Music and Dance Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
FOUR ORIGINAL FILM SCORES
(University of Oregon, 2025-02-24) Wang, Ziwei; Kyr, Robert
Film and sound have always been an inseparable topic. Since sound became widely used in films of the 20th century, music has become an important part of storytelling in the movies. This dissertation explores how film music may powerfully narrate the plot of a story, setting off the characters' emotions, and evoking the atmosphere of each scene in different kinds of films. I chose four different cinematic genres and wrote music for them: the comedy film Twisted, the drama film Plastic Fish, the science fiction film Irradiation, and the fantasy film Tale of the Deaf. Twisted (Australia, 2014) is a comedy film that takes place in a modern disco dance hall. I used instruments, melodies, and rhythms to express the characteristics of disco music. In this film, many individual sequences with unique scene designs occur in a very short time. A crucial aspect of this film is the way in which music is created for short episodes that are continually transforming within the plot. Plastic Fish (China, 2016) is a dramatic film that tells the story of a couple. In composing music for this film, I explored how it illuminates many aspects of the visual content: the psychology of the characters’ relationships; lighting design; and scene settings. Irradiation (Serbia, 2021) is a science fiction CGI animation film that features dramatic transitions and a very oppressive, dark atmosphere. In this film, I focused on how electronic music and electroacoustic music can be combined within sci-fi films. Tale of the Deaf (Russia, 2021) is a gothic horror film in which the characteristics of the time period are blurred between the two different visual contexts. In this film, I explored how various musical styles and genres can be layered and unified within the same movie.
Open Access
The Dunwich Horror
(University of Oregon, 2025-02-24) Lee, Jacob; Kyr, Robert
‘The Dunwich Horror’ is a chamber opera in three scenes composed by Jacob Lee with a libretto by the composer, based on the 1928 novella by H.P. Lovecraft. It concerns the ostracized Whateley family, each of whom engage with interdimensional monstrosities to exact vengeance on the town of Dunwich. The outcome proves increasingly disastrous for the Dunwich townsfolk as one of the Whateleys is not what they seem. The opera is scored for six vocal soloists (soprano, two mezzo-sopranos, alto, tenor, and baritone) and chamber orchestra. The duration of the work is approximately one hour.
Open Access
RITUALS for Solo Electric Bass & Wind Ensemble
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-19) Daley, James; Kyr, Robery
The purpose of this work is to synthesize various elements of mysticism, philosophy, and nature to reflect the inner struggle and difficulties that are inseparable from human existence. This is intended to show that the significance of our existence is highly ephemeral and microscopic within the immense scale of the universe. A work of this nature is important for many reasons but one central to my thesis is to contribute a meaningful work to the modern solo repertoire for bassists.Some of the techniques employed in “RITUALS” allow for a significantly more virtuosic level of expression, which effectively expands the capabilities of the bass as one might find in more pianistic styles of expression and phrasing. The four movements of this work combine several pre-existing musical styles and idioms in order to create a polystylistic fusion composition. Conceptually, this is a musical representation of mysticism in finding the common thread between all things we experience in life and nature. By incorporating these various styles and influences, it is my intent to ultimately challenge the soloist with a musical setting that requires a diverse skill set. The use of slowly building layers of atmospheric musical textures that feature the use of swelling dynamics to emulate a breath-like aural effect are meant to represent the human spirit. Some of the musical textures include extended techniques such as (but not limited to) air noises, multi-phonics, singing while playing, key clicks, vocal noises, etc.
