Some artists strive to create artwork that has aesthetic value. If a piece of artwork has the ability to capture the attention of an audience, it must contain strong sensual attributes. Thus, understanding how to design an art form to contain strong sensual attributes may increase the possibility of an aesthetic experience. Since aesthetics is an experience of sensations perceived when in contact with a creative form in any artistic discipline, it is necessary for an artist to understand the nature of the sensual experience. In understanding the sensual experience, artists may be able to create techniques to enhance the aesthetic experience of their work. My video piece, entitled Ararat is a study of methods to enhance the sensual experience. I hope to accomplish this by means of using techniques that optimize an audience's perceptual experience.

Gestures and Fields is a twenty minute work for chamber orchestra and dancers. It is scored for flute (doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling English horn), Bb clarinet (doubling Eb clarinet), bassoon Bb trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, percussion, piano, and strings. The percussion consists of a suspended cymbal, large tam-tam, 5 temple blocks, xylophone, marimba, tumba, snare, tenor drum, 4 tom-toms, bass drum and timpani. The work is in 5 movements, each inspired by an abstract expressionist painting: Autumn Rhythm by Jackson Pollock, Light, Earth and Blue by Mark Rothko, Mahoning by Franz Kline, Vir Heroicus Sublimus by Barnett Newman, and Excavation by Willem de Kooning.

The Symphony has been composed using traditional Korean idioms and Western style four-movement arrangement. The Symphony requires Western instrumental forces. The discussions about Far Eastern music raised by Western and Eastern scholars, and about some Korean rhythmic aspects, articulations, and ornamentations help explain how the Symphony is constructed. The pitch materials, melodic styles, rhythm, form, and structural materials that are used in the composition are presented. Heterophony, embellishment, articulation, and mutation are also discussed.

‘...and one of time.' is a reinterpretation of a small musical moment from Philip Glass' opera, Einstein on the Beach, centered around the phrase "Berne, Switzerland 1905." This reinterpretation is realized through the use of several different compositional techniques including spectral composition, micropolyphony and dodecaphony, as well as the application of extra-musical models developed by Alan Lightman, John Gardner, Italo Calvino and Albert Einstein.

As Darkness Falls is a composition that explores our interaction with several aspects of darkness through the use of musical imagery. The imagery attempts to reflect the moods, feelings, and impressions of a person as he or she interacts with darkness. The non-programmatic character of the composition allows listeners to superimpose their own experiences onto the musical tapestry in order to manifest a personal connection between the listener and the music. As Darkness Falls is a composition scored for a minimum instrumentation of piccolo, 6 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 bassoons, 9 B-flat clarinets, B-flat bass clarinet, 2 E-flat alto saxophones, B-flat tenor saxophone, E-flat baritone saxophone, 4 B-flat trumpets, 4 horns in F, 3 tenor trombones, bass trombone, 2 euphoniums, 2 tubas, timpani, and 4 percussionists. The music consists of three movements (slow-slow-fast) lasting a total of approximately seventeen minutes. The duration of each of the three movements is six minutes, four and one-half minutes, and six and one-half minutes, respectively. The document also contains an analysis of the work by the composer. The analysis explores the compositional style of the work, focusing on musical aspects within each movement that were governing parameters in the compositional process.

The Crucifixion, a composition for three vocal soloists, four-part mixed chorus, and instrumental ensemble, is a setting of passages taken from the four Gospels of the Holy Bible. It describes the mocking of Christ and includes the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross. It uses serial technique in the structuring of pitches and rhythm. Special attention is paid in designing and combining pitch and rhythm to create monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic textures. Besides traditional performance techniques, the work employs some modern vocal and instrumental techniques.

The Reflection is a piece of chamber music that describes the human nature through the use of different "meanings" in music. By using various leitmotifs and different compositional techniques, the music becomes a helpful tool to reflect meanings. On the other hand, this piece uses one special idea, which is that the whole piece can be explained in terms of visual arts. Each primary motive represents a "primary color" that reflects various "moods" or "emotions." Through using combinations and mixtures of color, different "sceneries" are formed. Furthermore, The Reflection has three basic aspects: the function of transmitting messages through music; the exploration of different functions of fifth; and the emphasis of meaning, sound effect and timbre.

Requiem for Netted Fish is an intermedia composition for sixteen-voice SATB choir, harp, six dancers, slide projections, and lighting. The text, taken from the poetry of Anna Akhmatova and Carolyn Forche, presents a universal, womanly rage against human repression and destruction. The poetry finds aural interpretation in sound, and visual interpretation in movement and lighting. Poetic inspiration contributes to the integration of elements in the work, as does the impulse-exchange method of coordinating mediums, which allows the dancers control of the timing of events. The resultant interdependent relationships necessary for performance contribute to the integration of the composition. The duration of this intermedia work is approximately fifteen minutes.

Delphic Suite is a composition for orchestra that depicts specific events narrated in Homer's epic tale, Odyssey. For the purpose of this thesis the second movement, Raid on Ismarus, has been omitted so as to focus on the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic structures of the first movement, Lament from Troy, and the third movement, Ruler of the Winds. Each of these musical parameters will be analyzed in order to illustrate the Suite's imitation of compositional techniques exemplified in the music of Homer's era, and the musical results obtained by juxtaposing those parameters upon a twentieth-century tonal scheme that provides the Suite with an eclectic ambience.

