PHD, Kent State University, 2010, College of the Arts / School of Music, Hugh A. Glauser

The composition component of the dissertation will be a three-movement work for saxophone and piano, A Nighttime Trilogy for Saxophone and Piano. The three movements of this piece, “Midnight,” “Nightmares,” and “Dreams,” are unified by both programmatic and musical elements. As the titles indicate, each movement focuses on a different aspect of the nighttime. “Midnight” depicts an individual's struggle to stay awake for prayer and meditation late at night when his body and mind repeatedly drift toward sleep. “Nightmares” depicts three recurring nightmares from the composer's childhood. In “Dreams,” three types of dreams, floating dreams, pleasant dreams, and unpleasant dreams, are depicted in the music. The musical language includes triadic harmonies incorporating progressions derived from maximally smooth cycles and hexatonic systems, Messiaen's “effect of a stained glass window,” and quartal harmonies. Musical unification of the three movements is achieved through the use of the same material in different ways. Consonant harmonic material from the hexatonic system in the first movement is utilized as dissonant harmonic material and as melodic material in the second movement; melodic material in the second movement is reworked as harmonic material in the third movement. The topic for the theory portion of this dissertation is a Schenkerian analysis of Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello by J. S. Bach. The purpose of this project is two-fold. First, Schenkerian graphs and verbal explanation reveal the underlining structures of this suite. Second, these graphs are used to suggest performance decisions. Such a project is valuable because, while Bach's Six Suites for Violoncello without Bass Accompaniment hold a prominent role in the repertoire for violists, cellists, bassists, and several other instruments via transposition, very little literature is available that discusses performance decisions. A systematic approach that truly evaluates the musical events within (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ralph Lorenz (Advisor); Frank Wiley (Advisor); Thomas Janson (Committee Member); Mark Lewis (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Fine Arts; Music

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Contemporary Music

Luciano Berio's Sequenza IX continues to be a bifurcated work filled with incongruities between its clarinet (IXa) and alto saxophone (IXb) versions. Dozens of unexplained discrepancies exist between these two versions, such as differences in pitch, rhythm and temporal duration, missing material, and expressive markings. It also appears that many technical concessions were made in regard to the saxophone version's octave registration, low register articulations, and cut passages. Furthermore, some practical problems are associated with the saxophone version of Sequenza IX, such as unreliable multiphonic fingerings and difficult page turns. This study addresses these heretofore unresolved issues by interviewing musicians who collaborated with Luciano Berio in creating and performing Sequenza IXb, including Iwan Roth, John Harle, and Claude Delangle. This study also engages in comparative analysis of all published editions and examines Berio's primary documents, manuscripts, and correspondence archived at the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland. The genesis, development, and evolution of Sequenza IXb are illustrated through establishing a new oral chronology. An exhaustive catalogue of every observed discrepancy and change between each manuscript and edition of Sequenza IXb is created, as well. Finally, this study synthesizes the aforementioned findings to produce practical recommendations for saxophonists, including suggested changes to the score, revised program note material, alternative options for multiphonic fingerings, suggestions for navigating the problematic page turns, and performance practice considerations. The findings from this study will allow saxophonists to achieve more authentic performances and teaching of Luciano Berio's cornerstone unaccompanied saxophone work, Sequenza IXb.

Committee: John Sampen D.M.A. (Committee Chair); Hyeyoung Bang Ph.D (Other); Ryan Ebright Ph.D (Committee Member); Marilyn Shrude D.M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, Music

The purpose of this work is to examine the history and compositional elements of Steven Bryant's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, as well as to provide analysis and performance considerations for the work. The personal and idiosyncratic nature of the composition is important to understand for an effective performance of the concerto. Bryant drew upon limited material for creation of the composition, and an understanding of these elements will help provide a clearer conception of the work for both the performer and conductor. A realization of these factors have been derived from an analysis of the concerto, as well as through interviews conducted with those involved with the commission and premiere performance.

Committee: Katherine Borst Jones (Advisor); Daryl Kinney (Committee Member); Russel Mikkelson (Committee Member); Karen Pierson (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Contemporary Music

Composers Alex Mincek and Eric Wubbels have both contributed significantly to the saxophone repertoire of the 21st Century. As members of the Wet Ink Ensemble, a New York City-based new music ensemble, they are both highly regarded performers and composers; Mincek is a saxophonist and Wubbels a pianist. While their contributions to the saxophone repertoire have been significant (seventeen works by Mincek, six works by Wubbels), there has been little scholarly attention to either composer or their saxophone works. This document provides the reader with biographical sketches and the philosophical approaches of each composer, comparing their similarities while drawing attention to what makes each unique in addition to highlighting the ways they have impacted each other as collaborators. It further examines Mincek's Pendulum III and Nucleus and Wubbels' This is This is This is and Axamer Folio, specifically evaluating the works through an analysis of form, unique uses of repetitive gestures, and extensive incorporation of extended techniques on the saxophone with the goal of providing a performer with analytical and performance tools to aid in the interpretation of these works.