Open Access
GROTESQUE AS AN ALTERNATIVE AESTHETIC MODE IN MADRILENIAN CHAMBER MUSIC DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
(University of Oregon, 2024-12-19) Trujillo Sanz, Laura; Vanscheeuwijck, Marc
Although the term, “grotesque,” did not appear until the late fifteenth century, this aesthetic category has been recognized in the visual arts since classical Antiquity, in literature by the first part of the sixteenth century, and is currently found in every artistic discipline. In music, scholars identify the grotesque beginning in the nineteenth century. Studies concerning the grotesque prior to this period are scarce. My dissertation challenges current musicological narratives by identifying the existence of the musical grotesque and noting its relationship to eighteenth-century literary and visual trends in compositions produced for the Spanish royal court in Madrid during the reigns of Charles III and IV (1759 to 1808). I focus on composers Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) and Gaetano Brunetti (1744-1798), whose compositional techniques depart from neoclassic aesthetic conventions and display musical elements that parallel the grotesque in other artistic fields.The creative force of the grotesque, its subversive character and ability to rupture conventions of beauty and classicism, was utilized by authors, painters, and performers in Spanish literature, iconography, and theater during the second half of the eighteenth century. By identifying its appearance in contemporaneous musical compositions and demonstrating the relationships among these compositions and the grotesque in other art forms, I challenge current music historiographies that situate the emergence of the grotesque in the later nineteenth century. Instead, I argue that musical expressions of the grotesque during this period– like their artistic counterparts – must also be situated within the complex intellectual, political, and cultural climate of the Spanish Enlightenment.
Open Access
Vocal Timbre and Sexual Trauma in Women's Popular Song
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Milius, Emily; Nobile, Drew
The voice holds immense power. The voice can evoke fear or exhibit submission; it can arouse or turn off; it can signal sarcasm or sincerity. More broadly, the voice can tell someone how you are feeling in a particular moment or even who you are. Due to the fact that trauma causes specific emotional reactions, survivors’ emotions are marked by their trauma and so, therefore, are their voices. In this dissertation, I first show how two specific reactions to trauma—the “freeze” and “fight” responses—have been and can be conveyed through specific vocal timbres. In my discussion of the “freeze” response, I demonstrate how breathiness and reverb, respectively (but also together) can be used to effectively convey dissociation, or feeling disconnected from one’s self and/or surroundings. In doing so, I analyze “5AM” by The Anchoress and “Sullen Girl” by Fiona Apple. Next, I examine how noisy timbres, like growl, rasp, and screams, are particularly powerful ways to portray rage and hyperarousal, consequences of the “fight” response, through analyses of “Swine” by Lady Gaga and “Liar” by Bikini Kill. I end with more in-depth, full-song analyses of “Gatekeeper” by Jessie Reyez and “Praying” by Kesha. Each of these songs use a variety of vocal timbres to convey a more nuanced narrative navigating through a night of assault and the recovery process, respectively. Through this project, I show how sexual assault—which is rampant in the music industry (Johnson 2021; Bain 2021; Savage 2019)—exists not only behind closed doors but also in the public musical output of the industry. In doing so, my project shows how vocal sound conveys personal trauma in ways that are therapeutic for both performers and listeners. More specifically, I draw attention to the ways that sexual violence affects the music that we write, perform, and listen to.
Open Access
War of the Scorpion
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Daniels, Brylee; Kyr, Robert
The Liberian Civil Wars, spanning from 1989 to 2003, represent some of the mostdevastating conflicts in recent African history, dismantling the socio-political fabric of Liberia and leaving a profound impact on the nation's collective psyche. This composition, "War of the Scorpion," written to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the second war, employs various experimental techniques to capture the wars' essence. The piece is structured in three movements, each symbolizing different aspects of the conflict. The first movement, "Foundations," juxtaposes elements of Liberia's cultural heritage with the uneasy peace of its founding by freed American slaves, using a bassoon soloist playing only on their bocal to evoke a sense of underlying tension. The second movement, "The First War," depicts Taylor's Christmas Eve attack on Monrovia, integrating "O Holy Night," the sound of a death whistle, and the breaking of stained glass to symbolize the St. Peter's Lutheran Church massacre. The final movement encapsulates the despair of the second war, with ensemble members repeatedly vocalizing Taylor's campaign slogan, "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will still vote for him," building from a whisper to a shout to reflect the psychological turmoil of the Liberian people. This piece aims to both memorialize the victims and educate audiences on the complex history of the Liberian Civil Wars, urging performers and listeners alike to approach the subject with respect and sensitivity, while recognizing the resilience and hope of the Liberian people.
