Matching Items (6)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

152264-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
In order to cope with the decreasing availability of symphony jobs and collegiate faculty positions, many musicians are starting to pursue less traditional career paths. Also, to combat declining audiences, musicians are exploring ways to cultivate new and enthusiastic listeners through relevant and engaging performances. Due to these challenges, many

In order to cope with the decreasing availability of symphony jobs and collegiate faculty positions, many musicians are starting to pursue less traditional career paths. Also, to combat declining audiences, musicians are exploring ways to cultivate new and enthusiastic listeners through relevant and engaging performances. Due to these challenges, many community-based chamber music ensembles have been formed throughout the United States. These groups not only focus on performing classical music, but serve the needs of their communities as well. The problem, however, is that many musicians have not learned the business skills necessary to create these career opportunities. In this document I discuss the steps ensembles must take to develop sustainable careers. I first analyze how groups build a strong foundation through getting to know their communities and creating core values. I then discuss branding and marketing so ensembles can develop a public image and learn how to publicize themselves. This is followed by an investigation of how ensembles make and organize their money. I then examine the ways groups ensure long-lasting relationships with their communities and within the ensemble. I end by presenting three case studies of professional ensembles to show how groups create and maintain successful careers. Ensembles must develop entrepreneurship skills in addition to cultivating their artistry. These business concepts are crucial to the longevity of chamber groups. Through interviews of successful ensemble members and my own personal experiences in the Tetra String Quartet, I provide a guide for musicians to use when creating a community-based ensemble.
ContributorsDalbey, Jenna (Author) / Landschoot, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / McLin, Katherine (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Spring, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
150558-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The use of instrumental vibrato in certain periods of classical music performances has become a highly debated and often fiery topic. The scholars of yesterday had only a few sources with which to gain a better understanding of the definition, mechanics, employment, and prevalent attitudes of those coming before them.

The use of instrumental vibrato in certain periods of classical music performances has become a highly debated and often fiery topic. The scholars of yesterday had only a few sources with which to gain a better understanding of the definition, mechanics, employment, and prevalent attitudes of those coming before them. This project aims to develop the foundation to a better understanding of instrumental vibrato by compiling primary source material written before 1940 and secondary source material relevant to that period into an annotated bibliography. The source materials in this study were mainly comprised of treatises, tutors, method books, newspaper articles, and dictionaries. The instruments covered in this study included the violin family and relatives (viols, etc...), woodwinds (including recorder), members of the brass family, organ, other keyboard instruments, guitar/banjo/lute, theremin, and prototype
iche instruments (such as player pianos). This project investigated 309 historical documents, finding 258 contained writings about instrumental vibrato. Of those, 157 were presented as bibliographic annotations. The author found no consensus at any time in the history of Western art music between 1550-1940 that vibrato is wholly acceptable or wholly unacceptable.
ContributorsVerville, Timothy David (Author) / Russell, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / Humphreys, Jere T (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Rotaru, Catalin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
153638-Thumbnail Image.png
DescriptionA collection of stories as viewed through the lens of Oulipo methodology.
ContributorsHyde, Allegra (Author) / McNally, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Ison, Tara (Committee member) / Pritchard, Melissa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
156300-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
This research paper examines Guillaume Lekeu's Sonata for Piano and Violin (1892) from the perspective of a collaborative pianist, providing historical background, an analysis of the work's musical structure, and performance practice insights. Each chapter offers the performer a deeper understanding of various aspects concerning the work, including an in-depth

This research paper examines Guillaume Lekeu's Sonata for Piano and Violin (1892) from the perspective of a collaborative pianist, providing historical background, an analysis of the work's musical structure, and performance practice insights. Each chapter offers the performer a deeper understanding of various aspects concerning the work, including an in-depth analysis of cyclical features used by Lekeu.

Lekeu was strongly influenced by his teacher, César Franck, and in particular by Franck's use of cyclic techniques, which profoundly impacted Lekeu's Sonata for Piano and Violin. The cyclic treatment, which includes cyclic themes, cyclic motives, and non-cyclic themes is discussed, enabling performers to achieve a relevant structural approach to this work. A performance guide includes practical advice for the interpretation and performance of the work, along with piano pedaling suggestions. The integration of these aspects enables a pianist to gain a better understanding and appreciation of Lekeu's Sonata for Piano and Violin.
ContributorsZhang, Dongfang (Author) / Ryan, Russell (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
156355-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Grande Sonate Op. 33 ‘Les quatre âges’ is a unique four-movement work for piano solo that programmatically represents a man’s life through four decades, passing from age 20 to 50, with each movement being progressively slower than the previous. Published in 1847, it was destined for obscurity

Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Grande Sonate Op. 33 ‘Les quatre âges’ is a unique four-movement work for piano solo that programmatically represents a man’s life through four decades, passing from age 20 to 50, with each movement being progressively slower than the previous. Published in 1847, it was destined for obscurity until it was rediscovered and premiered in 1973 by English pianist Ronald Smith. Its absence from the public’s reach can be attributed to multiple reasons including the reclusive nature of the composer during the time of composition and the societal issues surrounding the French Revolution of 1848.

Much of Alkan’s music has a reputation for being nearly unplayable because of its complexity and the extremely high level of technical facility a pianist must possess in order to perform it convincingly. Aside from its performance length of nearly an hour, there are many technical issues that prevent Alkan’s Grande Sonate from being performed more frequently. This paper is an exploration of some of these performance and technical issues for consideration by pianists interested in solving the riddle of performing Alkan’s Grande Sonate.

The findings explored are based in part on the author’s experience in performing the complete Grande Sonate in recital, as well as on extant research into Alkan’s life and the interpretation and performance of his works. The paper concludes with an appendix and link to the author’s live performance of the work, another appendix renotating the fugato from Quasi-Faust, and a third appendix providing extensive fingering and voice redistribution for Les enfans [sic] from 40 ans.
ContributorsHillmann, Joshua Lester (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
155518-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The year is 1982 and the Mayan genocide is at its bloodiest. Ava, the daughter of a Ladino meat-shop owner and his bed-ridden wife, marries a Mayan radish farmer known as “K.” After K disappears alongside thousands of indigenous Maya, Ava hides with their daughter, Olivia, inside their cornstalk house

The year is 1982 and the Mayan genocide is at its bloodiest. Ava, the daughter of a Ladino meat-shop owner and his bed-ridden wife, marries a Mayan radish farmer known as “K.” After K disappears alongside thousands of indigenous Maya, Ava hides with their daughter, Olivia, inside their cornstalk house in the town of Peña Blanca. When Olivia is infected with lesions, Ava must venture outside for the first time in months and bear witness to the lingering spirit of the disappeared. Inspired by the unrelenting immigrant spirit and one nation’s own brokenness, The Quiet Yellowing of Birds is a novel interspersed between Ava’s privileged past and her harrowing present, between the highlands of Guatemala, the refugee camps of Campeche, and the cacti-lined cul-de-sacs of Arizona. Written in both the past and present tense, this novel is a reflection of Guatemala’s fractured narrative, of the nonlinear immigrant experience.
ContributorsAlvarez, María Isabel (Author) / Rios, Alberto A. (Thesis advisor) / Bell, Matt D. (Committee member) / Ison, Tara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017