Ka is a one movement composition for chamber orchestra consisting of three sections. The work's harmonic, melodic and rhythmic materials are derived from the Chinese I Ching ("Book of Changes"). The middle section was composed with the aid of a computer program written by the composer. The program generated the interval sequence arrays forming the harmonic basis for the piece. Ka is scored for flute, oboe, B𝄬 clarinet, bassoon, French Horn, trumpet, trombone, three percussionists, violin, viola, cello and double bass. The score is 62 pages with a 39 page analysis preceding the score. Ka has a duration of approximately 10 minutes with no pauses between sections.

House in Heaven is a theatrical piece for five solo voices (one soprano, two mezzo sopranos, one baritone, and one bass), two trumpets, four French horns, one trombone, two flutes, two clarinets, two bassoons, string orchestra, vibraphone, timpani and a synthesizer which produces pipe organ sound. The composition consists of an introduction followed by a single act in three Scenes. The piece employs the cyclical device in engaging themes associated with particular characters. The texture grows from simple alternating dialogues to arias and, finally, to tutti passages in which all voices are combined to form a quintet, at the climactic point of the entire composition, which occurs at the end of the piece. The scenes depict imaginary events in a Church and at a flower garden. Rear-stage slide projections are used to project the scenes of these locations, and lighting is used to emphasize actions, characters and changes of scene. The singers also serve as actors. The duration of this work is approximately 20 minutes.

Since Jasmine's Secret contains elements of cantata and follows a dramatic story or program, the work may be classified as a narrative or dramatic story or program, the work may be classified as a narrative or dramatic cantata employing five solo voices, narrator and orchestra. This work attempts a revival of these two genres as a combined entity due to the decreased popularity of both cantata and programmatic music in the 20th century.

Breakdown is a 17 minute, single movement work for orchestra in five sections. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 Bb trumpets, 4 horns in F, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, piano, and strings. The percussion consists of a tam-tam, 5 break drums, 4 timbales, 2 gourds, chimes, marimba, vibraphone, snare drum, 2 field drums, bass drum and tympani. The inspiration for this work is the poetry of Bruce Weigl which deals with many facets of the Vietnam experience. One particular work from his collection Song of Napalm, the poem "Breakdown", provided the basis for the emotional and structural content of the music. There are two primary sources of pitch material in the music of Breakdown, both of which have links to the Vietnam War. The name of a soldier who was killed in Vietnam, Miles Cooper, was used to generate a basic pitch set and a series of variation sets that provide much of the harmonic and melodic material in Breakdown. There derived sets are supported by the use of phrases and motives from the hymn Jewels, which celebrates the love of God for his children, and providesan indirect link to the subject …

Sinfonietta is a work of about 18 minutes for orchestra with an instrumentation of 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, 4 timpani, percussion, harps, piano and strings. Three players are required for the percussion battery. The work is in four movements: Prelude, Theme and Variations, Largo and Finale. Movement I is in a tri-partite design. In the second movement, the theme is first enunciated by a solo violoncello in its high register followed by seven variations in the orchestra. In Movement III, there are three brief sections plus a longer coda which links to the Finale, the last movement of the Sinfonietta. This movement ends the work with a double fugal section where many of the important features used in the work recur. The movements are made coherent by means of cyclic treatment of the material.

Symphony in Three movements is an orchestra work scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in Bb, two bassoons, two horns in F, three trumpets in Bb, three trombones, one tuba, percussion and strings. The percussion consists of timpani, vibraphone, temple block, tom-tom, suspended cymble, bass drum, and gong. The piece is not based on any non-musical image. The three movements of this work, I.(variation-like) II.(ternary) III.(fantasia-like), are based on the combination of the solemn ceremonial atmosphere of Korean music and early twentieth-century Western music.

Riders to the Sea is a chamber opera in one act of approximately 40 minutes in duration. The single act is divided into six scenes that progress without pause. The vocal parts are comprised of 2 sopranos, 1 mezzo-soprano, 1 baritone, and an off-stage chorus of men's voices (tenor I, tenor II, baritone, and bass; two per part). The orchestra will be comprised of winds (1-1-1-1-1), brass (2-2-1-1), strings (2-2-2-2-1), piano, 2 percussionists, and tape, that will be used to provide a continuous background of surf and wind sounds. Authentic Irish folk songs are threaded throughout the work, generally functioning as a background element, while twentieth-century compositional techniques are utilized primarily for special effects.

The composition is scored for the following instruments: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and a large percussion section requiring 7 performers. Beneath the Dancing Moon is a programmatic piece in one movement form composed of 5 continuous sections. It depicts a night scene when the elves begin to dance beneath the moon. Later, the moaning ghosts from the dark forest and the witches with brooms come to join them. They dance furiously until the moon disappears, the sea stops dead and all the dancers suddenly vanish. The approximate performance time is 17 minutes.

The Sneetches is a theater piece for children based on the Dr. Suess story The Sneetches (Random House, New York, 1961). It is scored for narrator, flute, B6 clarinet, bassoon, violins I & II, viola, and cello with optional staging. The staged version of The Sneetches requires two to six actors/dancers, appropriate scenery and props, and the active participation of children from the audience, preferably ages eight or under. The Sneetches is essentially through-composed. The overall form of the music is shaped primarily by the events portrayed in the narrative. Although individual subsections may have traditional forms, they should not be viewed as independent movements of a larger work, but rather as fragments of a whole.

ELATIO: Praises and Prophecies is an allegorical composition based upon a collection of carols, poetry and prose in selected verses, phrases and fragments from medieval Christian liturgy, the canonical Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament, and portions of various non-canonical Dead Sea Scroll texts. The languages used in the selections presented here are English, Medieval Latin, and transliterated Biblical Hebrew.