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- Creators: Rogers, Rodney
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
The purpose of this project was to provide a pedagogical resource for students and teachers that highlights selected transcriptions of former Los Angeles Philharmonic principal trombonist Ralph Sauer (b. 1944), and how those works can be used in an applied instruction setting. The compositions include Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, Debussy’s Syrinx, Pergolesi’s Sinfonia in F, Sonata in B-flat by Mozart, and Saint-Saëns The Nightingale.
The sections dealing with pedagogical concepts are presented as conversationally as possible to facilitate ease of understanding by teachers of any background and level. Educators who are not trombonists or are otherwise not wholly familiar with the presented repertoire can still able to borrow phrasing directly from the document. The musical examples enable teachers to quickly identify sections of the work that may prove useful to students. At the time of this writing, there are no commercially available recordings of the chosen pieces as they appear from the publisher. Therefore, the recording is intended to render the music exactly as it is printed in the published version, and to be as free of personal musical interpretation as possible. The works were chosen to cover a range of ability levels, from early college through the graduate level. All the included pieces are published, as of July 2019, and available for purchase online from Cherry Classics Music.
The sections dealing with pedagogical concepts are presented as conversationally as possible to facilitate ease of understanding by teachers of any background and level. Educators who are not trombonists or are otherwise not wholly familiar with the presented repertoire can still able to borrow phrasing directly from the document. The musical examples enable teachers to quickly identify sections of the work that may prove useful to students. At the time of this writing, there are no commercially available recordings of the chosen pieces as they appear from the publisher. Therefore, the recording is intended to render the music exactly as it is printed in the published version, and to be as free of personal musical interpretation as possible. The works were chosen to cover a range of ability levels, from early college through the graduate level. All the included pieces are published, as of July 2019, and available for purchase online from Cherry Classics Music.
ContributorsBledsoe, Joshua L (Author) / Humphreys, Jere T (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Ericson, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In preparation for an orchestral audition, one of the first considerations a trombonist will have in the study of an excerpt is the question of tempo. The selection of an appropriate tempo for a musical work is key to a successful performance of that work and can make the difference between winning an audition and losing it.
This project identifies the tempo of the top sixteen tenor trombone excerpts one is likely to perform in an audition by analyzing the tempo in recordings of professional orchestras. The data generated in the measurements of those recordings is analyzed in an effort to determine an appropriate tempo around which a trombonist preparing these excerpts might center their work. The goal of this project is to provide a resource for trombonists and trombone teachers as an aid in their determination of the ideal tempo of these excerpts.
This project identifies the tempo of the top sixteen tenor trombone excerpts one is likely to perform in an audition by analyzing the tempo in recordings of professional orchestras. The data generated in the measurements of those recordings is analyzed in an effort to determine an appropriate tempo around which a trombonist preparing these excerpts might center their work. The goal of this project is to provide a resource for trombonists and trombone teachers as an aid in their determination of the ideal tempo of these excerpts.
ContributorsO'Neal, Andrew Stephen (Author) / Edwards, Bradley (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
In 1975 the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) invited John Cage to write a composition for the bicentennial birthday of the United States. The result was Lecture on the Weather, a multi-media work for twelve expatriate vocalists and/or players with independent sound systems, magnetic tape, and film. Cage used texts by Henry David Thoreau, recordings of environmental sounds made by American composer Maryanne Amacher and a nature-inspired film by Chilean visual artist Luis Frangella. The composition opens with a spoken Preface and is arguably one of Cage’s most overtly political pieces. A year later the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and six major United States orchestras commissioned Cage to compose another work commemorating the United States bicentennial of the American Revolution. In response, he created Renga with Apartment House 1776, which follows his concept of a “music circus,” or simply, a musical composition with a multiplicity of events occurring simultaneously. Scored for voices, instrumental soloists and quartets, Renga with Apartment House is a multi-faceted work marked by layers of American hymns and folk tunes.
Cage’s United States Bicentennial compositions – and his other pieces created in the 1970s and 1980s – have received little attention from music scholars. Unique and provocative works within his oeuvre, these compositions raise many questions. Why was Cage commissioned to write these works? How did Cage pay tribute to this celebratory event in American history? What socio–political meanings are implied in these pieces? In this thesis I will provide political, cultural, and biographical contexts of these works. I will further examine their genesis, analyze their scores and selected performances, reflect on their meaning and critical implications and consider the reception of these works. My research draws on unpublished documents housed in the CBC’s archives at McGill University, the archives of C. F. Peters, the New York Public Library and it builds on research of such scholars as David W. Bernstein, William Brooks, Benjamin Piekut, and Christopher Shultis. This thesis offers new information and perspectives on Cage’s creative work in the 1970s and aims at filling a significant gap in Cage scholarship.