Open Access
Singing Lyrics to Life: Melody and Lyrical Meaning in Recent Indie Music
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Fulton, Hannah; Rodgers, Stephen
In popular song genres (and across song genres), melody plays a vital role in delivery of sung lyrics; it contributes an essential aspect of lyrics’ affect and meaning. Scholars in the field of popular music have historically preferred to focus on other aspects of lyrics’ relationship to its musical setting, such as rhythm, phonetics, and syntax, paying less attention to lyrics’ relationship to one of its primary components: melody. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between melodic contour and lyrics’ speech intonation (with regards to pitch), syntax, and affect to show how melody inflects lyrical meaning and expression. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship from music theorists Allan Moore, Kofi Agawu, linguist Maggie Tallerman, cognitive psychologist Aniruddh Patel, and others, I analyze the contours of melody and the intonational contours of speech. My analyses of recent indie music consider the relationship between these contours from single-word to entire song interactions, providing a deeper understanding of the expressive capabilities of language and music.
Open Access
The Way of Life: A New Oratorio
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Fulton, Hannah; Kyr, Robert
“The Way of Life,” a new oratorio with music and text by Hannah E. Fulton, is a celebration of life and the connection between humanity and nature. It explores the coexistence of positive and negative experiences in life: the paradoxical cycle of triumphs and troubles we all face in our lifetimes. This piece connects this human cycle to the cycles of life, death, and renewal in nature, and in all life on earth. These themes are explored in the piece through a series of six meetings between the two vocal soloists, a mezzo-soprano and baritone, who represent a human being and the voice of nature, respectively. Through these six encounters, which occur over an extended period of the human being’s life, they experience a range of life’s emotions, including joy, grief, anger, hope, and reverence. Through these seasons of life, the oratorio’s main character deepens their understanding of what it is to be alive, and the connection between all life on earth. This piece encourages both listeners and performers to reflect on their own experiences of life and their connection to each other.This work is scored for mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra. Its performance is approximately 60-70 minutes long.
Open Access
Mind, Body, and Time: A Bergsonian Theory of Musical Impressionism
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Bopp, Emily; Fine, Abigail
Traditional style histories of midcentury musicology tend to reduce Musical Impressionism to color, light, and debussyste conventions, over-emphasizing visuality and limiting its purview to a scant few composers. To expand our understanding of atmospheric effects in French Musical Impressionism, I trace an alternative intellectual history through the music criticism of the period, which reveals philosophical sensibilities that recontextualize the significance of Impressionist music as more than mere sensation. More specifically, prominent music critics engaged with nascent perception theories and the process philosophy of Henri Bergson as Impressionism gained traction, finding this music to be an ample opportunity for reconfiguring the senses; that is, our sensory perception, sense of Self, and sense of time. Accordingly, I propose a new frame for Musical Impressionism, in which the composers aim not solely to create an atmosphere, but to render time indistinct for the listener as a means of reunifying mind and body.
Open Access
Cyborgs in the Studio: Transhuman Vocal Approaches in Gender Nonconforming Recording Artists
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Pinkham, Frances; Wallmark, Zachary
This project explores the means by which trans and gender nonconforming (GNC) artists use technological manipulations to vocal performance to signify their gender experience. The introduction and literature review (Chapter 1) situates the discussion in the disciplines of voice studies, embodied cognition, and post- and transhumanism. Chapter 2 examines three songs by genderfluid artist Dorian Electra (they/them): “Career Boy,” “Adam and Steve,” and “Ram It Down,” arguing that timbral shifts accomplished via post-production modification provide a means of “dragging” genderfluidity. Chapter 3 examines three songs by transfeminine artist Cleo McKenzie (she/her) aka TAMAGOTCHI MASSACRE: “MFW MIRRORZ :3 :P xD,” “i’m two years on hormones and i’m still sad i want a refund,” and “mirrorsong*.” I situate the analysis of these works in discussions of glitch art as politics and explore notions of embodiment of glitched sounds. Chapter 4 examines two songs by cisgender artist Merrill Garbus (she/her), “Now as Then” and “Colonizer,” which use the post-production techniques of spatial positioning, layering, and reverb to critique white femininity. I close with a brief epilogue in which I address propose a model for viewing transness through the lens of transhumanism.
