Abstract Evaluative performances, such as festivals and conservatory examinations, frequently play a large role in formal piano study. Many teachers and parents assume that requiring students to participate in these evaluations will result in several benefits, including increased discipline and motivation, exposure to a balanced and rigorous music curriculum, and access to helpful feedback from expert adjudicators and examiners. However, not all students experience positive outcomes as a result of their participation in evaluative performances. Using a multi-method approach that incorporates grounded theory and narrative inquiry, this research provides insight into how beginning and intermediate piano students experience participating in festivals and examinations and what factors contribute to the quality of students’ experiences. Positive experiences with evaluative performances are characterized by positive emotional outcomes, meaningful music learning, and the development of a strong musical identity. The theoretical model developed through this research presents several important contributors to students’ positive experiences with evaluative performances, including students’ understandings, values, and goals related to music learning, and their abilities and inclinations as performers. The entire learning process must take place within a supportive relational context. When students have positive experiences with evaluative performances, their self-efficacy is heightened. They also experience self-determination regarding their music studies and their involvement in evaluative performances. The self-efficacy and self-determination that follow students’ success and positive experiences motivate further involvement in music study.

Abstract Evaluative performances, such as festivals and conservatory examinations, frequently play a large role in formal piano study. Many teachers and parents assume that requiring students to participate in these evaluations will result in several benefits, including increased discipline and motivation, exposure to a balanced and rigorous music curriculum, and access to helpful feedback from expert adjudicators and examiners. However, not all students experience positive outcomes as a result of their participation in evaluative performances. Using a multi-method approach that incorporates grounded theory and narrative inquiry, this research provides insight into how beginning and intermediate piano students experience participating in festivals and examinations and what factors contribute to the quality of students’ experiences. Positive experiences with evaluative performances are characterized by positive emotional outcomes, meaningful music learning, and the development of a strong musical identity. The theoretical model developed through this research presents several important contributors to students’ positive experiences with evaluative performances, including students’ understandings, values, and goals related to music learning, and their abilities and inclinations as performers. The entire learning process must take place within a supportive relational context. When students have positive experiences with evaluative performances, their self-efficacy is heightened. They also experience self-determination regarding their music studies and their involvement in evaluative performances. The self-efficacy and self-determination that follow students’ success and positive experiences motivate further involvement in music study.

William Gillock, a 20th-century American composer and pedagogue, composed numerous works in the styles of different periods for early intermediate-level piano students. The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce Gillock's pieces to teachers of early intermediate students and illustrate how they can be used as a bridge to the study of similar music from Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Gillock's Little Suite in Baroque Style is compared with Handel's Suite in E Major, HWV 430; his Accent on Analytical Sonatinas (Classical) is compared with Clementi's Piano Sonatinas, Op. 36, No. 3, 5, 6; and his Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style (Romantic) is compared with Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, No. 3, 6, 9, 16, 18, and 24. Each work is examined to reveal its compositional and technical elements along with pedagogical concepts.

William Mason (1829–1908) was a well-known American composer, pianist, and pedagogue. Researchers have mainly focused on Mason's career as a pedagogue in the United States and his pedagogical treatises, which are widely considered and used as the conceptual core of teaching materials on the nineteenth century. However, there has been only an annotated catalogue of Mason's music works, and no performance guide to his piano compositions. This dissertation is designed to be the first performance guide to his solo piano repertoire and act as an introduction to his music through an examination of selected works suitable for the intermediate student. This study provides instruction for students on how to practice these works through the analysis of the elements of practice – pedaling, phrasing, technique practice, touch, and musical expression – which were all considered as essential by Mason himself for a good performance. The five piano works selected are: Three Preludes, Op. 8, No. 1; Ballade et Barcarole, Op. 15; Valse Caprice, Op.17; Spring-Dawn, Mazurka–Caprice, Op. 20; and Spring Flower–Impromptu, Op. 21.