This dissertation consists of two parts. The first and main part is the score of L 'entreprise de seduction, a 22-minute work for solo cello and instrumental ensemble [1011, 1010, percussion (1 player), piano, 2111], along with a recording on compact disc. The second part is an accompanying analytical text about the work. In the text, after a short description of the project, of its objectives and original contribution, we discuss the theoretical basis of my compositional approach. This approach stands on the fundamental structural independence of poiesis and esthesis, and leads to a musical aesthetics favouring formal transparency and seeking an active listening attitude. Two sets of compositional techniques are then introduced: techniques using the 12-tone row and techniques based on chance operations. We observe that those techniques all endeavour to balance systematicism and intuition to the greater profit of musical expression. We then proceed to a detailed analysis of L 'entreprise de seduction revealing its main musical material and processes. The text concludes with a few overall comments and by a discussion of the possible impact of this composition on my future projects.

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Martin Streda is a one-act monodrama for baritone and an ensemble of eight instrumentalists. The libretto was written by the composer. The drama concerns Martin Streda, a Czech political prisoner in a solitary confinement cell of a communist concentration camp on the eve of his death. The opera has a duration of approximately 30 minutes and is divided into four main parts. The analytical essay describes the development and operation of Mar-sys, a collection of twenty pitch aggregates derived from intervalic cells, rhythmic cells drawn from the Morse code alphabet, and other pitch organization systems.

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In this dissertation, we describe a novel method that we call Diffusing Colloidal Probe Microscopy (DCPM), which integrates Total Internal Reflection Microscopy (TIRM) and Video Microscopy (VM) methods to monitor three dimensional trajectories in colloidal ensembles levitated above macroscopic surfaces. TIRM and VM are well established optical microscopy techniques for measuring normal and lateral colloidal excursions near macroscopic planar surfaces. The interactions between particle-particle and particle-substrate in colloidal interfacial systems are interpreted by statistical analyses from distributions of colloidal particles; dynamic properties of colloidal assembly are also determined from particle trajectories. Our studies show that DCPM is able to detect many particle-surface interactions simultaneously and provides an ensemble average measurement of particle-surface interactions on a homogeneous surface to allow direct comparison of distributed and average properties. A benefit of ensemble averaging of many particles is the diminished need for time averaging, which can produce orders of magnitude faster measurement times at higher interfacial particle concentrations. The statistical analyses (Ornstein- Zernike and three dimensional Monte Carlo analyses) are used to obtain particle-particle interactions from lateral distribution functions and to understand the role of nonuniformities in interfacial colloidal systems. An inconsistent finding is the observation of an anomalous long range particle-particle attraction and recovery of the expected DLVO particle-wall interactions for all concentrations examined. The possible influence of charge heterogeneity and particle size polydispersity on measured distribution functions is discussed in regard to inconsistent particle-wall and particle-particle potentials. In the final part of this research, the ability of DCPM is demonstrated to map potential energy landscapes on patterned surfaces by monitoring interactions between diffusing colloidal probes with Au pattern features. Absolute separation is obtained from theoretical fits to measured potential energy profiles and direct measurement by sticking silica colloids to Au surfaces via electrophoretic deposition. Initial results indicate that, as colloidal probe and pattern feature dimensions become comparable, measured potential energy profiles suffer some distortion due to the increased probability of probes interacting with surfaces at the edges of adjacent pattern features. Measurements of lateral diffusion via analysis of mean square displacements also indicated lateral diffusion coefficients in excellent agreement with rigorous theoretical predictions.

Time Fields: Chamber Concerto #3 for fifteen players (2004) is a composition for five woodwinds, three brass, one percussionist, piano, string quartet and double bass with an approximate duration of 14 minutes. This work addresses the nature of musical time and its role in the organisation of the large-scale structure of the piece. Four differing states of musical time, which I refer to as Temporal Textures (Static, Obscure, Temporal Counterpoint and Clear), are employed in particular alternations to form a single movement work in four distinct sections.

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