Open Access
Voice, Timbre, and Politics in Chinese Popular Music, 1920–1980
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Liu, Annie; Wallmark, Zachary
This thesis examines the political and cultural context informing the voices and timbres of Chinese popular music between 1920 and 1980. Drawing from scholarship by Jones (2001), Chen (2007), and Ouyang (2022), I survey shidaiqu or “songs of the times” from the 1920s through ‘40s and Chinese Communist Party populist music during the Cultural Revolution. I first analyze shidaiqu, often labeled “yellow music” due to its Western popular influence and bourgeois political leanings, through a case study of Japanese citizen Yamaguchi Yoshiko, who masqueraded as a Chinese songstress Li Xianglan in Japanese propaganda films during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). I show how her mixed identity encompassed both Chineseness and cosmopolitanism, which I term zá, a term meaning motley and variegated in both Chinese and Japanese. I conduct spectrographic case studies of five shidaiqu performers over the course of their careers, finding that some moved toward Western-modeled singing and others embraced traditional Chinese vocal aesthetics. My findings indicate that yellowness does not manifest itself as a timbral feature of the voice, but rather, as an ideological reaction to the zá (both/and) nature of shidaiqu vocal timbre. The zá sound implies that the politics of East and West could coexist and even complement one another, a reason for the CCP to ban shidaiqu in 1949 when they established the People’s Republic of China. I then analyze populist music during the Cultural Revolution by surveying the soundscape, technological mediation of sound, Chairman Mao’s strategic muteness, radio announcer’s natural tone, sonic warfare, and repetition. I argue that Mao instituted what I term ritualized sonic boredom to mobilize the masses. Additionally, the label “yellow” reappears during the Cultural Revolution regarding quotation songs and during Deng Xiaoping’s administration in response to Teresa Teng’s music, confirming its perpetual usage as a political tool and an authorization of condemnation and censorship. Throughout, I demonstrate the cyclicity and persistence of political tensions concerning voice, timbre, and cosmopolitanism in popular and populist music.
Open Access
Songs of Becoming, an Art Song Cycle for Soprano or Mezzo-soprano Soloist and Chamber Orchestra
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) De Togni, Daniel; Kyr, Robert
This song cycle is scored for soprano or mezzo-soprano soloist and chamber orchestra. The text was written by the composer, and the principal theme of this work is growth and transformation. This is the one through-line of our lives, how one changes as a person in response to the myriad of our own experiences, both positive and negative. The first movement addresses personal growth and how it can be a difficult and painful process. The second movement plays with the motif of dreams. Dreams are discussed in a literal way, noticing occurrences in them that remind us that we are dreaming, but also as a way to escape the present through images/fantasies in our minds (daydreaming). Movements three and five are about burnout and depression, where movement five acts as a transformation, getting us out of these negative emotions. Movement four is a reaction to the desperate homelessness on the West Coast and how society deems the unhoused as below it. This cycle concludes with a musical setting of Look to this day, an ancient Sanskrit poem. This was chosen because it offers a remedy to the many issues addressed in the previous movements: to look to the present and find solace in the now, understanding that our lives are short and should be cherished.
