Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- Creators: Norton, Kay
Description
The craft of improvisation at the organ has survived a long period of dormancy and is experiencing a strong resurgence in the twenty-first century. This project seeks to establish a precedence for the value of notated music as a resource in learning improvisation, and then, through music analysis, provide examples of how that process can develop. The result of the ideas presented here is a pathway whereby any disciplined organist can learn to imitate composed music, assimilate the musical ideas, and innovate through the act of spontaneous improvisation.
ContributorsHoward, Devon (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This project’s goal is to expand the repertoire for soprano saxophone featuring improvisation. Each work detailed in this document features improvisation as an integral component. The first piece, Impetus, was written by Grant Jahn for soprano saxophone and piano. The second piece, Sonata, was written for the same instrumentation by Brett Wery. Ethan Cypress wrote the third work for solo soprano saxophone, Noir et Bleu. The final composition on the project, Counterpunch by Gregory Wanamaker, was written for saxophone sextet. This paper also includes composer biographies, program notes, performance guides, and composer questionnaires. The central component of this project is a recording of all these works which features the author.
ContributorsDetweiler, Samuel (Author) / Creviston, Christopher (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
In the early-twentieth-century United States, Jewish and European immigrant scholars, musicians, and composers dominated the academic, orchestral, film and popular music scenes. While some of these musicians immigrated voluntarily, others, having fled the genocide of the Holocaust, were forced into exile due to religious and political persecution. Musicians were often targeted by the Nazi regime for performing and advancing banned music, composing modernist works, or for their religious or political beliefs. The United States upheld strict, pre-World War Two immigration quotas and laws that limited relocation. Specialized rescue agencies arose to help these exiles settle in the United States.
Meanwhile in 1924, American composer Mark Brunswick (1902-1971) moved to Europe and later studied with Nadia Boulanger. He found his niche among members of the Second Viennese School. Brunswick returned to the United States in 1938 and founded the National Committee for Refugee Musicians (NCRM), originally called the Placement Committee for German and Austrian Musicians, to aid in the relocation and job placement of at-risk musicians and their families during World War Two.
This thesis briefly explores Brunswick’s life, and then more closely addresses the formation of the NCRM, its members, those who received aid, and partnering organizations. Finally, cases in point illustrate the varied ways in which the NCRM helped musicians in exile. Brunswick and the Committee played a major role in American musical history, yet no major studies have focused on them. With the NCRM’s assistance, many refugees thrived in and contributed to America’s musical landscape. By exploring letters, memoranda, and other unpublished archival documents, I will show how Brunswick and the NCRM affected U.S. musical life beginning in the 1930s. The positive effects of this germinal group endure today.
Meanwhile in 1924, American composer Mark Brunswick (1902-1971) moved to Europe and later studied with Nadia Boulanger. He found his niche among members of the Second Viennese School. Brunswick returned to the United States in 1938 and founded the National Committee for Refugee Musicians (NCRM), originally called the Placement Committee for German and Austrian Musicians, to aid in the relocation and job placement of at-risk musicians and their families during World War Two.
This thesis briefly explores Brunswick’s life, and then more closely addresses the formation of the NCRM, its members, those who received aid, and partnering organizations. Finally, cases in point illustrate the varied ways in which the NCRM helped musicians in exile. Brunswick and the Committee played a major role in American musical history, yet no major studies have focused on them. With the NCRM’s assistance, many refugees thrived in and contributed to America’s musical landscape. By exploring letters, memoranda, and other unpublished archival documents, I will show how Brunswick and the NCRM affected U.S. musical life beginning in the 1930s. The positive effects of this germinal group endure today.
ContributorsKurland, Jayme Michael (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015