Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Music Composition

Through the Cracks is a ten-minute work for Hypercube Ensemble (tenor saxophone, electric guitar, piano, and percussion) with fixed media electronics. The singlemovement piece is inspired by the decrepit landscape of abandoned factories in my hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. Through the Cracks is written in four loose sections. The introduction depicts the abandoned factory landscape, opening with a sparse texture using percussive sounds. Layered rhythmic accelerandi and ritardandi obscure any sense of pulse, portraying the landscape's disintegration. The second section gradually becomes more texturally and rhythmically dense, with pitch content emerging. Eventually, a minor-mode melody is presented by the saxophone. The third section becomes more rhythmically regular, featuring an ostinato pattern in the electronics, representing the steady rumble of machinery in the factories' past. The final section returns to the desolation of the present day, with airy and pitched sounds overlapping within a sparse, arhythmic texture. Rhythmic accelerandi and ritardandi form significant aspects of the piece and are often used to create fluctuating textures and connecting gestures. During pulse driven sections streams of sixteenth notes move between the ensemble and electronics to create a consistent grid. Nonstandard subdivisions of beats and syncopation help blur meters and downbeats. The ensemble employs a variety of extended techniques to help portray the abandoned factories. The tenor saxophonist uses several multiphonics along with slap tongue and bisbigliandi. The pianist applies light preparation on D6, E6, F6 G6, and A6, using a small iv amount of tack tape applied to the strings to create a muted sound with very little pitch. The percussionist bows several notes on the vibraphone and uses wire brushes on the drums. In some sections, the guitarist mutes the strings with their strumming hand to remove pitched content, creating a highly percussive sound (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elainie Lillios DMA (Committee Chair); Christopher Dietz Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Music Composition

Distance is a nine-minute composition written for two sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, and fixed media, specifically for Quince Ensemble. The music portrays the complex feelings of a long-distance relationship. As the piece begins, there is a clear and steady pulse established in the electronics and the voices singing not on text, but rather the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). As the music evolves, the IPA becomes less abstract and more clear, moving toward English texts such as “I love you,” "I miss you,” and “Why can't we.” This text can be seen through the eyes of the participants of the long-distance relationship, commenting on the unfairness of their situation. Distance explores timbrally-engaging, high-energy, and rhythmically-involved music that highlights each singer's virtuosic abilities. The electronics achieve this through processed sounds of breathing, tongue clicks, lip popping, whispering, humming, and mumbling.

Committee: Christopher Dietz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Marilyn Shrude D.M.A. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Music

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Music Composition

The Inconsistent Continuities is a single movement chamber piece with fixed media. The Inconsistent Continuities was composed for Hypercube Ensemble, whose performing forces include saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, and piano. An additional fixed media component is being controlled over time by one of the performers. The piece's theme is inspired by my personalized perception of living and coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). The Inconsistent Continuities aims to sonically portray my personalized experiences living and coping with ADHD. Each ensemble member, plus the fixed media, personifies one or multiples of the three main ADHD traits: fixation; distraction; and inattentiveness. The single-movement piece comprises three sections. The first section establishes the four ensemble members as a theoretical “brain” attempting to formulate a musical melodic gesture or “idea.” This idea loops, signifying the characteristics of fixation. An external distraction from the fixed media then attempts to distract the ensemble from their original melodic thought. The musical content introduced by the fixed media is distant and obtrusive compared to the fixated thought from earlier. The remaining role (inattentiveness) is introduced during this section and attempts to bypass the first thought and the distraction. This section represents the mind being overly stimulated and the traits of ADHD that are more prevalent and controlling. The second section begins as a collective dialogue between all three characteristics that eventually reaches critical mass, followed by an abrupt breath inhale by the ensemble. This represents the mind being overwhelmed during social situations and everyday life while desperately seeking a moment of clarity. The final section unites each member, but the melodic idea of the piece changes, representing the mind solving the task or completing its thought through the tangential ADHD thought process.

Committee: Elainie Lillios Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Mikel Kuehn Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music