School of Music and Dance Capstones and Terminal Projects
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Item Open Access Enriching Euphonium Repertoire Through a Reenvisioned "Art of Phrasing"(University of Oregon, 2025-03)ABSTRACT This reenvisioning of Jean-Baptiste Arban’s Art of Phrasing presents a collection of melodies by historically underrepresented composers, transcribed for brass instruments. It highlights works by women, people of color, and non-Western classical composers, whose contributions are often overlooked in brass pedagogy. Featuring music by Kassia, Hildegard von Bingen, Joseph Bologne, Florence Price, and others, the collection explores the composers' lives, the historical context of their music, and their pedagogical value. The importance of transcriptions in euphonium performance and pedagogy is examined, emphasizing their role in expanding repertoire, developing musicianship, and bridging historical gaps. Since the euphonium is a relatively recent instrument, much of its repertoire consists of transcriptions from other instruments and vocal works. This collection prioritizes vocal music, reinforcing the long-standing connection between brass playing and singing. A key objective is to increase representation in standard pedagogical materials. Selected works from historically underrepresented composers expand the scope of euphonium repertoire beyond the traditional European canon. The transcriptions maintain the integrity of the original compositions while adapting phrasing, articulation, and notation to suit brass musicians. Special attention is given to translating neumatic notation and interpreting vocal nuances for euphonium performance. Additionally, the pedagogical benefits of singing and song in brass playing are explored, drawing on the philosophies of Arnold Jacobs and other influential teachers. By integrating vocal techniques and transcriptions, euphonium players gain access to diverse, expressive, and historically rich material to develop their musicality.Item Open Access Performance guide on two Chinese contemporary piano solo works "The Willows are New" by Chou Wen-Chung and "Numa Ame" by Zhang Zhao”(University of Oregon, 2024-11) Shi, ChangQing;This lecture document examines two contemporary Chinese piano works: Chou Wen-chung’s The Willows Are New and Zhang Zhao’s Numa Ame. The Willows Are New draws inspiration from Guqin and Wang Wei’s farewell poem 'Yang Kuan", blending pentatonic scales and dynamic nuances to evoke traditional aesthetics. Numa Ame explores the cultural heritage of the Hani people, incorporating their folk music and traditions. Both works demonstrate a synthesis of cultural inspiration and innovative compositional techniques.Item Open Access Louise Thái Thị Lang’s Fêtes du Têt: a musical representation of Vietnamese culture(University of Oregon, 2024-08) Nguyễn, Tùng Anh;Louise Thái Thị Lang was the first Vietnamese composer-performer to achieve an international reputation with the premiere of her piece Fêtes du Têt in Salle Pleyel, Paris, 1953. Even though she performed extensively in the 1950s and 1960s, Louise Thái Thị Lang’s works are virtually unknown to international and Vietnamese audiences, scholars, and musicians. My research will focus on the composer’s most significant piece - Fêtes du Têt – in terms of analytical, ethnomusicological, and anthropological study to offer a better picture of the composer’s biography, to prove the importance of her works in the Vietnamese classical music scene, and to realize the composer’s effort as a cultural ambassador representing Vietnam through her music. I hypothesize that the absence of her works after the 1950s was a direct consequence of the Vietnam War from 1954 to 1975 and partly because of the misinterpretation from Western critics and audiences about Vietnamese culture. I envision my research will prompt further studies about Vietnamese classical music in general and this composer in particular. Consequently, pianists will start to include her works in their repertoire.Item Open Access Cody Kiesling Processfolio(University of Oregon, 2024) Kiesling, Cody;This master’s program has altered my perceptions and approaches of music education by showing me that to succeed as a music educator one must be able to adapt and change. With adaptation comes failing, being open to new aspects of teaching, knowing how to make music meaningful to students, and being aware of the past, current, and future status of music education. With this acquired knowledge, I can improve the music education experience of my students and provide an inclusive and expansive music making environment that fosters effective relationships. Through this program I have learned how to be an effective educator that cares about the student experience and seeks to enlighten students perception of the importance of music and its transferability to daily life. My goal as an educator is to empower my future students, provide them with experiences in music that they can transfer to their future lives, and immerse them in a music environment that fosters creativity and a! esthetic experiences.Item Open Access G Choi Processfolio(University of Oregon, 2024) Choi, G;This processfolio project is a culmination of my graduate studies at UO. A processfolio is a process-centered portfolio that “demonstrate synthesis of the multiple facets” (Silveira, Beauregard, & Bull, 2017, p. 18) of learning. It allows me to reflect on my growth and journey as a graduate student in music education. Additionally, it motivated me and will continue to motivate me to “take charge of my own learning” (Paulson, Paulson, & Meyer, 