Yearn is a work of notated music for string quartet. The piece examines the emotions of longing and loss through the repetition of motivic and timbral fragments, which are continually frustrated and never fully resolved. Elements of American and British folk music traditions are also drawn upon as inspiration for much of the bowing patterns and harmonic content present in the piece. The piece is approximately twelve minutes in duration.

This work explores the myth of the Midas touch, attempting to recreate Midas’ thaumaturgical condition through sound. The sonic experience is delineated by distinct phases that mimic the process of Midas’ touch, following a subject’s existence from pure life to still, tarnished gold.

The string quintet The Seven Seas attempts to explore the relationship between narrative and abstract perceptions. Challenging the axiom that our mind interprets all in-coming information in narrative terms, the piece attempts to determine to what extent such a condition persists when taken towards its opposite - a non narrative perception. Contrary to what the title suggests, the quintet does not depict physical bodies of water; rather, its main material employs seven pitch-classes C distributed over the range of seven octaves. Thus, the main idea of the piece is primarily linked to the element of register, examining each note as an individual entity from different timbral and spacial angles. Since the main idea of the piece consists of one note in registral disposition, the harmony plays a subordinate role in it and fulfills two functions: (I) articulating sectional divisions and (II) as a means of textural coloring. In terms of counterpoint, all material revolves around pitch class C, widening the pitch-class' territory by slightly deviating from it by half steps to create the illusion of variation. To reinforce its textural complexity, the piece heavily draws on rhythm. In terms of rhythm, the complexity was achieved by either (I) construction or deconstruction of rhythmical patterns or (II) by building polyrhythmic structures.

This study investigates the dynamics of critical thinking in an introductory writing class that incorporated disability studies (DS) through a critical-pedagogy approach. Critical thinking, as I define it, is the process by which subjects become more aware of their own positions, others' positions, and the ways those positions are shaped by discourses. The course, themed “Exploring Normalcy,” aimed to teach critical thinking by questioning knowledges and assumptions around gender, class, and race, as well as disability. As a teacher-researcher, I both observed and taught the course during the Fall semester 2002. Observation, group and individual interviews, and text analysis were used to investigate how students' critical thinking operated in the classroom. Seven students volunteered to participate in the post-classroom phase of the study. After preliminary text analysis and a group interview, I selected three “focal students,” who occupied a range of positions in relation to disability discourses, for individual interviews and further text analysis. Focal students' texts were analyzed using an adaptation of critical discourse analysis as described by Norman Fairclough and Ellen Barton. Interview transcripts were analyzed by identifying and grouping patterns and themes. Analysis of students' written work and reflections on that work indicate that their critical thinking evolved in a complex pattern affected by factors including students' self-identifications; discourses students inhabited before, during and after the course; and the passage of time between drafts of a project and reflections on that project. While usually viewed as a “skill” that can be discerned and evaluated within a single artifact (e.g., the final draft of a paper), in fact critical thinking is better understood when viewed as a process that emerges through the evolution of a series of texts. Therefore, pedagogical suggestions include assigning a variety of written tasks (e.g., short/long, or low-stakes/high-stakes); working in a variety of modes (e.g., written, oral, graphic); involving discussion with peers and teacher at multiple points during the larger project; and asking students to reflect upon and revise their ideas as they develop. This study substantiates claims made by disability-studies scholars that DS can prompt critical thinking while emphasizing the need for ongoing study of the ways DS and critical thinking interact in specific contexts. Critical thinking is a viable goal in the writing classroom, but we must remember it is characterized by diffuse effects through a student's ways of knowing, both during a course and after it ends.

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abstract: It is not a tremendous exaggeration to suggest the world almost ended on September 26, 1983. At the command center for the Soviet Union's Oko nuclear early warning system a report came in stating that six hostile missiles were launched from the United States. The commanding officer at the center, Stanislav Petrov, was convinced that the missiles were a false alarm, and indeed the Oko system had malfunctioned. Petrov was justified in reporting the attack to his superiors, which would have likely resulted in retaliatory strikes from the Soviet Union, leading to nuclear war. This relatively obscure, but immensely important moment in history is the inspiration for Alarm. This work is not a direct retelling of Petrov's story, but a musical journey imagining the many emotions this man must have been feeling. The piece is also not a look at the Cold War politics surrounding the event, but a study of a choice, one of massive consequences. The most significant element in Alarm is tension. The goal of the opening statement of the piece, played by the brass, is to immediately transport the listener into this world on the edge. This motive is developed throughout the work, and serves as a binding agent as the music evolves. Another crucial element is the oscillating staccato notes usually played by high-pitched instruments. This is implying stress one might feel- whether it be an alarm going off or time running out. As the piece seems to reach its breaking point just past the halfway mark, Petrov makes his choice. The final part of the work is decidedly more peaceful, emphasized by the "Tranquillo" and "Calmo" descriptors, but there is a consistent dark undertone to Alarm. Petrov's story is bittersweet- he is a hero, but his accomplishments were swept under the rug by Soviet leadership, humiliated by their nuclear system's failure. The near disaster in 1983 has barely been addressed by the world at large, even as the threat of nuclear war seems to fade. When the next nuclear crisis arises, what choices will be made? / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Music 2020

This study undertakes a detailed look at the compositional output of the South African composer, Peter Louis van Dijk. The first course of action was to research and discuss a particular aspect of his work, a close examination of his views and thoughts regarding the San people of the Southern Kalahari and how that has influenced some of his compositions. The second was to compile a thorough catalogue of his compositional output to add to the scant body of literature pertaining to creative oeuvre. Due to the scarcity of information regarding Peter Louis van Dijk, it was prudent to dedicate a study to him. Furthermore, only a brief catalogue of his work until now was presented on Wikipedia and within the annals of the Samro Foundation. Van Dijk is certainly not the only composer who has created works dealing with the people of Africa; many other South African composers before him have dealt with the subject. This study looks at the high artistic merit of three works, in particular, to ascertain the extent to which the composer asserted himself within the paradigm of an African context. This study may be of interest to students of music composition, ethnomusicology or music historians intrigued with the history of one of South Africa’s most prolific composers. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

The first movement of scenes was written for the Sound Icon ensemble, thus the reason for the somewhat unusual instrumentation. They read the piece at Boston University on February 25, 2022. The title scenes comes from the idea that the motive found at the start of the piece is recontextualized throughout the work at different tempos, with varying dynamics, and with changing combinations of instruments. This can be related to the scenes in a play or movie where the actors remain the same but they are seen in various locations, with other characters, and with different lines. The second movement acts as an extension of this idea, taking another motive and recontextualizing it throughout.

This piece was composed in 2022 for Mivos Quartet. Through the combination and conflict of different timbres, it expresses the sense of tearing and unknown confusion caused by the collision between the rational world and mysticism. By citing the theme of Tchaikovsky's Violin Sonata in D major, the most representative rhythm pattern in Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", the music fragment of popular music culture after the second industrial revolution, the intention is To create an illusion similar to time travel. Just as the world is in the process of disenchantment, the rapidly changing process makes us feel as if we have fallen into the abyss. Do we still need the power of faith? Or a spiritual sustenance or memory? In ancient society, people are "embedded" in the world, is connected with the world. In modern society, people are separated from that big "matrix" and live alone and without support in this world. The natural world was objectified, no longer divine and spiritual, but a physical world that could be explained by cold laws of cause and effect. So what are the consequences of this for the human spirit?