers would make their first attempts within a comparatively settled musical environment in which there would be at least some semblance of agreement about what musical techniques and forms would represent the ‘norm’. The first three compositions in the portfolio epitomise three very different possible routes I had been investigating as part of the ‘sifting’ process mentioned above. The remaining four compositions have then been selected to demonstrate how a synthesis of these contrasting approaches was attempted and, in my view, successfully achieved. The table overleaf summarises the stylistic issues involved.

This dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part is a look at the composer-conductor through the composition, preparation, rehearsal, and performance of the work, The Slaying of the Innocents. The second part is an analysis of the insights each of the two disciplines provides the other, and the influences each may have on the other. Although the dissertation represents the basic and larger concepts of each composer-conductor, it is not intended to represent all thoughts of all composer-conductors, for these would be different for each individual.The major part of the text for the The Slaying of the Innocents is taken from the medieval miracle play, Herod and the Slaying of the Innocents. This play was originally written as a liturgical drama, and was later set to music as a music-drama. The identities of the playwrite and composer are unknown. However, three transcriptions of the music drama were found and used as text references for this dissertation. These transcriptions or editions are by Fletcher Collins Jr., Terence Bailey, and Noah Greenburg and William L. Smoldon. Other texts which were used in preparing this work include: parts of the Dies Irae sequence from the text and tune of the Coventry Carol.The Slaying of the Innocents, is composed for three choirs of mixed voices, a double brass quintet, a handbell choir, an organ, and a tenor soloist. Choir I sings primarily in English, is accompanied by the double brass quintet and organ, and conveys the major part of the story Choir II sings primarily in Latin, is accompanied by the handbell choir, and generally comments on the story. Choir III participates only in the final movement, singing the Coventry Carol in English. The solo tenor represents Herod, king of the Jews. He sings exclusively in English and shares the story line with Choir I.The Slaying of the Innocents provides the background to discuss the relationship between composition and conducting. Chapter one examines the term composer-conductor. This definition provides a reference for the second chapter, which is a brief but representative history of the composer-conductor and his changing function throughout history. The third chapter examines the composer-conductor from the conducting discipline, and how it might influence composing. These insights include: performing forces, acoustics, Requiem Mass, a setting of the Ave Maris Stella text, and the accessibility of the music, and audience factors. Chapter three discusses these insights in general and as they pertain to the composition of The Slaying of the Innocents,. The fourth chapter examines the composer-conductor from the composing discipline, and how it might influence conducting. These insights include: placement of performing forces, appropriate tempi, balance considerations, and a composer's understanding of the score. Chapter four presents these insights in general and as they pertain to the preparation, rehearsal, and performance of The Slaying of the Innocents. Chapter four also presents an interpretation of the work from the perspective of the composer. Obviously, some of the concepts discussed in both chapters three and four would normally fall into the disciplines of both the composer and the conductor. It is interesting, however, to examine the two perspectives and how the perspective of one discipline influences the perspective and performance of the other.

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Rituals are part of the communities in which we grow up. They help to shape our identities and determine how we live in society. This generates a collective nexus that allows us to thrive on an individual level, as well as to establish ourselves as social animals. To ignore the gradual loss and disappearance of rituals in our societies is to ignore the bonds that bind us to others; we lose parts of our identity and memory, falling into rampant individualism. disidencia ritual is a multimedia piece that serves as an artistic meditation from an ecofeminist perspective on trees, the human body, and the cyclical relation that binds them. This musical piece is part of a ritual based on the connection between the cyclical nature of the Earth, the moon, and women’s bodies expressed through electroacoustic sounds and various visual elements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate children's comments on stories. Through a series of interviews the study sought to elicit comments from six 8 year old and six 11 year old children on evaluating literature, both their own and others and on how they compose stories. A classification system was applied to these comments so as to represent them as set of propositions, constructs or concerns about evaluating and composing stories. The system of classification applied was derived from the children's comments rather than use pre-determined categories. Propositions for evaluation were represented as a list of 'traits' and those for composing as a list of 'facets of the composing process.' These propositions were then compared and contrasted by age and mode (evaluation of reading or writing and comments on composing). This analysis led to the identification of some common concerns and patterns of response as well as distinctions according to age and the topic discussed. Video taped writing episodes were used to investigate the composing process. The children were asked to comment whilst writing and this was replayed for them to invite further comment and explanation. All other interviews were recorded on audio tape. Finally consideration is given to further applications of the analysis and methodology to children's comments.

abstract: This document offers composers a contextual reference and pragmatic overview of the modern marimba. This guide is not designed as an orchestration text, suggesting ways to write for the instrument, rather, it illustrates through examination of well-known solo and chamber works how selected composers have effectively written for the instrument. A guide for basic notation and examples of successful notation are included, as well as the basics of performer techniques. Samples of problematic, sometimes impossible passages are included to show the instruments and its performers' current limitations. The construction of the marimba and how it is tuned, a guide to mallets, and all of the current established extended techniques is also included. The majority of the information comes from the citation of established research on the marimba, composers and performers, and the author’s own experiences. The intention of this document is two fold: to give composers who are unfamiliar with marimba a resource to begin composing for the instrument effectively, and for those composers who are familiar with the marimba it is designed to spark their creativity in an efficient and effective manner. The ultimate goal of this document is to create compositional momentum for marimba solo and chamber works and grow the repertoire, which is still in its infancy. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2015

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