1991, p. 61). The following core question guided my thought process: How has this master's program enhanced or altered my perceptions and approaches toward music teaching and learning? Reflecting on this question led me to consider the three components of teaching and the relationships between them: student-educator, educator-materials, and materials-student. It allowed me to think about the how, what, and why of music teaching and learning. As I explore the three components and their relationships, I provide artifacts to support these relationships, followed by knowledge transfers from the classroom to my teachings.Item Open Access Jewish Culture and Religion in the Wake of the Holocaust as Reflected in Jorge Grundman Isla's Shoah for Solo Violin and Sacred Temple(University of Oregon, 2024) Jett, Ian McKenzie;The Shoah for Solo Violin and Sacred Temple by Spanish composer, Jorge Grundman Isla, is a six-movement work that commemorates the atrocities of the Holocaust. Composed in 2017, this piece is massive in scope and takes 90 minutes to perform. It is informed by historical events and is inspired by the Jewish people's celebration of the Arts and humanity, in the midst of their genocide. In this document, I will analyze Grundman’s work and discuss its commemorative elements. I will approach the Shoah in three areas: historical breakdown, thematic analysis through the inspiration from J.S. Bach’s “Chaconne” from his Partita no. 2 in D minor and Philip Glass Violin Concerto no. 1, and Grundman’s inspiration from Holocaust Museums. A deep dive into the background of this large-scale work enhances a better understanding of the work by performer and listener alike. Elements such as the Shoah songbook, wartime sound effects, and harmonic chaos cultivate the listening experience.Item Open Access When the Fiddle Wears a Tux: A Performance Practice Guide to the Michael Torke Violin Concerto, Sky (2019)(University of Oregon, 2024) Wilfong Joblin, Sarah E.;The Michael Torke Violin Concerto, Sky, was composed for violinist and fiddler Tessa Lark in 2019. Torke based each of the movements of Sky around different principles of bluegrass and Irish fiddling, which Lark interpreted through the lens of her fiddle experience. In this document I present a historical and societal framing for how and why a violin concerto steeped in fiddle styles could be successful today. I provide a melodic and structural analysis of the three movements to better understand which elements of fiddle traditions are being represented, and through the combination of interviews with notable fiddle scholars and performers, as well as my own experience as a fiddle player, I give practical recommendations to the classically trained violinist for how to incorporate fiddle idioms into this work.Item Open Access Incorporating Aural-Centered Teaching With Traditional Piano Pedagogy: An Adaptive Approach to the Faber Method(University of Oregon, 2024-06) Um, Dasol;The world of piano pedagogy is rich with diverse methodologies, each crafted by pedagogues with distinct teaching philosophies. These methods have been the subject of extensive study and debate among piano teachers, highlighting the importance of selecting an approach that aligns with one's instructional beliefs. Among the prominent methodologies are the Orff Schulwerk, Kodaly, Dalcroze, and Suzuki methods, which utilize auditory and kinesthetic techniques in group settings to foster musical learning in young children. In contrast, home studio piano pedagogy, exemplified by methods like Faber, places a strong emphasis on visual-centered learning. While Faber, like other traditional piano methods, provides comprehensive instruction and a diverse repertoire, there is potential for enhancing its effectiveness through strategic alignment with child development principles, particularly in the realm of auditory learning. This project aims to explore innovative! approaches to integrate aural-centered teaching methods into the Faber curriculum, enhancing the musical education of early school-age students.Item Open Access An Infographic Repertoire Guide For Voice Instructors and Developing Singers(University of Oregon, 2024-05) Calderón, Esteban José Zúñiga;The classical music industry is a complex and ever-changing landscape. Opera companies rise and fall, and musical programs open and close throughout the United States and the American continent. Hence, an efficient training process for future professionals is more crucial than ever to preserve and expand the art form of vocal performance in the classical Western tradition. At the heart of this training is the process of assigning, studying, and presenting vocal repertoire. This challenging endeavor requires years of knowledge, experience, and research, often producing mixed results. Repertoire guides and anthologies have attempted to ease this process, but many fall short of adequately preparing the reader for the nuances of a song. This document proposes an infographic repertoire guide designed to provide valuable insights to voice students and teachers about specific repertoire pieces by analyzing the needs of modern vocal instruction in classical music and examining the existing material. It offers an easy-to-understand evaluation of the technical demands of songs, enabling a more accurate judgment of their compatibility with a potential performer by comparing the different parameters of each selection of vocal literature. The guide utilizes a series of graphics, icons, and signs that can be interpreted at a glance, providing visual information about a song's challenges and qualities. Moreover, it