Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Main Auditorium in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Recital presented at the St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, TX in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Organ Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Lecture recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Lecture recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Lecture recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Lecture presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Lecture presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

In Music from the Hilltop, Benjamin A. Kolodziej studies three significant academic musical figures to weave a narrative that not only details the role musical studies played in the development of Southern Methodist University but also relates a history of church music and pipe organs in Dallas, Texas. Bertha Stevens Cassidy (1876–1959), the first organ professor and the only woman on the faculty of the new university, established herself as a leader and veritable dean of the church music community, managing a career of significant performances and teaching. Her student and protégé, Dora Poteet Barclay (1903–1961), broadened the pedagogical horizons for her students. Many of her own students achieved great professional heights as performers and church musicians. Robert Theodore Anderson (1934–2009) was intellectually able to bridge the gap between the theologians of the Methodist seminary and the performers at the Meadows School of the Arts. He consulted with the Dallas Symphony to prepare for the installation of an organ in the new Meyerson Symphony Center—an organ that would influence concert hall instruments in subsequent decades.

Like numerous other Baroque pieces, the Ciaccona attributed to Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663-1745) was transformed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The German violinist and composer Ferdinand David (1810-1873) was the first to edit and publish the piece. The composition became popular after being included in the second volume of his Die Hohe Schule des Violinspiels [The Advanced Method of Violin Playing] (c.1867). Since then, Vitali Ciaccona became an essential work in the violin repertoire and is often heard in concert halls. However, what many audiences hear in concerts is essentially an arrangement of the Ciaccona. Acknowledging the "double life" of the piece as both Baroque and Romantic, this dissertation examines the advantages and disadvantages of playing the Ciaccona attributed to Vitali on both the Baroque and modern violins.

Lionel Daunais was an eminent and beloved 20th-century Québécois musician who contributed greatly to the performing arts in Canada. Through his work with the Trio Lyrique, Les Variétés Lyriques, and his numerous compositions, he wielded a potent sphere of influence on the Canadian musical landscape. Lionel Daunais's compositions constitute a significant oeuvre, comprising solo vocal works, song cycles, folksong arrangements, individual choral works, and multi-movement choral works. Marked by irresistible wit, the melodicism of French mélodie, and the absolute eminence of the text, Figures de danse is his most well-known multi-movement choral work. Daunais penned the earliest extant version of Figures de danse in 1947, however, the work emerged into Québec's choral scene in the mid-1970s via the establishment of the Alliance des Chorales du Québec. This set of tragicomic caricatures, which sets beautiful choral and piano writing to clever—and sometimes hilariously nonsensical—texts by Daunais himself, is accessible for performance by youth choirs, community choirs, university choirs, and professional choirs alike. Unfortunately, various factors (e.g. the separation of the choral and piano scores, local references, and score errors) often stymie its performance. The purpose of this dissertation is to ameliorate these challenges via a conductor's guide and to advocate for …

The Choral Music of Elaine Hagenberg explores the oeuvre of composer Elaine Hagenberg through a musicological, qualitative, and performance-based analysis of her compositional style that has led to her increasing acclaim. This study serves as the first primary source of scholarly output on her. Through an examination of her musical background as a pianist and choral educator, one can identify her principal sources of musical inspiration: text, nature, and her faith. Shaped by these experiences, her compositional philosophy encapsulates five elements of text, form, rhythm, melody, and harmony as she strives to produce singer-centric, authentic, and socially relevant compositions that unite people together. What begins as a consideration of her background and compositional process culminates in practical musical analysis and conducting and vocal considerations to aid future conductors in creating compelling performances of her works. The compositions discussed are As The Rain Hides The Stars (2015), O Love (2016), Song of Miriam (2019), My Companion (2019), and Alleluia (2020).

