Redeemed from the Fall is a cantata in five movements for double choir SSAATTBB with Soprano and Baritone soloists and violin, bass clarinet, marimba, and organ. The work’s approximate duration is 19 minutes. The text is derived from ancient and modern scriptures including the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses as contained in the Pearl of Great Price. The textual theme addresses the compelling narrative of the redemption of Adam and Eve after the Fall and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The work begins with an instrumental overture, In Sorrow, inspired by the fallen state our first parents entered as consequence for partaking of the forbidden fruit. The second movement, The First Angel, is an aria for baritone accompanied by choir a cappella. It sets to music the words of an angel who appeared to Adam proclaiming that animal sacrifice is representative of the future atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. The central movement, The Baptism of Adam, is for soprano solo, choir (SSAA) and the ensemble. It depicts the miraculous events surrounding Adam’s acceptance of the gospel covenant, with the Holy Spirit baptizing Adam by immersion in water. The subsequent a cappella chorus, This Is the Plan of Salvation, further explores the truth that salvation for Adam and Eve and all their posterity was prepared through Christ from the beginning. The full chorus and ensemble perform the finale, Adam Fell, declaring that the very purpose of the Fall was that all humans could know the joy of redemption through Christ.

This project includes a recording and performance guide for three newly commissioned pieces for the clarinet. The first piece, shimmer, was written by Grant Jahn and is for B-flat clarinet and electronics. The second piece, Paragon, is for B-flat clarinet and piano and was composed by Dr. Theresa Martin. The third and final piece, Duality in the Eye of a Bovine, was written by Kurt Mehlenbacher and is for B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano. In addition to the performance guide, this document also includes background information and program notes for the compositions, as well as composer biographical information, a list of other works featuring the clarinet by each composer, and transcripts of composer and performer interviews. This document is accompanied by a recording of the three pieces.

The symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911) constitute an essential element of the orchestral repertory; they are therefore essential for young conductors to understand and for instrumentalists to play. Yet they are impractical in many school situations because they call for large orchestras. One solution to this problem is for the conductor to study the original, full version of the works as Mahler composed them, but to consider performing one of the reduced instrumentations now available. A smaller-scale version provides an opportunity for both the conductor and the instrumentalists to confront the challenges of performing Mahler's music and to explore Mahler's musical language and style in a more manageable setting.

This project focuses on Mahler's Fourth Symphony, which is available in two reduced orchestrations: one by Erwin Stein made in 1921 and another by Klaus Simon from 2007. This paper is part of a larger project that includes a lecture-recital with commentary and a performance of the symphony in the more recent Simon arrangement (documented on video). It presents some background on Mahler's Fourth Symphony and compares the two reduced instrumentations to Mahler's original and to one another. Taken together, the parts of this project demonstrate an approach to learning and performing Mahler's music in a more accessible and practical setting for student conductors.

This research paper recounts the work done in founding an opera company and putting on its inaugural show. It also provides some of the insights acquired during the process, which may be helpful for other future opera producers in creating a framework and guideposts for starting their own companies. The paper consists of two main sections followed by several short appendices.

The first section methodically reconstructs the process by which Windy City Opera's La Bohème was brought to the stage. It covers the background experiences that prompted the author to found her own company, the research and decisions involved, and the interplay between the company's overall goals and the resources available for a first production. The business, casting, rehearsing, and marketing aspects are reviewed in detail, as well as several mistakes that were made during the process that afforded valuable learning opportunities.

The second section follows up on these and other opportunities by sketching an ideal plan that opera startups might follow; the principal topics are timeline, budgeting, fundraising, venue selection, personnel selection, and marketing.

The appendices consist of worksheets and materials meant to illustrate and supplement this written how-to guide, as well as a video of the Windy City Opera production of La Bohème.

Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Trombone and Military Band and Georg Philipp Telemann’s Sonata in F minor TWV 41:f1 are two works from contrasting periods written by well-known composers. International Music Company first published the Sonata in 1968 for trombone, edited by Allen Ostrander. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Trombone was first published in the United States by Leeds Music Corporation in 1952, edited by Davis Shuman. Both of these compositions contain editorial concerns that detract from each composer’s original music.

In most modern editions, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto is accompanied by a piano reduction made by Nikolay Sergeyevich Fedoseyev. Although this reduction is the most commonly used accompaniment today, it is overly difficult for the pianist. The reduction also alters musical gestures within the accompaniment written by Rimsky-Korsakov.

This project contrasts modern editions of each composition with their oldest known manuscript. For Telemann’s Sonata, this is the first publication in Der Getreue Music-Meister, published by the composer in 1728-29. For Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto, this is a copyist’s manuscript that is currently housed at the library of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic. The centerpiece of this project is the preparation of new solo parts for each work and a new piano reduction for Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto that restores the composer’s original intentions and makes clear editorial changes and suggestions.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, musicologists have been delving into formerly inaccessible archives and publishing new research on Eastern Bloc composers. Much of the English-language scholarship, however, has focused on already well-known composers from Russia or Poland. In contrast, composers from smaller countries such as the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia) have been neglected. In this thesis, I shed light on the new music scene in Czechoslovakia from 1948–1989, specifically during the period of “Normalization” (1969–1989).

