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The commissioning and recording of music from living composers is a very important tradition in the art of music. The ability to work with living composers gives the performer insight into the music that is far beyond reading the notes on the page. For my research paper, I commissioned two

The commissioning and recording of music from living composers is a very important tradition in the art of music. The ability to work with living composers gives the performer insight into the music that is far beyond reading the notes on the page. For my research paper, I commissioned two new works for the cello by the composers Joseph Hallman and Christian Asplund, in an effort to continue adding great pieces to the cello repertoire. This paper documents my experiences in finding and working with selected composers. It includes detailed descriptions of the pieces with practice and performance suggestions as well as recordings of the pieces. Commissioning new works often creates many first-hand artistic decisions for the performer as well as many new technical difficulties on the instrument. The two pieces commissioned offer insight into two different instrumentations: the sonata for cello and piano, and a solo cello suite. In this paper I describe various important aspects of these compositions and point out ways to make informed artistic decisions when approaching form, harmony, motive, and extended techniques on the cello. Providing this information on commissioning and collaborating with living composers will help continue this tradition into the future for classical music.
ContributorsKesler, Michelle (Contributor) / Landschoot, Thomas (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / McLin, Katherine (Committee member) / Spring, Robert (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The primary objective of this research project is to expand the clarinet repertoire with the addition of four new pieces. Each of these new pieces use contemporary clarinet techniques, including electronics, prerecorded sounds, multiphonics, circular breathing, multiple articulation, demi-clarinet, and the clari-flute. The repertoire composed includes Grant Jahn’s Duo for

The primary objective of this research project is to expand the clarinet repertoire with the addition of four new pieces. Each of these new pieces use contemporary clarinet techniques, including electronics, prerecorded sounds, multiphonics, circular breathing, multiple articulation, demi-clarinet, and the clari-flute. The repertoire composed includes Grant Jahn’s Duo for Two Clarinets, Reggie Berg’s Funkalicious for Clarinet and Piano, Rusty Banks’ Star Juice for Clarinet and Fixed Media, and Chris Malloy’s A Celestial Breath for Clarinet and Electronics. In addition to the musical commissions, this project also includes interviews with the composers indicating how they wrote these works and what their influences were, along with any information pertinent to the performer, professional recordings of each piece, as well as performance notes and suggestions.
ContributorsCase-Ruchala, Celeste Ann (Contributor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Schuring, Martin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
In the early part of 2020, musicians faced an unprecedented challenge. A novel coronavirus emerged, spreading throughout the world and creating a pandemic. To control the spread of this virus, local governing officials suspended large gatherings in public spaces, which meant that all live music performances were cancelled for the

In the early part of 2020, musicians faced an unprecedented challenge. A novel coronavirus emerged, spreading throughout the world and creating a pandemic. To control the spread of this virus, local governing officials suspended large gatherings in public spaces, which meant that all live music performances were cancelled for the foreseeable future. As a response to these cancellations, many musicians turned to live streaming, sharing transmissions of live performances over the internet. However, as life under COVID-19-related restrictions continued, the internet quickly became oversaturated with live stream music performances. This led musicians to discover innovative ways to adapt their creative practices for virtual settings. Through the process of commissioning, premiering, and recording new works, this research project explores how music practitioners can create music that is designed specifically for the imposed restrictions on the performing arts that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. To complete this project, I commissioned new works for clarinet and bass clarinet intended for performance under shelter-in-place conditions. The pieces included in this project are Two Flights for B-Flat Clarinet by Bill Clay (2020), 8 Months by Jessi Harvey (2020), R....v...rs....m oooiiiiii by Gabo Champagne (2021) and Od-ieu by Kim Farris-Manning (2021). I presented these works in two virtual formats: (1) I staged a virtual concert of their premieres from my home studio space, and (2) released studio-quality recordings of them paired with extra-musical video footage. This document offers an account of the virtual concert, a description of the process of the video production component, and performance guides for each commissioned piece. An audio/video recording of the virtual concert is included as a supplemental media file to this document, as are all music videos.
ContributorsLougheed, Julia Lynn (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / Wells, Christi Jay (Committee member) / Caslor, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
For this project, I commissioned and recorded five new works for contrabassclarinet from five different composers. Composition parameters were given to each composer before they started writing which detailed what needed to be included in each work. Four of the composers were asked to utilize a single, difficult aspect of playing the instrument,

For this project, I commissioned and recorded five new works for contrabassclarinet from five different composers. Composition parameters were given to each composer before they started writing which detailed what needed to be included in each work. Four of the composers were asked to utilize a single, difficult aspect of playing the instrument, which included intonation, low note technique and response, phrasing, and articulation. For the fifth work, the composer was asked to incorporate all parameters of the project. Because of the differences between contrabass clarinet designs, I recorded each work three times using the Leblanc Vito, Leblanc “Paperclip”, and Selmer Model 41 contrabass clarinets to demonstrate that the works were adaptable and playable. In this paper, I will outline the parameters of the project, describe the instruments used for recording and provide a performance guide for each work. It is my hope that these works will provide an enjoyable way for future contrabass clarinetists to become more proficient performers of the instrument.
ContributorsFullerton, Kimberly Irene (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Wells, Christi Jay (Committee member) / Watts, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
In an effort to provide greater representation to Latin American musicians, this recording and performance guide provides commentary on three works for clarinet by composers of Mexican ethnicity, commissioned and recorded by the author. The works presented are scored for solo clarinet, clarinet & piano, and clarinet, cello, & piano.

Each

In an effort to provide greater representation to Latin American musicians, this recording and performance guide provides commentary on three works for clarinet by composers of Mexican ethnicity, commissioned and recorded by the author. The works presented are scored for solo clarinet, clarinet & piano, and clarinet, cello, & piano.

Each piece seeks to communicate and explore current sociopolitical issues related to Mexico, and, like this project as a whole, derive their inspiration from La Onda, a multidisciplinary artistic movement in Mexico, translating as the “wave,” “sound wave,” or “the force” that emerged as part of the 1960s and 1970s North American counterculture. La Onda music emerged as a reflection and consequence of marginalized experiences living in the United States, and is representative of ways the broader public and Latinos have claimed music as their own. As music has historically provided an arena for exploring gender, class, sexuality, and race politics for minority communities, specifically Mexicans in the United States and abroad, music continues to afford a mechanism for communicating the counterfactual in the present day. In this context, this guide synthesizes a broader collaboration with composers to create new, narrative-based repertoire that provides accessibility, greater awareness, and lasting representation to a demographic that has historically been underserved within the classical canon.
ContributorsDominguez, Vincent Robert (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Schuring, Martin (Committee member) / Bolaños, Gabriel J. (Committee member) / Meyer, Jeffery (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020