Committee: John Sampen (Advisor); Mikel Kuehn (Committee Member); Nermis Mieses (Committee Member); Andrew Schockett (Other) Subjects: Music

Master of Music, Youngstown State University, 2012, Dana School of Music

From the time Adolphe Sax took out his first patent in 1846, the saxophone has found its way into nearly every style of music with one notable exception: the orchestra. Composers of serious orchestral music have not only disregarded the saxophone but have actually developed an aversion to the instrument, despite the fact that it was created at a time when the orchestra was expanding at its most rapid pace. This thesis is intended to identify historical reasons why the saxophone never became a permanent member of the orchestra or acquired a reputation as a serious classical instrument in the twentieth century.

Committee: Ewelina Boczkowska PhD (Advisor); Kent Engelhardt PhD (Committee Member); Stephen L. Gage PhD (Committee Member); Randall Goldberg PhD (Committee Member); James C. Umble PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2005, Music Theory

This document discusses the benefits of performance analysis in general and the need for a method for performance analysis of twentieth-century music. To help satisfy this need, it presents analytical techniques that aid performers in segmenting post-tonal music on multiple hierarchical levels as well as determining the intensity shapes (the increases and decreases of intensity) of the segments at all levels. The document begins in chapter 1 with a discussion of reasons and goals for performance analysis, which include aiding a performer in the creation of an interpretation that is logical, coherent, and personal. Performance analysis can also aid memorization as well as provide the performer with a greater ability to speak clearly about music. The second chapter is a discussion of the techniques used in selected performance analyses of twentieth-century music. The articles range from highly performance-oriented to highly theory-oriented (and everything in between). Both the merits and the shortcomings of the articles are discussed. The third chapter presents the method, which includes techniques and guidelines for segmentation on a number of hierarchical levels (phrases, phrase groups, subsections, sections), determination of intensity shapes within each of those segments, and graphic representation of the results of these analyses. The segmentation technique relies heavily on the grouping preference rules established by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff in their book, A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. The determination of intensity is loosely based on the concepts of progression and regression put forth by Wallace Berry in his book Structural Functions in Music. For the purposes of illustration, in chapter 4 the method is applied to Charles Wuorinen's Divertimento for alto saxophone and piano. (An appendix including the analytical results in graphic form is located at the end of the document.) The chapter focuses on points in the composition that illustrate aspect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Lake (Advisor) Subjects: Music

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, 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

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

Towards an Absurdist Semiological Syncretism (A.S.S.) is a composition for chamber ensemble and fixed media. The work will receive its premiere in April 2023 by the Hypercube ensemble as part of the Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts Klingler Electroacoustic Residency. The instrumentation consists of saxophones (soprano and baritone), electric guitar, piano, and percussion (vibraphone, large tom, and snare drum). The work's title is both a farcical rendering of academic language and a description of its narrative: the subject (portrayed by the instrumentalists) attempts an establishment of existential meaning among emotional distress at a culture of increasing dependence on social media and the amorphous dictates of consumerism (portrayed by the fixed media). The composition comprises three large formal divisions. In the first section, five discrete sets of intervals populate a field of pitches. These interval sets are gradually restricted from their field towards a climactic hexachord (6–20[014589]). The second section employs single-line-staff notation to express pitch-agnostic gestures written for slide whistles. The third section consists of totalistic rhythmic and tonal constructs, the gradual simplification of which seeks to recontextualize a similar process in the opening section. The fixed media component of the work is sourced from recordings of public domain literature, popular soundbites from social media (in accordance with U.S. fair use doctrines), and various objects being broken.