Cage’s United States Bicentennial compositions – and his other pieces created in the 1970s and 1980s – have received little attention from music scholars. Unique and provocative works within his oeuvre, these compositions raise many questions. Why was Cage commissioned to write these works? How did Cage pay tribute to this celebratory event in American history? What socio–political meanings are implied in these pieces? In this thesis I will provide political, cultural, and biographical contexts of these works. I will further examine their genesis, analyze their scores and selected performances, reflect on their meaning and critical implications and consider the reception of these works. My research draws on unpublished documents housed in the CBC’s archives at McGill University, the archives of C. F. Peters, the New York Public Library and it builds on research of such scholars as David W. Bernstein, William Brooks, Benjamin Piekut, and Christopher Shultis. This thesis offers new information and perspectives on Cage’s creative work in the 1970s and aims at filling a significant gap in Cage scholarship.
ContributorsFinkel, Joseph Christopher (Author) / Feisst, Sabine M (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This document offers composers a contextual reference and pragmatic overview
of the modern marimba. This guide is not designed as an orchestration text, suggesting ways to write for the instrument, rather, it illustrates through examination of well-known solo and chamber works how selected composers have effectively written for the instrument.
A guide for basic notation and examples of successful notation are included, as well as the basics of performer techniques. Samples of problematic, sometimes impossible passages are included to show the instruments and its performers' current limitations. The construction of the marimba and how it is tuned, a guide to mallets, and all of the current established extended techniques is also included. The majority of the information comes from the citation of established research on the marimba, composers and performers, and the author’s own experiences.
The intention of this document is two fold: to give composers who are unfamiliar with marimba a resource to begin composing for the instrument effectively, and for those composers who are familiar with the marimba it is designed to spark their creativity in an efficient and effective manner. The ultimate goal of this document is to create compositional momentum for marimba solo and chamber works and grow the repertoire, which is still in its infancy.
of the modern marimba. This guide is not designed as an orchestration text, suggesting ways to write for the instrument, rather, it illustrates through examination of well-known solo and chamber works how selected composers have effectively written for the instrument.
A guide for basic notation and examples of successful notation are included, as well as the basics of performer techniques. Samples of problematic, sometimes impossible passages are included to show the instruments and its performers' current limitations. The construction of the marimba and how it is tuned, a guide to mallets, and all of the current established extended techniques is also included. The majority of the information comes from the citation of established research on the marimba, composers and performers, and the author’s own experiences.
The intention of this document is two fold: to give composers who are unfamiliar with marimba a resource to begin composing for the instrument effectively, and for those composers who are familiar with the marimba it is designed to spark their creativity in an efficient and effective manner. The ultimate goal of this document is to create compositional momentum for marimba solo and chamber works and grow the repertoire, which is still in its infancy.
ContributorsMillea, Joseph Henry (Author) / Smith, Jeffrey B. (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Nineteenth-century French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll and organist-composer César Franck established a foundation for the revival of organ music in France. Following the French Revolution, organ culture had degenerated because of the instrument's association with the church. Beginning with his instrument at St. Dénis, Cavaillé-Coll created a new symphonic organ that made it possible for composers to write organ music in the new Romantic aesthetic. In 1859, Franck received a new Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Parisian church where he served as organist, Sainte-Clotilde. He began experimenting with the innovations of this instrument: an expressive division, mechanical assists, new types of tone color, and an expanded pedal division. From about 1860, Franck began composing his first pieces for the Cavaillé-Coll organ; these were published in 1868 as the Six Pièces. With these compositions, Franck led the way in adapting the resources of the French symphonic organ to Romantic music. In this paper, I provide an analysis of the structure of each of the Six Pièces as a foundation for exploring ways in which Franck exploited the new features of his Cavaillé-Coll organ. I have made sound recordings to demonstrate specific examples of how the music fits the organ. Thanks to Cavaillé-Coll's innovations in organ building, Franck was able to write large-scale, multi-thematic works with the sonorous resources necessary to render them convincingly. The Six Pièces reveal a strong creative exchange between organist and organ builder, and they portend many of the subsequent developments of the French symphonic organ school.
