Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

School of Music

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This dissertation consists of two parts: the first part includes an original composition titled, “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.” This twenty-minute work is composed for traditional orchestral instrumentation and solo violin. Motivic variation is the primary focus of this piece with a goal to show evidence of a thorough understanding and use of this technique. In music composition, variation is a technique achieved by restating musical material in an altered form. Schoenberg describes a motive as, “a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece.” Therefore, motivic variation (sometimes referred to as motivic development) is the compositional process of restating a musical idea throughout a piece in an altered form. The large-form structure consists of four movements; each movement is approximately five minutes in length with no breaks between. The music is non-programmatic with emphasis on color, timbre, and textural changes. The harmonic language is mostly pandiatonic (lacking functional tonality.) Counter-point, range, instrument combinations, and compositional style were considered for each passage. The second part of this dissertation, Nevertheless, She Composed: A Contemporary Survey of Women Composers of the Twenty-First Century, consists of transcribed interviews conducted between 2017 and 2019. The interviews feature living composers who happen to be women and are active within the academic and new music community. The primary purpose of this project is to feature the lives, careers, and works of the composers. The featured composers were interviewed in person or via Skype with the exception of Kate Waring. Kate passed away in 2015; the decision to include her story was made due to her compositional achievements during the twenty-first century and her ties to Louisiana State University. Reflections of her life were provided by her niece, soprano Cara Waring, her husband, Richard Tannenbaum, and her teacher, Dr. Dinos Constantinides. The format of each interview was guided by a general outline of past, present, and future, allowing the composers to share information in a mostly non-scripted, free-associative manner. The result of this format yielded a wealth of biographical, educational, and resource-filled commentary.

Date

2-27-2020

Committee Chair

Constantinides, Dinos

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5162

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