has the potential to be expanded and adapted to various digital platforms, making it a versatile tool for the modern classical music industry.Item Open Access Teaching Technique and Artistry in Chinese Character Pieces for Mid- to Late-Intermediate Level Students(University of Oregon, 2024-05) Shi, Changqing;Training the young musician to become more independent and mature is the key point of music education. The instructor needs to help students to pave the road towards the next level during the intermediate-level study process. After finishing the learning process by playing various pieces of intermediate repertoire, students should already have the basic ability to read the score and learn the note pitches and rhythm patterns by themselves. Also, under the instructor’s guidance, the student should have the ability to illustrate the shaping of the phrase with appropriate dynamics to interpret the meaningful moments in the music. There is no doubt that music interpretation is always closely connected with harmonic analysis. Thus, students can understand the effect of tension and release in different harmonic progressions. From this point, basic theory knowledge and application of this to music interpretation requires more guidance from the instructor. Also, according to the book The Well -Tempered Keyboard Teacher, Chapter 8, students must master the skill of listening to the sound of their own playing and develop an awareness of the expressive features of music as a language of communication if they are to become independent. This procedure seeks to educate students on what it means to be musical beings.Item Open Access Pedagogical and Technical Suggestions for J. S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, BWV 1001-1006, for First-year College Students in a Four-year Course of Study(University of Oregon, 2018-08) Shin, Ji Yeon;The purpose of this lecture document is to present a four-year course of study, using the Sonatas and Partitas, BWV 1001-1006 by Johann Sebastian Bach, for an entering first-year college student. Even though the Sonatas and Partitas by Bach have been included in college auditions as repertoire to present the student’s musicality and technique as a solo violinist without any accompaniment, many students have little experience with this literature. In the proposed course of study, three case studies (the Allemanda in D Minor, the Gavotte en Rondeau in E Major, and the Fuga in G Minor) of the Sonatas and Partitas are presented in two different approaches – the historically informed performance practice (HPP) and the mainstream performance practice (MSP). The list of references for the first-year student in each approach is included.Item Open Access ENRIQUE SORO AND CARMELA MACKENNA: PROMINENT COMPOSERS OUTSIDE THE CHILEAN CANON(University of Oregon, 2023) Osses, Camila;Enrique Soro and Carmela Mackenna were prolific Chilean composers in the first half of the twentieth century. They developed different music careers: Soro in Chile, and Mackenna in Germany. For political reasons, Soro's work was relegated as a composer "from the past" even though he was an active performer and composer until his death, while Mackenna's music was ignored due to gender biases and the fact that she developed her career outside Chile. In the present work, I will analyze Soro's Piano Sonata No. 2, a work that has not been published and that offers insights into his personality and compositional style. I will also comment on and analyze Carmela Mackenna's life and work, particularly her songs for voice and piano, which have not received the attention they deserve. By addressing the Chilean canon, an aesthetic that originated in 1929 after the reformation of the National Music Conservatory in Chile, I will deconstruct the labels that both composers received during their lifetime and after their death.Item Open Access University of Oregon Processfolio(University of Oregon, 2023) Galarneau, David F.;To fulfill the requirements of the University of Oregon Master of Music Education degree, I present a Processfolio as my capstone project. This website reflects my growth as a music educator over the course of this program. Not only do I exhibit several of my greatest academic accomplishments, but they are woven within a narrative that answers the core question, highlighting the three main themes to affect my perspective of music education. These artifacts, while not always polished, can be used to measure my professional development throughout my time at the University of Oregon.Item Open Access Ravel’s Water Music for Solo Piano: Jeux d’eau, Une barque sur l’ocean, and Ondine(University of Oregon, 2023-03) Liu, Ting-Yu;The purpose of this study is to explore Ravel’s stylistic approach and inimitable textural characteristics in his three water pieces: Jeux d’eau, Une barque sur l’ocean, and Ondine. Through this study I aim to show the development of Ravel’s compositional style in his piano works related to water, especially the relationship between musical components and extra-musical ideas. Therefore, I will discuss and analyze these three pieces from multiple perspectives: timbre, harmony, and rhythm. As part of the analysis, I will also be looking at a myriad of textural levels and how these characteristics and the overall sonorities relate to portraying water.Item Open Access Storytelling: The Human Experience Through Data-Driven Instruments(University of Oregon, 2023-03) Lee, Mei-ling;This Digital Portfolio Dissertation is a collection of seven original real-time, interactive, multichannel compositions featuring data-driven instruments. This dissertation includes video recordings of seven individual performances, associated files needed for the performance of each work, and a descriptive text document for each of the seven compositions. The text document in this digital portfolio dissertation describes the storytelling components and the musical ideas and compositional structure of each composition, the design and implementation of each data-driven instrument, the sonic materials and data mapping strategies, as well as other extra-musical elements associated with each composition.Item Open Access I used to...