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Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born July 18, 1918 into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. Mandela was a lawyer by trade and a freedom fighter who envisioned freedom and equality for all South Africans regardless of race. In 1965, Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island for twenty-seven years for treason and terrorist activities against the South African apartheid regime: he was assigned prison numbers 46664. In 1992, Mandela was released from prison and two years later not only became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, but also its first black president. "Madiba 46664" is an eight-minute chamber work scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, and bassoon; vibraphone, and two percussionists; piano; violins, violas, and celli. The work blends traditional South African rhythms of the drumming culture with elements of Western harmony and form in contrasting textures of homophony, polyphony and antiphony. "Madiba 46664" utilizes Mandela's prison number, birthdate and age (at the time the composition process began in 2013) for the initial generation of meter, rhythm, harmony, melody, and form. The work also shares intercultural concepts that can be seen in the works of three contemporary African composers, South Africans Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph and Andile Khumalo, and Nigerian Ayo Oluranti. Each section represents a period of Mandela's life as a freedom fighter, a prisoner, and a president. The inspiration stems from the composer's discussions with Mandela soon after his release from prison and prior to his presidency. These lively discussions pertained to the state of traditional music in then apartheid South Africa and led to this creation. The conversations also played a role in the creative process.
ContributorsMabingnai, Collette Sipho (Composer) / DeMars, James (Thesis advisor) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Musical Impressionism has been most significantly reflected through the works of Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). These two key figures exhibit the essence of this art and their piano music remains substantial, influential, and frequently assigned and played today. Nevertheless, from a pedagogical perspective, important factors required in achieving a successful performance of Debussy and Ravel's piano music--delicate tone production, independent voicing, complicated rhythm, sensitive pedaling, and a knowledgeable view of Impressionism--are musically and technically beyond the limit of early advanced students. This study provides a collection of short piano pieces by nine lesser-known European and American composers--Edward MacDowell (1861-1908), Charles Griffes (1884-1920), Marion Bauer (1887-1955), Cyril Scott (1879-1970), Arnold Bax (1883-1953), Selim Palmgren (1878-1951), Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) and Federico Mompou (1893-1987). They were influenced by impressionistic aesthetics or composed at one time in an impressionistic manner over a span of their lifetimes and their music provides a bridge to the more advanced impressionistic pieces of Debussy and Ravel for early advanced students. These composers' selected short piano pieces display richly colored sonority through the use of impressionistic techniques such as non-functional harmony (parallel chords and free modulation), exotic setting (e.g. modality, pentatonic and whole-tone scales), ostinato figures, bell-sound imitation, and extended texture. Moreover, personal interpretive elements, such as poetic and folklore references, were incorporated in some piano works of MacDowell, Griffes, Bauer, Scott, and Bax; among them MacDowell and Bax were particularly inspired by Celtic and Nordic materials. Mompou infused Spanish folklores in his individual naïve style. Most importantly, these selected short piano pieces are approachable and attractive to early advanced pianists. These works, as well as other largely undiscovered impressionistic piano character pieces, ought to be a great source of preliminary repertoire as preparation for the music of Debussy and Ravel.
ContributorsChien, Chieh Jenny (Author) / Thompson, Janice Meyer (Thesis advisor) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The bereaved and those who have experienced trauma have received support through music therapy. However, there has been no research on the effectiveness of music therapy as a therapeutic intervention for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one by suicide. While every loss presents its own challenges, those who experience a suicide loss may need extra support to process the traumatic nature of the death. This study aims to explore the current research on grief and trauma to determine what information can be applied to the care of those who have experienced a suicide loss. The present study is a group case study of survivors of suicide who have experienced a loss within the last 3 years. Participants received weekly music therapy sessions for four weeks. All participants completed the Inventory of Traumatic Grief, prior to and at the conclusion of the music therapy sessions, and the pre and post test scores were compared. Additionally qualitative data was collected throughout the sessions, indicating any common themes that emerged throughout the sessions and the participants’ reactions to the interventions, as well as in a short questionnaire following the four sessions.
ContributorsEdmonds, Alexis Elaine (Author) / Rio, Robin (Thesis advisor) / Crowe, Barbara (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Until the second half of the 20th century, publications on breathing techniques for woodwinds have been scarce and often failed to adequately address this aspect of performance and pedagogy. It is through various sensory experiences and because of recent technological advances that academics recognize a gap in the existing literature and have since included studies using various methods, as well as modern technical devices and experiments into the woodwind literature and teaching. These studies have proven to be of great importance to confirm ideas and hypotheses on the matter.
The aim of this project is to collect woodwind journal publications into a meta-analysis, focusing specifically on the breathing techniques for woodwind instruments and provide a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the topic and its application. The project is limited to journal articles on breathing techniques applied for woodwinds only, and will not review literature discussing breathing from other perspectives or in a broader sense.
Major findings show that misconceptions and contradictions on the subject still exist. At the same time, they also highlight unique approaches used to help the learner overcome general and specific challenges while mastering the art of breathing.
The project highlights areas where future research on breathing would be encouraged and should be complemented by measured data. Such studies might include a woodwind specific examination of the relationship between the tongue and the soft palate, or analysis of how tension in the torso muscles influences the movement of the diaphragm, or how rhythmical breathing affects breath control and capacity, and finally a discussion on how larynx influences the air stream.
The aim of this project is to collect woodwind journal publications into a meta-analysis, focusing specifically on the breathing techniques for woodwind instruments and provide a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the topic and its application. The project is limited to journal articles on breathing techniques applied for woodwinds only, and will not review literature discussing breathing from other perspectives or in a broader sense.
Major findings show that misconceptions and contradictions on the subject still exist. At the same time, they also highlight unique approaches used to help the learner overcome general and specific challenges while mastering the art of breathing.
The project highlights areas where future research on breathing would be encouraged and should be complemented by measured data. Such studies might include a woodwind specific examination of the relationship between the tongue and the soft palate, or analysis of how tension in the torso muscles influences the movement of the diaphragm, or how rhythmical breathing affects breath control and capacity, and finally a discussion on how larynx influences the air stream.
ContributorsJevtic-Somlai, Csaba (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019