Jazz piano students spend most of their time practicing improvisation. However, in a performance situation, between 80 and 90% of the time, the jazz pianist is responsible for accompanying melodies and solos. ...

This paper provides a detailed background and context for understanding Harrison Birtwistle’s interest in ritual and musical theatre, along with a comprehensive analysis of Cortege that references Ritual Fragment ...

This thesis studies jazz harpist Park Stickney’s craftsmanship through transcribing and analyzing his performances of Debussy Dances, his recomposition of Claude Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane. The study consists of ...

This study looks at Eun-Hye Kim’s set of twelve piano suites, Les douze signes, for the advanced pianist, providing guidance for performances of this large-scale work. To prepare a better performance, it ...

The Korean composer Unsuk Chin (b. 1961) began receiving international recognition with the premiere of her Acrostic Wordplay for soprano and ensemble in 1991. Chin is regarded as among the best composers of our ...

Byeongso Ahn was a versatile musician who has been virtually forgotten today and lived during some of the most turbulent times of modern history. This project takes crucial initial steps to shed light on Ahn’s unrecognized ...

Lost Objects (2001) is a collaborative work by Bang on a Can, a multi-faceted contemporary music organization established by Julia Wolfe (b. 1958), Michael Gordon (b. 1956), and David Lang (b. 1957). Through analysis ...

The Bebop era is arguably the most influential era in jazz history. Bebop vocabulary was an innovation which grew from Swing music and would eventually ...

Frequently referred to as the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman (1909-1986) is well-known for his jazz clarinet playing. Yet Goodman should also be recognized as a classical clarinet player and for his role in contributing ...

In this thesis, I introduce four major compositions by Chang-Su Koh: Korean Dances, Arirang and Akatonbo, Pansori’c Rhapsody and Sonatine-b. Through my analysis, I explain how Koh skillfully blends a Western style of ...