(University of Oregon, 2023-08) Spivey, Meg;Composed in three sections, “I used to...” explores the tension between my past and present self. It is a reflection on growth, stagnation, and how we can perceive ourselves through past identities and grieve for them. Composed in three sections, the piece slowly transitions from the abstract to the concrete, with more voice added to the sonic field in each section. The phrase of “I used to…” is repeated throughout and grows more insistent towards the end of the piece. Sound material used for “I used to…” includes original recordings of cello and voice. It was composed in four channels using the Kyma sound design environment.Item Open Access Representations of Visual and Emotional Perception in Two Solo Oboe Works by Alyssa Morris(University of Oregon, 2023-06) Keller, Rebecca; Peña, MelissaAlyssa Morris is an award winning oboist and composer with two recent solo oboe works that highlight contrasting musical representations of different forms of perception. In the first piece, Collision Etudes, two movements utilize a musical translation of synesthetic perception based on the color wheel of Alexander Scriabin according to the color palettes by artists Joan Mitchell and Alma Thomas. For the second piece, Ruminations, Morris notated musical representations of her own perceptions of the strenuous emotions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This work examines these two pieces closely, highlighting the uses of sensory and emotional perception through compositional similarities and differences in performing each work.Item Open Access A PERFORMER’S COMPANION TO JOHANNES BRAHMS’S PIANO CONCERTO IN D MINOR, OP. 15(University of Oregon, 2023-05) TAY, JOAN LYNETTE SZE ERN;When compared to other piano concertos from the Romantic era, Brahms’s First Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 15 is underrepresented on the performance stage perhaps because it is more difficult to interpret and avoids overt displays of virtuosity. This document aims to provide readers with a performance guide for Brahms’s Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 15, with solutions for technically challenging passages based on personal experience and references to Brahms’s 51 Exercises, W! oO 6. This document consists of five chapters. Following an introduction to the document, Chapter One provides a brief overview of Brahms as a pianist and teacher, and the pianos that he encountered in his lifetime. Chapter Two offers a curated selection of the 51 Exercises and the application of these selections to the First Piano Concerto. An analysis of the concerto is provided in Chapter Three, followed by the performance guide in Chapter Four. Chapter Five offers readers some concluding remarks on the document.Item Open Access Sounds of Unseen Boundaries: A Digital Portfolio Dissertation of Seven Original Compositions for Data-driven Instruments(University of Oregon, 2023-03) Boyt, Zachary James;Sounds of Unseen Boundaries: A Digital Portfolio Dissertation of Seven Original Compositions for Data-driven Instruments is presented as a Digital Portfolio Dissertation of seven compositions for data-driven instruments. The entirety of the Digital Portfolio Dissertation consists of video documentation of each piece, software and score material used in performance, and a text document serving as an accompanying analytical guide to each composition and its respective data-driven instrument. This document contains definitions related to the conceptual frameworks of data-driven instruments, an analysis of the design and implementation of each instrument, data mapping strategies used, compositional structures, and issues and practices in their performance. The compositions included in this Digital Portfolio Dissertation are: unFamiliar, Within the Tallest Tree, Things Look Different Here, A Need to Be Free, A Musical Interpretation on the Findings of Voyager 2, family, friends, and Virtualability.Item Open Access Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives: A Performance Guide(University of Oregon, 2023-02) Sulaiman, Michelle Josephine;While there are performance editions of Sergey Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives, Op. 22, there are few academic writings and performance guides based on comparing recordings by Prokofiev and other pianists. This document aims to provide readers with a performance guide for Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives, Op. 22, based on analyses of Visions recordings by Prokofiev and other prominent pianists, namely Boris Berman, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels. This document consists of five chapters. Following an introduction to the document in Chapter One, Chapter Two provides a historical background of Prokofiev and the Visions Fugitives. An analysis of Prokofiev performing the work and the performances of Berman, Richter, and Gilels are presented in Chapters Three and Four, respectively. Chapter Five offers readers a performance guide to the Visions Fugitives.