Music Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2796
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Item Resonance of Change: An Exploration of Repertoire Programming Shifts in Choral Conducting Graduate Programs in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic and George Floyd Protests(2024) Helms, Mark; Ferdinand, Jason M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Few decisions made by a choral conductor are as important as the selection of repertoire. This study seeks to uncover the ways repertoire selection practices may have shifted in choral conducting graduate programs following two major concurrent disruptive events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests. The study also seeks to fill a gap in the literature by examining repertoire trends in standard concerts on university campuses rather than in concerts occurring exclusively in festival settings (such as ACDA conferences). Complete repertoire data for four academic years (2017–2019 and 2021–2023) were collected from sixteen research universities with choral conducting graduate programs. The design of the study was guided by four major questions, which concerned: (1) the overall characteristics of the body of repertoire performed, (2) changes in the characteristics of performed repertoire between the two-year time periods studied, (3) similarities and differences in programming practices among the sixteen participating schools, and (4) whether the trends found in the present study echo those found in previous studies of repertoire trends in festival settings. The data were also analyzed with two hypotheses in mind: (1) that composer and composition diversity and representation would increase (in part in response to the George Floyd protests), and (2) that composition difficulty would generally decrease (due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic). Findings reveal high variation in the works and composers performed by the sixteen schools in the study, with few specific composers and works seeing broad performance across a majority of the schools. Demographically, performed composers were overwhelmingly White and male, though the percentage of non-White- and non-male-composed works performed at each school increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023. It was found that much of this increase could be attributed to non-idiomatic works by Black composers, though this increase did not come at the expense of idiomatic works by the same. The data further suggest that conductors may often select a single piece to fill both race- and gender-based diversity goals. Performed compositions skewed significantly toward newly-composed works, though to what extent varied substantially between schools; the data suggest these variations are largely attributable to the programming practices of individual faculty members. A high level of variation among the schools was seen for sacred/secular status and accompaniment status. No conclusive result was found concerning the average difficulty of performed works, but English- language works were found to be inversely related to composition difficulty; the percentage of English-language works increased significantly between 2017–2019 and 2021–2023, suggesting a corresponding decrease in average difficulty.Item A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE TO BÉLA BARTÓK’S CANTATA PROFANA(2024) Lofton, Nathan; Ferdinand, Jason M; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Béla Bartók composed Cantata Profana in 1930, at the height of his interwar European career. Bartók’s only major choral-orchestral work, the cantata is a synthesis of Bartók’s immersion in Eastern European folk music and his mature compositional aesthetic. Cantata Profana is a work of modest scale, approximately twenty minutes in duration, though it is also one that makes considerable musical demands of a double chorus, tenor and baritone soloists, and a full orchestra. Above all, it is a work that is considered by many prominent Bartók scholars to be among the composer’s finest creations. Despite all of this, Cantata Profana is so infrequently performed that most musicians know it only by reputation or through one of the handful of existing recordings, if they know it at all. This dissertation gathers the resources a choral conductor needs when preparing to perform Cantata Profana. These resources include a brief history of the cantata’s genesis and analyses of the work’s structure and musical elements. The dissertation examines the required performing forces, choral divisi, Hungarian diction, rehearsal strategies, and programming considerations, and provides possible solutions to these as some of the challenges inherent in the work. The last section of the dissertation considers the interpretation and meaning of the cantata. Appendices are devoted to a literal English translation and International Phonetic Alphabet transliteration of Cantata Profana’s Hungarian text; a selected performance history of the work; and an annotated discography of the available recordings. The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to make Cantata Profana a more approachable work, and to encourage more conductors, choruses, and orchestras to undertake its performance.Item The Renaissance Repertoire Challenge: Achieving Authentic Choral Performances through the Application of Dalcroze Techniques(2020) Hylton, Kathryn; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)It is challenging for modern choirs to present aesthetically pleasing and historically authentic performances of Renaissance vocal repertoire due to its complex musical language and interpretive demands. Overcoming these obstacles requires thorough research, score study, and most importantly, a rehearsal approach that elicits engaged, confident, and nuanced responses from the choir. The Jaques-Dalcroze Method, an approach to music education developed by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), emphasizes the harmony of mental and physical processes in the learner. Through an applied research study with fifteen university students and a conductor (participant-researcher), this study examines the effectiveness and suitability of the Dalcroze approach to the singing of music from the Renaissance era within a choral context. Over the course of nine sessions, participants performed physical exercises to embody the musical language of the Renaissance and integrated their discoveries into the singing of Josquin des Prez’ Ave Maria…virgo serena. They recorded journal entries after each session and completed exit interviews at the conclusion of the study. Findings suggest that exercises rooted in Dalcroze principles not only improve choir members’ overall rhythmic acuity, aural perception, individual and cooperative interpretive decision-making, and musical unity, but also awaken curiosity, enhance enjoyment, and establish grounding in the musical language of Renaissance repertoire. The goal of this project is to provide conductors with a practical “toolkit” and a pedagogical method that empowers their ensembles to produce