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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
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This research paper examines the close relationships between the visual arts and music and the implications of curatorial practice upon the work of conductors. While some conductors consider suitability the prime (or only) factor in determining which music to perform, curators use many more criteria. Five elements of exhibition design

This research paper examines the close relationships between the visual arts and music and the implications of curatorial practice upon the work of conductors. While some conductors consider suitability the prime (or only) factor in determining which music to perform, curators use many more criteria. Five elements of exhibition design are particularly germane to musicians including setting, subject matter, visual weight, compositional direction, and narrative. Each of these five elements is discussed in terms of its impact on concert design with a goal of providing additional criteria to the conductor when planning concerts. Three concert experiences, designed with these principles in mind, are presented as examples. Upon consideration of the elements of exhibition design separately and corporately, one arrives at a new appreciation of the concert as a unified experience--capable of being much more than the sum of its parts. The aim of effective concert design is to eliminate unintentional communication--to present music in the most complimentary manner possible. To this end, this study has implications for conductors at all levels.
ContributorsHoughtalen, Brandon (Author) / Hill, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Bailey, Wayne A (Committee member) / Ericson, John Q (Committee member) / Feisst, Sabine M (Committee member) / Russell, Timothy W (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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ABSTRACT

The early music revival in Paris, which came into full swing in the 1890s, had a defining impact on the composer Claude Debussy. Among the leaders of this movement were the Chanteurs de Saint Gervais under the direction of Charles Bordes and the Schola Cantorum, a school Bordes founded for

ABSTRACT

The early music revival in Paris, which came into full swing in the 1890s, had a defining impact on the composer Claude Debussy. Among the leaders of this movement were the Chanteurs de Saint Gervais under the direction of Charles Bordes and the Schola Cantorum, a school Bordes founded for the study and performance of early music in Paris. Debussy wrote admiringly of the performances of the Chanteurs and opera productions he saw at the Schola. He also spoke of the revelatory nature of performances of Renaissance masses that he heard in Italy after he won the Prix de Rome. Finally, he most likely visited Solesmes, important in the revival of plainchant. Hitherto unknown documents raise questions about the date of that visit, which most likely took place in 1892 or 1893.

A powerful manifestation of the influence of early music on Debussy’s compositional style is a melodic gesture that he referred to as “arabesque.” Debussy made many comments about the “divine arabesque,” which he related to the “primitives,” Palestrina, Victoria, and di Lasso. Further, Debussy connected those composers’ use of the arabesque to plainchant: “They found the basis of [the arabesque] in Gregorian chant, whose delicate tracery they supported with twining counterpoints.”

Debussy’s writings on early music provide a deeper context for understanding how plainchant, as well as music from the Renaissance, contributed to his compositional style, specifically in his use of modes and his notion of the arabesque. These influences are especially apparent in his only a cappella choral work, Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.

Until now, analysis of the Trois chansons has not sufficiently considered the importance of either plainchant or the arabesque and their influence on the style and character of this work. Viewing Debussy’s musical aesthetic through the lens of plainchant and the arabesque brings his music to life in a new and exciting way, resulting in a richer understanding and more informed performance practice, especially in the Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans.
ContributorsRynex, Carolyn Rose (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis advisor) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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ABSTRACT



This Master's Thesis gives positive testament to the idea that high school students are able to develop creative choice making skills. During a yearlong study of a beginning foundational visual arts class, a pretest and a posttest self-portrait performance assessment was given to 34 students and scored

ABSTRACT



This Master's Thesis gives positive testament to the idea that high school students are able to develop creative choice making skills. During a yearlong study of a beginning foundational visual arts class, a pretest and a posttest self-portrait performance assessment was given to 34 students and scored by three visual art teachers from the same school. The performance results were then analyzed to ascertain evidence of the evolution of an idea and the logistic validity of assessing growth of a student's creative choice making process. Construction of an appropriate rubric to measure student growth was imperative in the process of training visual art teachers for scoring. Findings show overwhelming evidence that students’ creative choice making abilities were developed in the three weeks of instruction between pretest and posttest. Findings also suggest that with appropriate training, groups of visual art teachers can be trained to score student art performance assessments accurately and validly within the context of state required testing.
ContributorsHeineman, Richard Lee (Author) / Young, Benard (Thesis advisor) / Erickson, Mary (Committee member) / Stokrocki, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015