Open Access
Job Attributes as Predictors of Attrition and Migration in Oregon Music Teachers: A Linear Regression Analysis
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Salzman-Coon, Olivia; Wheeler, Beth
Currently, career movement in the field of teaching, both for migration and attritionreasons, is a national concern for stakeholders, teachers, and researchers alike. Teacher demographics, job attributes, and expectations for working conditions seem to affect attritional intentions amongst teachers, but there is a need in the field for research that considers music teachers specifically. The purpose of this study was to pinpoint possible predictors of attrition/migration in Oregon music teachers based on their current job attributes and demographic factors. An anonymous online survey emailed directly to music teachers or their principals, was used to collect this data. Analysis included compiling descriptive statistics to determine the demographic makeupof Oregon music teachers and their typical job attributes. Then, a linear regression analysis was conducted to compare these factors and intentions to remain in the profession. Results reflected elevated burnout levels in all areas for Oregon music teachers. No job attributes were predictors of migration or attrition, but two burnout factors (the ability to manage the amount of work given and find time for leisure activity) were significant predictors of retention. Age was the only demographic factor that predicted retention with an increase in age predicting a modest increase in attrition intentions. Oregon music teachers were on average, middle-aged, white, and had career lengths of approximately 13 years and average school tenures of seven years. Most participants were elementary music teachers and very few were part-time or itinerate. The participant sample in this study did not report high rates of dissatisfaction with pay or with theirwork conditions/job attributes. These results have the potential to inform conversations about retention initiatives for Oregon music teachers, give a clear profile of a typical Oregon music teacher’s demographics, and report on typical burnout and career satisfaction rates for Oregon music teachers.
Open Access
Doublethink
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Buckman, Michael; Crumb, David
Doublethink was originally inspired by a series of political and geopolitical events that tookplace during 2022 and elements from George Orwell's novel, 1984. Each of the three movements derives its name from one of the three principles of Ingsoc (Orwell's fictional political party): War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength. The movements are each an example of “doublethink” - the act of simultaneously believing two mutually contradictory ideas. War is Peace, inspired by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, starts peacefully quickly descending into cacophony and aggression, before ending in mourning. Freedom is Slavery draws inspiration from the decision by the US Supreme Court to repeal Roe v. Wade. This movement is characterized by percussive sounds of chains and whips, evoking the shackles of this so-called freedom. Ignorance is Strength represents the current domestic political dialogue in America with the ignorance of the people being exploited by politicians.
Open Access
Pedagogical Strategies for Managing Music Performance Anxiety on the Harp
(University of Oregon, 2024) Li, Yirui
Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a common problem among the community of music performers, affecting the performers themselves mentally or physically, as well as the quality of the performance (Salmon et al. 2005; Cox 2014; Brotons 1994; Osborne and Kenny 2005). While most musicians are susceptible to MPA in some fashion, harpists can suffer from distinct forms of anxiety that result from challenges that are specific to the instrument. Music performance anxiety manifests itself in the psychological, affective, emotional, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral aspects of the performer; essentially, it has an all-encompassing effect on the performer. Because of the many factors involved in MPA, to achieve a balanced approach to music performance anxiety, teachers need to strategically develop a comprehensive program that utilizes different teaching philosophies for different students. This program includes but is not limited to getting to know the student, selecting appropriate music for their level, encouraging techniques that conform to the harpist’s body structure, and nurturing relaxation methods. The teacher should also have realistic expectations, based on their own experience and research, of what might happen during a performance and be able to provide the harpist with ways to prevent and solve problems.
Embargo
Set Class Conceptualizations: A Pedagogical and Theoretical Framework
(University of Oregon, 2024-03-25) King, John; Boss, Jack
Set Class Conceptualizations has two main goals: one, facilitate a student’s learning of set classes; and two, demonstrate multiple ways in which they could benefit from doing so. The intended audience of this dissertation is music professionals and teachers. The main gist of this approach is: one, as the student studies individual set classes, they refine a “bigger picture” of how the set classes relate; two, they relate “new” set classes to ones that they are already familiar with; and three, they let their own musical interests guide them. Part I and the Appendices provides general background information and resources that can act as an aid and inspiration towards the student’s development of their own “bigger picture.” Part II, the heart of this pedagogy, provides tools and resources that are specifically tailored towards the learning of the set classes. Part III provides examples of how an increased knowledge of set classes may enhance various musical endeavors.