There are very few significant sonatas for flute and piano written between 1880 and 1918, a period of unusually rich stylistic diversity. Gabriel Pierné composed his Sonata in D Minor, Op. 36 for piano and violin in 1900, and later transcribed it for flute and piano. Unfortunately, the work has not been embraced to a significant extent by either violinists or flutists. The wealth of violin sonatas from this period might explain it not becoming part of the canon for violinists, but this is not the case for the flute repertoire, where it seems that it should hold a place of genuine importance. Since little has been written about Pierné as a composer or about this piece in either of its versions, this project is intended to promote an understanding of the work in its historical and theoretical context and to advocate for more frequent performances. This document also suggests an alternate version of several particular passages so it can better represent the characteristics of today's flute and its modern techniques. This research will help other flutists and flute professors to introduce and spread an awareness of its existence and ideally helping to establish its place in the flute repertoire. …

Harry Sparnaay was a major contributor to the development of unaccompanied works for the bass clarinet and commissioned over 100 pieces for bass clarinet alone. While Sparnaay's book, The Bass Clarinet: A Personal History, includes a list of works written for him, there is minimal information available regarding most of these pieces. This project fills the information gap for this repertoire by providing publication status/score availability, performance challenges, recording history, program notes, and composer information. Each work is classified into three categories based on its publication status and recording history, providing a framework for understanding which works have entered the standard repertoire for the instrument.

Unlike most other musicians, pianists need to play by memory during their recitals, juries, etc. Doing so can greatly influence the intensity and frequency of anxiety due to potential memory slips when performing. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between memory strategies, experiences with memory lapses, and performance anxiety among classical pianists. The specific aims of the study are to: (1) characterize demographics, performance practices, and memorization strategies used by college-level pianists; (2) assess experiences of performance anxiety and the influence of performance anxiety on memory lapses; (3) examine the relationships between demographics, performance practices, and memorization strategies; and (4) suggest various memorization strategies that might be useful intervention to overcome memory lapses. To examine participants' awareness and perception, a survey was conducted via invitation of participation from music schools and piano groups on social media, and the useable collected data came from 162 respondents. The results disclosed that pianists' awareness of memory strategies and performance anxiety were significantly correlated. It showed a relationship between knowledge of memory strategies and frequency of performance anxiety within their musical experiences.

Paul Schoenfeld (b. 1947) is considered one of the major American composers of the present day to have incorporated many different styles in his music. Although Schoenfeld primarily uses a combination of folk, popular music, klezmer, and jazz in most of his compositions, he has also incorporated other distinctive musical styles in his works, such as neo-Baroque, particularly in his Partita for Violin and Piano (2002). The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the eclectic combination of neo-Baroque and klezmer elements found in Schoenfeld's Partita. This research provides a detailed comparative analysis of his work with Johann Sebastian Bach's Clavier-Übung I, BWV 825–830, and 6 Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato, BWV 1001–1006, primarily to see how Schoenfeld made use of Baroque forms, imitative passages, rhythms, and other stylistic features, then fused them with klezmer elements. Klezmer is a genre of music stemming from the Eastern European Jewish tradition; its distinctive characteristics are modal scales and Hasidic vocal ornaments. Knowing the mixture of Baroque and klezmer stylistic influences should help performers to interpret the piece.

Isang Yun (1917-1995), one of the most important avant-garde German-Korean composers, is perhaps best known for his success at integrating Korean musical elements into traditional Western styles. His Concerto for Oboe, Oboe d'amore, and Orchestra incorporates many traditional Korean elements, and uses techniques such as Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung to blend these elements into a Western musical style. This study explores the elements of traditional Korean music and instruments present in Yun's score, examines his compositional techniques, and makes practical performance suggestions that allow performers to properly convey his intentions. This dissertation includes six chapters. The first chapter discusses the purpose and importance of the study. The second chapter reviews Isang Yun's biography and works, based on a published interview with Yun and a biography written by his wife of many years. The third chapter introduces the characteristics of traditional Korean woodwind instruments relevant to the work. The fourth chapter examines Yun's compositional techniques of Hauptton, Hauptklang, and Umspielung in the work and their relationship with the main-tone and Sigimsae techniques. The fifth chapter introduces and explores different types of Sigimsae in the work, with suggestions for quarter-tone performance techniques. The sixth and last chapter is a conclusion.

Departmental recital program book from the 2021-2022 school year at the University of North Texas College of Music.

Student performances program book from the 2021-2022 school year at the University of North Texas College of Music.

Student performances program book from the 2022-2023 school year at the University of North Texas College of Music.

Student performances program book from the 2019-2020 school year at the University of North Texas College of Music.

Student performances program book from the 2021-2022 school year at the University of North Texas College of Music.