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The Space Race (1957–1975), a period of rapid technological advancements prompted by the uncertainty and fear of the Cold War, captured the curiosity and attention of many artists, filmmakers and composers. Their responses, recorded in a multitude of works from various genres, reflect the overall tone and mirror societal views

The Space Race (1957–1975), a period of rapid technological advancements prompted by the uncertainty and fear of the Cold War, captured the curiosity and attention of many artists, filmmakers and composers. Their responses, recorded in a multitude of works from various genres, reflect the overall tone and mirror societal views in the midst of uncertain, politically-charged times.

My thesis explores two seminal American artists who explored outer space in numerous works. John Cage (1912–1992), an avant-garde classical composer, wrote such works as Atlas Eclipticalis (1961), Etudes Australes (1974–75), and the Freeman Etudes (1977–1980), all composed using star-maps. Sun Ra (1914–1993), an American Afrofuturist jazz composer, created hundreds of iconic experimental jazz works on the theme of outer space, with albums such as We Travel the Space Ways (1967), Space Is the Place (1973), and Cosmos (1976).

The works of these two composers span across several decades, encompassing the Space Race and Cold War. In this thesis, I will specifically discuss the details of two works: Cage’s Atlas Eclipticalis, and Ra’s composition Space Is the Place (later included in the soundtrack of a film by the same name). Discussion will elaborate on the cultural, political, philosophical, and societal influences that played a part in the creation of these two compositions.

My research materials for this thesis includes a collection of primary sources in the form of recordings, early musical sketches, and in the case of Ra, film footage from Space Is the Place (1974), as well as multitude of secondary sources. By choosing works from two different genres I hope to present a wider, more nuanced snapshot of artist responses to space exploration during the Cold War.
ContributorsIvis, Andrea (Author) / Feisst, Sabine (Thesis advisor) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
Historically, music and the experiences of deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals have been intertwined in one manner or another. However, music has never ignited as much hope for the “improvement” of the Deaf experience as during the American oralist movement (ca. 1880-1960) which prioritized lip-reading and speaking over the use

Historically, music and the experiences of deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals have been intertwined in one manner or another. However, music has never ignited as much hope for the “improvement” of the Deaf experience as during the American oralist movement (ca. 1880-1960) which prioritized lip-reading and speaking over the use of sign language. While it is acknowledged that the oralist movement failed to provide the best possible education to many American DHH students and devastated many within the Deaf community, music scholars have continued to cite publications by oralist educators as rationales for the continued development of music programs for DHH students.

This document is an attempt to reframe the role of music during the American oralist movement with a historical account of ways music was recruited as a tool for teaching vocal articulation at schools for the deaf from 1900 to 1960. During this time period, music was recruited simply as a utility to overcome disability and as an aid for assimilating into the hearing world rather than as the rich experiential phenomenon it could have been for the DHH community. My goal is to add this important caveat to the received history of early institutional music education for DHH students. Primary sources include articles published between 1900 and 1956 in The Volta Review, a journal founded by the oralist leader Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922).
ContributorsLloyd, Abby Lynn (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
A resurgence of the American art song is underway. New art song composers such as Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Georgia Stitt are writing engaging and challenging songs that are contributing to this resurgence of art song among college students. College and University musical theatre programs are training performers

A resurgence of the American art song is underway. New art song composers such as Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Georgia Stitt are writing engaging and challenging songs that are contributing to this resurgence of art song among college students. College and University musical theatre programs are training performers to be versatile and successful crossover artists. Cross-training in voice is training a performer to be capable of singing many different genres of music effectively and efficiently, which in turn creates a hybrid performer. Cross-training and hybridity can also be applied to musical styles. Hybrid songs that combine musical theatre elements and classical art song elements can be used as an educational tool and create awareness in musical theatre students about the American art song genre and its origins while fostering the need to learn about various styles of vocal repertoire.

American composers Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem influenced hybridity of classical and musical theatre genres by using their compositional knowledge of musicals and their classical studies to help create a new type of art song. In the past, academic institutions have been more accepting of composers whose careers began in classical music crossing between genres, rather than coming from a more popularized genre such as musical theatre into the classical world. Continued support in college vocal programs will only help the new hybrid form of American art song to thrive.

Trained as a classical pianist and having studied poetry and text setting, Georgia Stitt understands the song structure and poetry skills necessary to write a contemporary American art song. This document will examine several of Carol Kimball’s “Component of Style” elements, explore other American composers who have created a hybrid art song form and discuss the implementation of curriculum to create versatile singers. The study will focus on three of Georgia Stitt’s art songs that fit this hybrid style and conclude with a discussion about the future of hybridity in American art song.
ContributorsKlofach, Carrie Ann (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018