Open Access
The Chinese and Javanese Influences in Works That Exemplify Early Twentieth-Century Musical “Exoticism”
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-10) Xu, Jiayi; Boss, Jack
In Western music of the early twentieth century, pentatonic elements are particularly prominent when composers emulate Chinese music. Claude Debussy, for instance, drew upon Eastern musical styles in works such as “Pagodes” (from the collection Estampes of 1903). According to most scholars (E. Robert Schmitz 1950 and Sylvia Parker 2012), the historical record demonstrates that Debussy’s inspiration for composing “Pagodes” was the sound of the Javanese Gamelan in the Exhibition Universelle in Paris in 1889. There is also a historical description about Debussy’s writing to show his connection to Chinese music. Debussy himself expressed an awareness of Chinese musical practices: Roger Nichols has cited a newspaper article written by the composer published in February 1913 in which Debussy mentions that in the 1889 exhibition, the performance of the Annamite theater from the central Eastern region of Vietnam was influenced by Chinese practices. Debussy’s awareness of Chinese—as well as Javanese—music will propel my discussion of how to use a mathematical method to determine the musical character of a region of the world, and more specifically, to demonstrate how an analytical method based on the J function may make the connection between “Pagodes” and the “Chinese” style in the early twentieth century. The conventional wisdom regarding “Pagodes” is that its inspiration is taken from Javanese gamelan. In the later parts of my thesis, I will show that the intersection between “Pagodes” and Javanese gamelan is mainly in the rhythmic and textural aspects.
Open Access
The Sound of Bass Culture(s): Heaviness, Blackness, and Ubiquitous Bass
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-10) Burton, Nicholas; Wallmark, Zachary
Bass culture describes the shared affinity for excessive low frequency aesthetics. During the 2000s and 2010s, discussion of the term first emerged within the context of bass-centric Afrodiasporic popular music genres such as hip-hop, EDM, dancehall, and reggaeton. In this thesis, I theorize sonic elements of bass prominence through the concept of heaviness—a multidimensional timbral definition that extends beyond mere prescriptions of lowness and loudness. Historicizing bass centricity, I discuss Jamaican music during the 1950s and ‘60s where sound system practices contributed to the codification of bass as a sign of Blackness. Looking to the future, I present the concept of ubiquitous bass—the omnipresence of low-end frequencies now available in the latest developments of portable listening devices. Though a case study of Beats headphones, I argue that increased accessibility of heavy bass in virtual experiences marks a significant shift from established accounts of low-end theory.
Open Access
Listening to the Arts
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-09) Chen, Rongrong; Kyr, Robert
My thesis piece "Listening to the Arts" is a twenty-minute long composition for chamber orchestra that consists of four movements. Each movement is inspired by an artwork from a different artist, namely Antonio Canova's "Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss," Alexander Calder's "Double Gong," Alphonse Mucha's "The Seasons," and Claude Monet's "Water Lilies - The Clouds." In this composition, I aim to explore the intersection between music and visual arts by creating an auditory interpretation of each artwork's particular character and style. Each movement adopts a distinct musical style to convey the unique emotional and aesthetic qualities of each artwork. I seek to showcase the potentials of the interdisciplinary arts and how they can inspire and enrich one another. Overall, "Listening to the Arts" is a demonstration of my creativity and proficiency in music composition, and my appreciation for visual arts.
Open Access
The Bride with White Hair
(University of Oregon, 2024-01-09) ZHANG, WEI; Crumb, David
The Bride with White Hair is a three-movement chamber piece composed for flute and string quartet. The music is a homage to the famous Chinese martial arts novel The Bride with White Hair by Liang YuSheng. The protagonist of the novel is a strong, brave, and talented woman who comes to realize who she really is and what she wants to accomplish in life. The moral of the story is that all women of the world should learn to love and respect themselves before falling in love with others.