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Excerpt from Introduction" Social class is one of the fundamental analytical categories for studying southern cultures. Exploring southern society as the context for cultural life is an enduring concern of scholars from such disciplines as sociology, social history, anthropology, social psychology, and political science, among others, and this volume shows the vital public policy connections to scholarly issues of social class.

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Review of ‘Exploring American Folk Music, Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the U.S.’ by Kip Lornell

Although country music and its antecedents have received attention primarily as cultural phenomena of the South, the past twenty years have witnessed a growing scholarly interest in the interplay between commercial country music, vernacular components. and performers within a regional context. The commercial product which has now attained worldwide appeal undoubtedly sustains a significant relationship to the folkways and regional identity of the South; nonetheless, performers and vernacular styles from other areas of the country have contributed to the development of country music. Most important. many areas outside of the South maintain local traditions of country music entertainment. In this thesis, I argue for a broader conception of country music and its sources by examining the careers of Gene Hooper and Dick Curless within the context of country music in Maine. The evidence presented suggests that country music, in its local context, retains a significant link to regional image and identity, as well as maintaining a connection to traditional music style and function. The acceptance of the "new social history" rests upon the belief that knowledge of everyday people and culture contributes to our understanding of historical processes and periods. The methods of folkloristics complement this perspective and also provide an approach with which to study performance in small group contexts. Much of my information derives from observation of country music culture in Maine and interviews with relevant persons. I have also utilized archival material and scholarship concerning the history of country music and vernacular music in the Northeast. Within the thesis. I examine theoretical considerations of region and group identity. Because the scholarly and popular conceptions of country music identify it primarily as a cultural phenomenon of the American South, my examination begins with a summary of historical perspectives on country music and the development of the Southern image connected with it. This discussion is followed by a brief survey of theoretical attitudes toward country music and regional identity within the discipline of folklore. Turning toward country music in the Northeast, I outline the roots of vernacular music there and describe the evolution of a regional country music boom. A detailed description of the careers of Gene Hooper and Dick Curless follows, with particular emphasis on the differing professional contexts of their music. Finally, I return to academic models of country music and region, elaborating on distinctions between the commercial context of the Nashville music industry and the vernacular music of the Northeast.

My intention in this performance is to create a therapeutic theatrical process for myself and engage the audience with intense emotional vulnerability regarding the combination and validation of the nobody and performative self. I utilized both my vocal and acting training to work through emotional trauma that I have experienced and created a musical performance to demonstrate my journey of therapy and emotional reconciliation within myself and my family. I focused my research on using autobiographical performances to solidify and validate the identity of the performer to an audience. In doing so, this allows the performers to become the narrator and take control of their life story. Self-reflection can provide clarity and insight into one’s mental state and understanding of how certain events have impacted them mentally and/or physically.

With a career spanning over four decades, Henry Fillmore earned wide recognition as an important and prolific composer of marches and trombone smears in the wind band medium. While he contributed significantly to chamber music, solo literature, vocal settings, and arrangements for band, his compositions for wind band have arguably provided his most universal acclaim. Fillmore’s published marches are unique in that scores rarely had performance markings and contained little more than notes and repeat signs. Fillmore conducted most of his marches and altered march strains, changed orchestration, and added stylistic markings that were not indicated in the original printed score. This research is focused on preparing and presenting historically accurate performances of the marches and smears of Henry Fillmore with appropriate march style. More specifically, the author wishes to provide an approach to the interpretation of Fillmore’s music that directly portrays the historical performance practices of Fillmore’s performances of his own works and interpretative methodology. Those who wish to consider this historically accurate approach may apply this document’s analysis of primary source recordings of Fillmore conducting his music in addition to new included performance editions of specified marches and smears.

This document examines Rodney Friend’s approach to violin technique for the left hand, with specific emphasis on the execution of fifths. The application of this technique plays a valuable role in establishing correct hand positioning, creating consistent intonation, improving vibrato, and adding to the palette of colors available to the violinist. Mr. Friend is an esteemed violinist, a perceptive pedagogue, and a dedicated mentor in today’s music world, and, in those roles, he exemplifies the qualities of beauty, truth, and goodness that characterize meaningful engagement in the arts. His thoughtful teaching style is the product of decades of careful observation combined with a devotion to constant personal improvement. As a performer who has toured the world as concertmaster of classical music’s most renowned orchestras, Mr. Friend’s early and continued success could have easily led him to a justifiable sense of arrival. Instead, he continues to hone his craft daily--both as a performer and as a teacher--always striving to remove the roadblocks from the tricky terrain of violin playing. In Mr. Friend’s words, violin playing is “a whole complicated business that we need to make less complicated.” His keen insights into the mechanics of the trade prove that simplification is possible. I firmly believe that his pedagogical innovations will greatly serve the rising generation of violinists. Most recently, Mr. Friend has turned his attention to an area of left hand technique that is commonly avoided by violinists in their practice, and often glossed over by teachers: the study of fifths. For the past six years Mr. Friend has been systematically exploring the benefits of this ignored technique. Other pedagogues have had little to offer in specifically addressing this interval because there is a general lack of understanding about the benefits provided by mastering the execution of fifths. Examples of this omission can be seen in pedagogy books by some of the 20th century’s greatest violinists and teachers. For instance, when Leopold Auer discusses the left hand in his book, Violin Playing as I Teach It, he suggests practicing scales in thirds, fourths, sixths, and octaves, but completely skips over the interval of the fifth. The same omission is also made by Yehudi Menuhin in his instructional text entitled Violin and Viola. Mr. Friend has developed a systematic approach to mastering this difficult technique that is both simple and effective. He plans to publish his method later this year. Some of the benefits provided to the violinist from the consistent practice of this traditionally difficult and neglected interval include better hand positioning, improved vibrato, and more consistent intonation--the continual quest of every violinist. I have experienced the remarkable benefits of his method in my own playing, which motivated me to seek Mr. Friend’s permission to further explore and document his techniques, and with this monograph to share these benefits with the violin community.

This project provides International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, translations and a vocal pedagogical analysis of “Six Songs of Poetry by Gellert” by Ludwig van Beethoven. There is discussion of technical concepts applicable to singing, vocal relationships between text and poetry; and background information concerning Ludwig van Beethoven, Christian Gellert, and Christian Neefe. This document addresses possible vocal challenges a baritone might encounter when studying the Gellert Lieder. This guide provides suggestions for vowel modification in the passaggio, as well as a section dedicated to appoggio, aggiustamento, and vocal registration. Finally, this research provides a concise preparation for performance manual for singers and teachers of singing to use in the vocal studio.

This study provides a performance guide to the nine song settings of Mother Goose Lyrics and Mother Goose Lyrics II by American composer Richard Faith (b. 1926). Included is a biography of the composer. The primary purpose is to provide analysis that shows that these nine songs are accessible to undergraduate singers and that these are arguably Faith’s most approachable songs for the young singer. As is pertinent to each individual song the discussion may include information on the poetry, musical form, textual support, pedagogical issues, harmonic progressions, melodic ideas, rhythmic devices, character analysis, as well as information on text setting devices. This is accomplished through the author’s own analysis and study of Faith’s songs, interviews with the composer, and references to the three other dissertations covering Faith’s song compositions. This performance guide will provide an introduction to Richard Faith and his musical style, as well as provide a tool for teachers and singers seeking performance practice guidance.