ContributorsSung, Anna (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This document is a compendium of the materials that are housed within the special collections donated by Thomas Everett. In August 2016, the Arizona State University School of Music, through the efforts of retired Professor of Trombone Douglas Yeo, received a donation of materials from Thomas Everett, founder of the International Trombone Association and retired director of bands at Harvard University.
This donation contains published and unpublished music, numerous letters, and various drafts of his book, An Annotated Guide to Bass Trombone Literature. Over the course of two-and-a-half years, the donation was catalogued for the university by the author. Materials from the donation were sent into public circulation or sent into special collections within the ASU School of Music Library.
This donation contains published and unpublished music, numerous letters, and various drafts of his book, An Annotated Guide to Bass Trombone Literature. Over the course of two-and-a-half years, the donation was catalogued for the university by the author. Materials from the donation were sent into public circulation or sent into special collections within the ASU School of Music Library.
ContributorsLynch, Paul (Author) / Edwards, Brad (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This document examines select percussion works of Toshi Ichiyanagi (b. 1933), in order to create a resource that brings exposure and sparks interest in his percussion music. Ichiyanagi has long been one of Japan’s leading composers. However, despite having a successful career since the 1960s, he is not well-known in the United States. Furthermore, his close associations with celebrated American avant-garde composers and performers like John Cage, David Tudor, and La Monte Young, make Ichiyanagi’s virtual obscurity in the United States even more striking. Particularly, for a field birthed in the avant-garde, it is surprising that many of his percussion compositions avoid mainstream recognition.
For the study, the author prepared and performed a recital of the five works that are discussed: Wind Trace (1984), Trio Interlink (1990), Rhythm Gradation (1993), Perspectives II (1996), and Ballade (2002). The document is a performance guide that also provides background information on each piece. The guide discusses technical and interpretative issues uncovered through firsthand preparation and performance, and provides suggestions to solve them. At the conclusion, the author draws connections between these pieces, to highlight similarities that will be helpful to consider when preparing performances of any of his works involving percussion. Finally, an exhaustive catalog of known Ichiyanagi percussion works is provided as a resource for further performance and research.
Ichiyanagi has been writing for percussion since the 1970s. His catalog includes solos, chamber pieces, ensemble pieces, mixed-chamber pieces, and concerti. With recent compositions like Marimba Scenery (2011), Concerto for marimba and orchestra (2012), and the duo Two Dimensions (2012), Ichiyanagi continues to write for percussion. Virtuosi such as Sumire Yoshihara, Atsushi Sugahara, Momoko Kamiya, and Mutsuko Taneya have commissioned and premiered works by the composer. These pieces are on par with the challenging repertoire that has dominated percussion literature since the mid-twentieth century. Nonetheless, the author has found no existing document that is fully devoted to Ichiyanagi’s percussion work.
For the study, the author prepared and performed a recital of the five works that are discussed: Wind Trace (1984), Trio Interlink (1990), Rhythm Gradation (1993), Perspectives II (1996), and Ballade (2002). The document is a performance guide that also provides background information on each piece. The guide discusses technical and interpretative issues uncovered through firsthand preparation and performance, and provides suggestions to solve them. At the conclusion, the author draws connections between these pieces, to highlight similarities that will be helpful to consider when preparing performances of any of his works involving percussion. Finally, an exhaustive catalog of known Ichiyanagi percussion works is provided as a resource for further performance and research.
Ichiyanagi has been writing for percussion since the 1970s. His catalog includes solos, chamber pieces, ensemble pieces, mixed-chamber pieces, and concerti. With recent compositions like Marimba Scenery (2011), Concerto for marimba and orchestra (2012), and the duo Two Dimensions (2012), Ichiyanagi continues to write for percussion. Virtuosi such as Sumire Yoshihara, Atsushi Sugahara, Momoko Kamiya, and Mutsuko Taneya have commissioned and premiered works by the composer. These pieces are on par with the challenging repertoire that has dominated percussion literature since the mid-twentieth century. Nonetheless, the author has found no existing document that is fully devoted to Ichiyanagi’s percussion work.
ContributorsFragiskatos, Alexandros D. (Author) / Smith, J. B. (Thesis advisor) / Mancuso, Simone (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017