In 2005, composer Susan Botti won the coveted Prix de Rome in musical composition and spent eleven months in residency at the American Academy in Rome. That same year, the University of Michigan Wind Symphony, under the direction of Michael Haithcock, premiered her exciting new work Cosmosis at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in New York City. The bi-annual conference is a venue for the premiere of new works for wind ensembles and bands, and the 2005 conference saw the world premiere of nine works for winds and percussion, many of which were performed in the legendary Carnegie Hall. What made the debut performance of Cosmosis exciting and notable was the composer's own appearance as soprano soloist, and the inclusion of a chorus of women augmenting the ensemble of winds and percussion. Such a combination of elements is unique, and created a fresh and powerful sonority. Botti's inventive approach to composition has expanded the repertoire for both women's chorus and wind ensemble with this distinctive work. This study is intended to serve as a guide to the study and performance of Cosmosis. The information provides a detailed examination of the work from its conception to its premiere performance. The work is based on the poetry of American poetess May Swenson, and Botti's interpretation of the poetry in music unveils interesting parallels between these artistic disciplines. The research provides a contextual framework from which the conductor may begin study of the work, and which may lead to an informed performance of the work.

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Master of Music / Department of Music / Jennifer R. Edwards / This report consists of extended program notes and translations for programmed songs and arias presented in recital by Elizabeth Ann Rodina on April 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in All Faith's Chapel on the Kansas State University campus. Included on the recital were works by George Frideric Handel, Franz Schubert, Reynaldo Hahn, Jules Massenet, Clifford Shaw, and Giacomo Puccini. The program notes include biographical information about the composers and a textual and musical analysis of their works.

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Am 8. Dezember 1747 feierte die sächsische Kurfürstin und polnische Königin Maria Josepha (1699–1757) ihren 48. Geburtstag. Zu diesem Anlass verfasste ihre Schwiegertochter Maria Antonia Walpurgis den Text der Kantate »Che ti dirò Regina«. Die sächsische Kurprinzessin hatte den ältesten Sohn des Herrscherpaares, Friedrich Christian (1722–1763), im gleichen Jahr geheiratet und war im Juni nach Dresden gekommen.

MIRRORS is a cycle of songs composed for soprano voice and piano using five poems by Sylvia Plath. The work features the creation of a protagonist and tells a chronological story through the arrangement of the five poems colored and unified by the manipulation of a thematic twelve-tone row.

Amidah - תפילת העמידה – for soprano voice, clarinet, cello, and piano – is a liturgical work in three movements that uses common Jewish prayers as its text. These three movements focus on specific prayers that can be found in the Amidah, the central portion of a Jewish prayer service. This work uses prayers that can be performed on a Friday evening Shabbat service. The first movement focuses on accompanimental music to the Silent Amidah, a silent prayer. The prelude uses the traditional Jewish melody of the opening prayer of the Amidah, Adonai S’fatai Tiftach (אדני שפתי תפתח), leading directly into the first movement. This movement, while harkening to some Jewish melodies, takes ideas from classical Western harmony. While conveying both a sense of calmness and unease, the movement allows for the listener to silently reflect and meditate while absorbing the music. The second movement, Oseh Shalom (עושה שלום), takes its root in Freylach music, a traditional, fast-paced, upbeat style of Klezmer music. While keeping traditional elements, it also uses contemporary harmony and extensive ornamentation in a joyous, energetic fashion. The third movement, Mi Shebeirach (מי שברך), combines flowing lines, ornamental ancient Hebrew trope cantillation, liturgical elements, Middle-Eastern aspects, and spectral harmonies to create a slow, lamenting prayer for healing, a prayer that cries out in pain and suffering, begging for a restoration of mind, body, and soul. The movement closes in mournful sadness comforted by the presence of the Divine.