The period of Normalization followed a cultural thaw, and beginning in 1969 the Czechoslovak government attempted to restore control. Many Czech and Slovak citizens kept their opinions private to avoid punishment, but some voiced their opinions and faced repression, while others chose to leave the country. In this thesis, I explore how two Czech composers, Marek Kopelent (b. 1932) and Petr Kotík (b. 1942) came to terms with writing music before and during the period of Normalization.

This study investigates degree perseverance among African Americans who transitioned from an undergraduate music program at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). A framework based on Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory and Yosso’s community cultural wealth theory was employed to examine how academic, cultural, and social aspects of participants’ undergraduate and graduate school experiences influenced their perseverance. Because those aspects are intricately intertwined with race, I also employed critical race theory and double consciousness theory, and used Angela Duckworth’s Grit Scale to measure degree perseverance.

Eight African American male instrumental music educators participated in this study. Research questions included: What are the experiences of African Americans who have transitioned from undergraduate music programs at HBCUs to graduate music programs at PWIs?; How do these individuals compare academic, social, and cultural aspects of their experiences within two institutional environments?; What are their self-perceptions of their own degree perseverance?; and, What social, cultural, and academic aspects of their experiences influenced their perseverance?

After developing a portrait of each participant’s pre-college and college experiences, analysis reveled that participants were very persistent; however, academic, cultural, social, and racial experiences influenced their perseverance. Participants employed dominant cultural capital and community cultural wealth as well as their “Grittiness” to successfully transition from an HBCU to a PWI.

Recommendations for HBCUs, PWIs, and the profession are offered toward improving the experiences of African American music students in higher education. HBCUs must hold their faculty and students accountable for developing a broader musical experience beyond marching band, and address colorism on their campuses. PWIs should recognize and accept the capital that African Americans bring, acknowledge that African Americans need access to social support networks, and assess how their environments, actions, and decisions may devalue or discount African Americans. While more research is needed regarding the experiences of African Americans in music programs, African American students must also take active roles in shaping their own educational experiences by seeking assistance that will improve their experiences.

"Play less and listen more" is the prevailing wisdom whenever two musical

partners are having ensemble issues that interfere with their music-making. Accompanists, coaches, and collaborative pianists across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries devote many pages to these situations and explain what to listen and look for. An overview of this literature establishes a standard canon of ensemble issues for collaborative pianists working with a single partner, whether vocal or instrumental. The overview also discusses the various solutions these authors recommend for these problems.

However, in exceptional moments of rehearsal or performance, the foregoing advice fails. After comparing several passing observations in these standard works with the author's own experience, a paradoxical situation becomes evident: at times, what works instead of listening more is listening less. As the author describes through multiple musical examples and commentaries, ignoring one's partner for a brief moment can benefit the duo's ensemble and artistry.

The application of this principle is both narrow and wide-ranging and is meant to serve as a secondary course of action. It is decidedly not a replacement for the standard advice on coaching and collaborating, for such advice is successful far more often than not. However, it can be utilized when the collaborative pianist deems it the most successful and prudent solution to an ensemble situation that has remained problematic.

In the early-twentieth-century United States, Jewish and European immigrant scholars, musicians, and composers dominated the academic, orchestral, film and popular music scenes. While some of these musicians immigrated voluntarily, others, having fled the genocide of the Holocaust, were forced into exile due to religious and political persecution. Musicians were often targeted by the Nazi regime for performing and advancing banned music, composing modernist works, or for their religious or political beliefs. The United States upheld strict, pre-World War Two immigration quotas and laws that limited relocation. Specialized rescue agencies arose to help these exiles settle in the United States.

Meanwhile in 1924, American composer Mark Brunswick (1902-1971) moved to Europe and later studied with Nadia Boulanger. He found his niche among members of the Second Viennese School. Brunswick returned to the United States in 1938 and founded the National Committee for Refugee Musicians (NCRM), originally called the Placement Committee for German and Austrian Musicians, to aid in the relocation and job placement of at-risk musicians and their families during World War Two.

This thesis briefly explores Brunswick’s life, and then more closely addresses the formation of the NCRM, its members, those who received aid, and partnering organizations. Finally, cases in point illustrate the varied ways in which the NCRM helped musicians in exile. Brunswick and the Committee played a major role in American musical history, yet no major studies have focused on them. With the NCRM’s assistance, many refugees thrived in and contributed to America’s musical landscape. By exploring letters, memoranda, and other unpublished archival documents, I will show how Brunswick and the NCRM affected U.S. musical life beginning in the 1930s. The positive effects of this germinal group endure today.

From the time it was written, the aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia has been performed and ornamented in many different ways. The present study is an inventory and analysis of ornaments sung in 33 recordings from 1900 to 2011 and the major differences that they exhibit one from another. The singers in this study are baritones with international careers, who have performed the role of Figaro either at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) or at La Scala (Milan). The study identifies and tracks some of the changes in the ornamentation of the aria by noting common traits and new approaches across the one hundred eleven years of practice illustrated by the recordings.