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Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra was conceived in February of 2013, and conceptually it is my attempt to fuse personal expressions of jazz and classical music into one fully realized statement. It is a three movement work (fast, slow, fast) for 2 fl., 2 ob., 2 cl., bsn., 2 hrn., 2 tpt., tbn., pno., perc., str. (6,4,2,2,1). The work is approximately 27 minutes in duration. The first movement of the Concerto is written in a fluid sonata form. A fugato begins where the second theme would normally appear, and the second theme does not fully appear until near the end of the solo piano section. The result is that the second theme when finally revealed is so reminiscent of the history of jazz and classical synthesis that it does not sound completely new, and in fact is a return of something that was heard before, but only hinted at in this piece. The second movement is a kind of deconstructive set of variations, with a specific theme and harmonic pattern implied throughout the movement. However, the full theme is not disclosed until the final variation. The variations are interrupted by moments of pure rhythmic music, containing harmony made up of major chords with an added fourth, defying resolution, and dissolving each time back into a new variation. The third movement is in rondo form, using rhythmic and harmonic influences from jazz. The percussion plays a substantial role in this movement, acting as a counterpoint to the piano part throughout. This movement and the piece concludes with an extended coda, inspired indirectly by the simple complexities of an improvisational piano solo, building in complexity as the concerto draws to a close.
ContributorsSneider, Elliot (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Mark O'Connor's Fiddle concerto: Texas style fiddling, classical violin, and American string playing
Description
ABSTRACT
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
ContributorsYoungblood, Beth (Violinist) (Author) / Jiang, Danwen (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / McLin, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This study examined directors’, master teachers’, graduate and undergraduate
String Project teachers’ perspectives of the skills and behaviors important for teaching strings. Participants were from the 40 String Projects listed on the National String Project Consortium website, including String Project directors (n = 16), master teachers (n = 7), graduate (n = 6) and undergraduate string teachers (n = 46) involved in String Projects across the United States. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 72 years old.
The survey for this study was based on Teachout’s 1997 survey pertaining to teachers’ skills and behaviors in three categories: teaching, personal, musical. A cover letter containing a link to the electronic survey was sent to directors and master teachers for the 40 String Projects, requesting their participation and the participation of their string teachers. Seventy-five participants from 19 String Projects completed the survey.
Means and standard deviations were calculated for each item for each of the four participant groups. Overall means for each category of skills and behaviors were calculated followed by a one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to determine which of the three categories the teachers and directors believed most important. Three one-way MANOVAs were used to analyze participants’ perspectives for three broad categories of skills and behaviors (personal, teaching, and musical) across the four participant groups. No significant differences were found across all three MANOVA analyses. Additionally, descriptive statistics were used to determine the rankings of importance for the four participant groups on 40 survey items.
Results showed that participants in all four groups believed that personal skills and behaviors were more important than teaching and musical skills and behaviors.
Also conducted were Pearson Product-Moment Correlations, which analyses revealed a strong positive relationship between the ranked perceptions of musical and teaching skills and behaviors (r = .78, p = .00), between musical and personal skills and behaviors (r = .65, p = .00), and between personal and teaching skills and behaviors (r = .84, p = .00). Strong positive correlations were found between the three categories. Recommendations for research and practice were given.
String Project teachers’ perspectives of the skills and behaviors important for teaching strings. Participants were from the 40 String Projects listed on the National String Project Consortium website, including String Project directors (n = 16), master teachers (n = 7), graduate (n = 6) and undergraduate string teachers (n = 46) involved in String Projects across the United States. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 72 years old.
The survey for this study was based on Teachout’s 1997 survey pertaining to teachers’ skills and behaviors in three categories: teaching, personal, musical. A cover letter containing a link to the electronic survey was sent to directors and master teachers for the 40 String Projects, requesting their participation and the participation of their string teachers. Seventy-five participants from 19 String Projects completed the survey.
Means and standard deviations were calculated for each item for each of the four participant groups. Overall means for each category of skills and behaviors were calculated followed by a one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to determine which of the three categories the teachers and directors believed most important. Three one-way MANOVAs were used to analyze participants’ perspectives for three broad categories of skills and behaviors (personal, teaching, and musical) across the four participant groups. No significant differences were found across all three MANOVA analyses. Additionally, descriptive statistics were used to determine the rankings of importance for the four participant groups on 40 survey items.
Results showed that participants in all four groups believed that personal skills and behaviors were more important than teaching and musical skills and behaviors.
Also conducted were Pearson Product-Moment Correlations, which analyses revealed a strong positive relationship between the ranked perceptions of musical and teaching skills and behaviors (r = .78, p = .00), between musical and personal skills and behaviors (r = .65, p = .00), and between personal and teaching skills and behaviors (r = .84, p = .00). Strong positive correlations were found between the three categories. Recommendations for research and practice were given.
ContributorsAlsayegh, Yousef A (Author) / Schmidt, Margaret (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Jill (Thesis advisor) / Stauffer, Sandy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019