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

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

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

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

Gordon Binkerd (1916-2003) was an influential and well-known twentieth century composer. While his choral works are renowned worldwide, his piano music is rather unfamiliar to present-day scholars and performers. Binkerd’s Essays for the Piano (1976) is a set of six pieces that was greatly influenced by Brahms’ music. Especially noteworthy is the first piece of the set, titled “Intermezzo,” which is based on Brahms’ “Intermezzo” Op. 118, No. 1. The fact that Binkerd’s compositional procedures allow for a “recasting” of Brahms’ piece in a way that disguises the original source of his work are intriguing and call for further research on the topic. As such, the main purpose of this study is to analyze Binkerd’s modern transcription-style writing, and consequently examine how it incorporates a series of influences and compositional elements from Brahms’ music. This dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter contains a general overview of piano works by Binkerd that incorporate quotations of works by other composers are addressed. These include Five Pieces for Piano, Suite for Piano: Five Fantasies (Nos. 2, 3, and 4), and the Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3. The second chapter provides an analytical study of the fundamental structure found in Brahms’ Intermezzo, …

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 Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

The choral music of Hyo-won Woo, the composer of Oh! KOREA, is being widely performed by universities and professional choruses in Korea, as well as throughout the world. The work exhibits Woo's remarkable compositional style, which displays traditional Korean musical influences. Hyo-Won Woo's Oh! KOREA consisting of four movements, is for chorus, two pianos, and both Eastern and Western percussion instruments. Woo's Oh! KOREA employs an excellent introduction to the Korean choral repertoire for Western audiences, rooted in traditional Korean folk tunes. As today's choral conductors, singers, and audience cannot fully appreciate the value of this traditional Korean work and will likely not understand its intended context, it is therefore necessary to provide an in-depth investigation of this work for any conductor considering a performance of this piece. This study includes influences of traditional Korean elements within Oh! KOREA and rehearsal and performance consideration for Western choir directors.

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 Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Piano recital presented at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the DMA degree.

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

Geonyong Lee, the composer of Mass for AILM, is a well-known composer in Asia whose main interest lies in choral music. He has composed numerous choral works which are highly diverse in their nature. This study introduces the choral composer Geonyong Lee to the West. The significance of Geonyong Lee's Mass for AILM is the display of Asian inflection in a traditional setting of the mass ordinary. Lee's Mass for AILM employs melodic and rhythmic aspects of traditional Philippine folk songs, a Japanese mode, traditional Korean music, and various Asian percussion instruments. This study explicates these Asian influences and how Lee utilized them in his Mass for AILM.

Light matter interactions have led to a great part of our current understanding of the universe. When light interacts with matter it affects the properties of both the light and the matter. Visible light, being in the region that the human eye can "see," was one of the first natural phenomenon we used to learn about our universe. The application of fundamental physics research has spilled over into other fields that were traditionally separated from physics, being considered two different sciences. Current physics research has applications in all scientific fields. By taking a more physical approach to problems in fields such as chemistry and biology, we have furthered our knowledge of both. Nanocrystals have many interesting optical properties. Furthermore, the size and properties of nanocrystals has given them applications in materials ranging from solar cells to sunscreens. By understanding and controlling their interactions with systems we can utilize them to increase our knowledge in other fields of science, such as biology. Nanocrystals exhibit optical properties superior to currently used fluorescent dyes. By replacing molecular dyes with nanoparticles we can reduce toxicity, increase resolution and have better cellular targeting abilities. They have also shown to have toxicity to cancer and antibacterial …