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

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Contemporary Music

The saxophone is relatively young compared to other instruments of the band and orchestra. Because the instrument is less constricted by traditional repertoire, composers looking to push the boundaries of concert music eagerly write for the saxophone, and saxophonists willingly experiment with new combinations of performance media. An exponential increase of works written for saxophone and multimedia has occurred since the 1960s. This increase in multimedia works for saxophone has paralleled a digital media revolution, manifested through advancements in recording, interactive media, and communication technologies. This document examines the synthesis of saxophone performance and the digital media revolution, elaborating upon existing repertoire for saxophone and digital media in a non-comprehensive manner, with emphasis placed upon electroacoustic works for saxophone and video. Possibilities for multimedia performance are rapidly expanding within the saxophone's repertoire. A poignant example, Matthew Burtner's meta-saxophone project combines motion tracking, accelerometers, and other technologies with the physical saxophone, creating a cyborg instrument. In this situation, Burtner is an auteur, acting simultaneously as the composer, performer, technologist, and sometimes visual artist, all while using the saxophone as the crux of expression. Other composers and artists take a collaborative approach while using saxophone and digital media. These combinations of saxophone and digital media create a new and exciting medium in concert performance. Yet, the combination of live performance and digital medium lacks scholarly analysis. While existing research provides valuable analysis from a performer's perspective, further examination of the interactions between mediums can reveal new potential and meaning. The introduction of elements of media theory and analysis to saxophone repertoire, using specific repertoire as micro-case-studies, will widen the artistic underst (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Sampen D.M.A. (Advisor); Ryan Ebright Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mikel Kuehn Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jerry Schnepp Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Communication; Mass Media; Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2014, College-Conservatory of Music: Saxophone

The purpose of this document is to examine Young Jo Lee's saxophone work, Sori No.10 for alto saxophone, and to create a performer's guide. This meticulous analysis of Lee's Sori No.10 will help performers fully understand his work, which combines various musical elements from Korea and the West. I will focus on how Lee uses the musical techniques and elements of the traditional Korean piri oboe in his saxophone work, and how to adapt these piri techniques for the saxophone. I will also examine the various modes and scales in the work which explicitly demonstrate that Lee intentionally combined musical sources from the East, particularly Korea, and the West. The performer's guide will also explain how to perform the extended techniques on the saxophone, including multiphonics, circular breathing, and slap tonguing. This proposed study is significant in that it is the first analysis of Lee's Sori No.10. Through close analysis and comparison to piri techniques as well as traditional Korean modes, scales, vibrato and portamento, this study will provide a basis for a culturally informed interpretation of Lee's music.

Committee: James Bunte D.M.A. (Committee Chair); James Vanmatre M.M. (Committee Member); Won-Bin Yim D.M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Contemporary Music

Francois Rosse (b. 1945) is a Bordeaux-based improvising pianist and prolific composer who has received relatively little scholarly attention. He has written over one hundred works involving the saxophone, and in many cases, featuring the saxophone, yet his music is not widely studied or performed in North America. This document draws attention to Rosse's music for saxophone by tracing the application of hybridity, orality, and primitivism in Bear's Trio, Nishi Asakusa, and Orients, his Japanese-influenced chamber pieces with saxophone. These concepts are presented within relevant discourses, as prominent features of Western art music history and saxophone repertory, and as philosophically motivated practices that form the core of Rosse's approach to music-making and composition. An overview of relevant Japanese cultural elements, such as history, art forms, aesthetics, and spirituality, provides the necessary groundwork for identifying the manifestations of Japanese influence in Bear's Trio, Nishi Asakusa, and Orients. By surveying Rosse's incorporation of Japanese tradition and spirituality through the tripartite theoretical lens of hybridity, orality, and primitivism, this document offers a valid and useful schema for experiencing and interpreting his music.

Committee: John Sampen (Advisor); Conor Nelson (Committee Member); Marcus Zagorski (Committee Member); Donald Callen (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2013, College-Conservatory of Music: Saxophone

This study examines concert saxophone vibrato through the analysis of several recordings of standard repertoire by prominent soloists. The vibrato of Vincent Abato, Arno Bornkamp, Claude Delangle, Jean-Marie Londeix, Marcel Mule, Otis Murphy, Sigurd Rascher, and Eugene Rousseau is analyzed with regards to rate, extent, shape, and discretionary use. Examination of these parameters was conducted through both general observation and precise measurements with the aid of a spectrogram. Statistical analyses of the results provide tendencies for overall vibrato use, as well as the effects of certain musical attributes (note length, tempo, dynamic, range) on vibrato. The results of this analysis are also compared among each soloist and against pre-existing theories or findings in vibrato research.