thoughtful, imaginative, and engaging performances of Renaissance vocal music rooted in historical practice.Item DICTION PEDAGOGY: A SURVEY OF NEW ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL DIRECTORS(2019) Chris, Grace Elizabeth; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Diction is unique to choral music due to the distinct attribute of combining text and music. Choral pedagogues, teacher preparation programs, resources, and professional development have historically offered a wide variety of advocations about what practices to employ when teaching diction, though many have gone untested. While choral education research is plentiful, none has been conducted about diction pedagogy practices. The purpose of this study was to describe the current practices New England high school choral teachers use when teaching diction, particularly what methods and materials are most commonly being used. After collecting survey data from directors (n = 121), results indicate a wide array of diction practices being utilized with rote teaching and vocal modeling being the most predominately reported method, and audio recordings being the most reported material. These findings may contribute to a clearer understanding of diction practices and may inspire future research to study most effective practices.Item Choral Improvisation: Toward a Curriculum for University Choral Settings(2017) Seigart, Steven Ross; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The regular practice of musical improvisation in an ensemble context has been shown to have many benefits, including the improvement of individual musical skills, ensemble cohesiveness, and the potential to help teach music theory and history. In addition, group improvisation has been proven to have positive non-musical effects, such as the reduction of social anxiety and stress, the improvement of communication and attention, and the acquisition of higher-order thinking skills. Many of these studies focus on these effects only among children, but the growing number of adult choral ensembles that regularly improvise suggests that these benefits may be gained in any level ensemble and in any age singer, including the university choral ensemble and the typical university student. Historically, improvisation and composition were considered as one creative process, with the latter often following the former. Even when the distinction between the two was acknowledged, the most prominent composers were also the finest improvisers. Toward the twentieth century and beyond, notation became gradually more specific, and the need for in-the-moment decision-making became obsolete. Modern classical ensembles largely do not improvise, precisely for this reason: the music they perform does not require it. Outside of classical music (with a few notable exceptions), improvisation is a part of almost every musical genre worldwide. In this document I have suggested a series of modules toward a improvisation-based curriculum, which can be freely combined and adapted to serve a number of functions and attempted in any order and in any sequence. These modules address fifteen compositional techniques, from simple canons to harmonic progressions, with more than fifty total distinct points of entry. The hope is that collegiate choral ensembles at every level will find these modules at once practical and accessible, so that students can begin reaping the benefits of regular improvisation practice.Item Developing a Personal Pedagogy of Conducting(2013) Hanna-Weir, Scot Alan; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)When conductors in academic institutions are required to teach a course or private lessons in conducting, they most often resort to their own training and recycle the ideas and methods of their own teachers. Over time it is typical for them to try new approaches and techniques, to discover and implement new resources and literature, and to develop their own personal conducting pedagogy. Through an examination of conducting texts as well as current conducting course syllabi from various American universities and colleges, some conclusions about current conducting pedagogical practices can be drawn. After consideration of the material and a summary of current practice, this paper presents several sample syllabi and a description of the process for teaching a basic conducting class. These materials serve as a model for the approach that could be taken by the readers in the development of their own personal conducting pedagogy.Item Expanding the Choral Conductor's Horizon: The Application of Selected Literary Theories to the Process of Choral Score Study(2009) Seighman, Gary Bernard; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The main premise of this document is that the various movements associated with literary theory can provide unique interpretative insights for the modern choral conductor during score study. Traditionally, score study involves making performance decisions based upon formal analysis, study of performance practices, examination of historical and stylistic information, and practical ensemble considerations. By adopting a stance that also acknowledges elements offered by literary theory, the conductor can begin to uncover those elements in the music that maximize the potential for the singer to have a meaningful musical experience. Literary theory deals critically with the process of interpretation and focuses especially on the relationship between the literary text and the reader. On one end of the literary theory spectrum, formalist studies of interpretation place value only on the words and notes and their grammatical relationship with one another while ignoring historical information as a determinant source for meaning. On the other end, Reader-Response Criticism focuses on the attributes of the reader, understood as part of the culture he belongs to, and through his personal background and experiences. Many branches of theory are located in the middle and consider how the properties of a text fuse with a reader's expectations and guide him to a particular interpretation. The adaptation of these theories to music is not new, as shown by the sizeable corpus of books and articles devoted to musico-literary studies. Few if any of these studies focus exclusively on choral repertoire or address practical issues of score preparation and conducting gesture, however. This document surveys several literary theories, identifies their key concepts, and adapts them to the analysis of specific choral works. The result is a series of analyses that offer fresh perspectives for a variety of choral works. Topics include, but are not limited to the following: uncovering hidden dialogue, music as a system of signs (semiotics), tropes and hermeneutic windows, the vocality of text, and conducting gesture as metaphor. The goal of musico-literary studies as it relates to choral training should be to educate a new generation of conductors who understand the processes of how we as both performers and listeners perceive meaning from our vast repertory and to develop strategies that improve its accessibility.