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This thesis contains two volumes. The first is a written text that describes my compositional techniques in the context of an analysis of my Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The second volume is the score of this work. / Volume one is divided into two parts. Part I describes my compositional techniques and the original contributions of the thesis. These include the incorporation of psychoacoustic models of hearing into the creative process, as implemented by a computer program written by the author. I give detailed descriptions of models for dissonance and pitch commonality, and discuss my use of contour theory. Part II of the first volume illustrates these techniques through an analysis of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The main topics of this analysis are the creation of background harmonic regions based on high pitch commonality to a referential sonority, and the integration of a basic shape or contour into all parameters and structural levels of the music. / Volume two is the full score of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. This work has a duration of 23 minutes. It is scored for solo piano and a small orchestra consisting of flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe, B-flat clarinet, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, trombone, two percussion and strings (44332). The Concerto is divided into four movements, played without pause, and two brief opening and closing sections.

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The purpose of this study is to create an original composition for piano and orchestra, Piano Concerto Number One, Heatmadah. While numerous compositions of piano concerti already exist, the goal of the dissertation, through the process of composing an original score, is to express new ideas based on traditional forms. This quest evokes the questioning of traditions, yet presses tightly upon the value of the individual. The first section presents a brief history of the piano concerto and introduces my piano concerto, Heatmadah. The second section discusses the significance of the study. A review of literature is investigated in the third section. The fourth section contains the methodology of my dissertation and includes discussion of preparation, orchestration, the interaction between piano and orchestra, the role of the flute and piccolo, virtuosity, and structure. The structure discussion includes a thorough analysis of how the work is put together, and is illuminated by several musical excerpts. A description of important musical traits and influences follows, including cyclical transformation, augmentation and diminution of materials, harmonic language, influence of jazz and the iconic jazz artist, influence of Ravel, and challenges and goals. I hope that my concerto will connect and resonate with both performers and audiences alike. / School of Music

This thesis consists of an original composition and an analysis of it. Scored for a small orchestra, the Camerata is approximately 16 minutes in length. The analysis deals with general matters of structure as well as details of harmonic organization that play a specific and prominent role in this work. The piece is to be perceived in four integrated sections. Each section has its own characteristics. However, the sequence from one section to another is functional, so that the piece would not work if the sequence of sections were arranged differently. Section B develops the thematic material of section A. Section C is an outgrowth of section B because of the exchange of the dynamic and static aspects pertaining to harmony and melody. Moreover, as a unifying element, these two central sections show tonal tendencies. Section D rounds off the piece with a concealed texturally decreasing formal design, which balances the crescendo and texturally increasing overall shape of the first section.

The Piano Concerto represents an experiment in form in which a set of five continuous variations are partitioned into three movements, corresponding to the listener's expectations of a traditional tripartite concerto. Through the analysis of phrase structure, pitch and motivic variation, links amongst the variations are uncovered and developmental strategies discussed in an attempt to clarify the processes of musical creation. By proceeding in analysis from the highest levels of organization downwards, structural trends emerge which lend consistency to the work— low level patterns often reflect larger structural forces. In addition, a variety of symmetrical constructs are extant in the form of consistently used pitch collections (e.g., [0 1 4 9], a triad with both M3 and m3, subset of [0 1 4 5 8]), phrase organization (as in the second variation and the second movement) and the grouping of the variations themselves. Seeded initially as a recorded improvisation by the composer (which became the Aria), the Concerto displays formal tension as areas of rigid organization (Variations 1, 3, and 5) alternate with more freely organized regions (Variations 2 and 4), a dichotomy which springs from the Theme itself. The listener is taken on a linear journey through the telescoping development of material which maintains more or less explicit connections to the Theme throughout In general, the further into the work the listener progresses, the less literal the Thematic references become until a brief recapitulation appears at the end. The aesthetic which drives this work is based on a fundamental adherence to traditional procedures, tempered with unique approaches to form. This aesthetic and certain cohabiting non-traditional aspects of the Concerto will be discussed in the analysis that follows.

v.1. Musical composition -- v.2. Analysis. / In this paper the compositional issues and techniques employed in my M. Mus. Thesis Composition Nocturnales (for chamber orchestra comprised of fifteen players) is discussed. The piece, constituted of three connected parts, exhibits an eclecticism of musical styles and compositional approaches that comes in part, from the use of different temporal structures. To build such structures, two independent techniques have been developed that organize pitch and rhythm according to some serial procedures, yet are flexible enough to permit local level decisions based on intuitive considerations. The basis of the pitch system is a 1-2-1 tetrachordal set, to which are applied both principles of permutation and a modal treatment. In the rhythm domain, besides the conventional metric divisions of 2 and 3, predetermined numerical rows derived from the Fibonacci series to provide the durational values between event attacks are employed.

v. 1. Score (197 p.) -- v. 2. Analysis (29 leaves) / Curio Shop is a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra. It is composed for an ensemble of fifteen performers: piano solo, flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass. / It is composed as a suite of short movements, scored for the full ensemble, interspersed with interludes composed as duos for piano and one other instrument. The accompanying paper discusses the form of the work along with some of its historical precedents. Further topics include the use of tonality in the work, the variation techniques used in composing the interludes, and a discussion of compositional procedures used in a single movement along with examples of their application in other movements.

And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul is a composition for chamber ensemble of thirteen performers. It is scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet, bass clarinet, two horns, percussion, piano, electric guitar, two violins, viola, cello and contrabass. The piece comprises thirteen variations on a musical idea which, although never explicitly stated, is reflected in every aspect of the work. The composed omnipresence of this idea is intended to impose homogeneity upon the variety of its manifestations.

Instrumentation: 1*(1.=picc.)-1-2*(2.-Bb+bass cl.)-1 / 1-1-1-0 / 2 perc., 1 keyb. (piano+celesta) / 1-1-1-1-1 / The work is approximately 14 minutes long, and consists of six movements which make up a series of musical tableaux, placing greater emphasis on their contrasting characters instead of on gradual and continuous development of material. These movements take their inspiration from activities or situations encountered in everyday life, thus revisiting the old tradition of "character pieces" as encountered, for example, in the music of many composers such as Schumann, Grieg or Mussorgsky. / It is followed by an analysis which examines the harmonic syntax and the language of the work as it relates to the program suggested by the title.