Committee: James Bunte D.M.A. (Committee Chair); Kimothy Pensyl M.A. (Committee Member); James Vanmatre M.M. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2013, College-Conservatory of Music: Saxophone

This document presents analyses and interpretive guides for the Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Deux Pieces, and the Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Cello, three saxophone works by Edison Denisov, exploring formal design and serial techniques. Denisov occupies an important position in the history of the saxophone. He promoted awareness of extended techniques and serial language through his Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, a landmark work for the instrument. While most saxophonists realize that this work is serial, and many can even identify the row, by itself this information provides little aid to the interpreter. This document is intended to help illuminate the essential elements of Denisov's musical language, particularly its serial aspects, so that the performer can better understand it and achieve a more satisfactory and meaningful interpretation of his works.

Committee: James Bunte D.M.A. (Committee Chair); David Berry Ph.D. (Committee Member); James Vanmatre M.M. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2012, College-Conservatory of Music: Composition

The work consists of two contrasting panels. The first panel reflects life; the second, death. While grieving over the recent death of someone in my life, I sketched two separate formal shapes that would eventually become the basis of “Reflections.” The resulting music adheres to the shapes that I sketched. This piece, in which I integrated elements of minimalism, jazz, progressive rock, and sound mass composition, is scored for saxophone quartet (alto, alto, tenor, baritone), and amplified acoustic guitar. In addition to this version, there is an alternate version of this piece, which is scored for horn quartet and amplified acoustic guitar.

Committee: Mike Fiday PhD (Committee Chair); Mara Helmuth DMA (Committee Member); Joel Hoffman DMA (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2010, College-Conservatory of Music: Saxophone

The compositions of Ryo Noda are performed in virtually every major university and saxophone studio throughout the world, and yet there is very little published to help the performer understand and prepare Noda's unique contemporary saxophone techniques, many of which are based and shakuhachi flute gestures. Saxophone teachers often recommend listening to shakuhachi when preparing the compositions of Noda, but there is a need for explanation of the techniques specific to the shakuhachi flute. This performer's guide will help saxophonists prepare and perform two compositions of Japanese composer Ryo Noda, Improvisation I and Mai. This document will provide foundational exercises designed to prepare the performer for the unique challenges represented in Improvisation I and Mai. It will also provide a detailed explanation of all notation and techniques as well as a musical and cultural context with which to prepare a culturally informed performance practice.

Committee: James Vanmatre MM (Committee Chair); David Adams MM (Committee Member); Bradley Garner DMA (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2008, College-Conservatory of Music : Saxophone

Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Phil Woods combines Western classical and jazz traditions, including improvisation. A crossover work in this style creates unique challenges for the performer because it requires the person to have experience in both performance practices. The research on musical works in this style is limited. Furthermore, the research on the sections of improvisation found in this sonata is limited to general performance considerations. In my own study of this work, and due to the performance problems commonly associated with the improvisation sections, I found that there is a need for a more detailed analysis focusing on how to practice, develop, and perform the improvised solos in this sonata. This document, therefore, is a performer's guide to the sections of improvisation found in the 1997 revised edition of Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Phil Woods. This guide will aid in the successful rehearsal and performance of well developed improvised solos that are solidly based in the harmony, and that incorporate melodies and rhythms found in the sonata. For each movement the harmony is analyzed to determine one or more scales that are commonly used with each chord. Second, I wrote exercises based on methods found in The Jazz Theory Book by Levine, A Creative Approach to Practicing Jazz by David Baker, Inside Improvisation, vol. 1 and 2 by Jerry Bergonzi, The Jazz Handbook by Jamey Aebersold, How to Practice Jazz by Jerry Coker, The Modern Sound: A Step Beyond Linear Improvisation by Walt Weiskopf, and a guide-tone exercise by Brad Goode. Finally, I composed example solos for the first and third movements that not only incorporated the scales, arpeggios, and exercises, but that are also based on the themes, rhythmic ideas, and the harmony of each movement.

Committee: James Bunte (Committee Chair); Rick VanMatre (Committee Member); Kim Pensyl (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2005, College-Conservatory of Music : Composition

This work is in five movements and is scored for saxophone quartet: soprano, alto tenor and baritone saxophone. The first movement is a quartet. The second movement is an alto saxophone solo. The third movement is a trio for two tenor saxophones and a baritone saxophone. The fourth movement is a baritone saxophone solo. The fifth movement is a quartet. Each movement contains some element of aleatoric music. The motives are based on bebop style melodies. Often the material is scored in rhythmic unison to create a jazz-saxophone-solitype effect. The parts move away from each other and grind while little melodies sneak in and out of the texture. The solo movements incorporate foot stomps. These are meant to be theatrical as well as aural. There is a unique interaction in both solo movements between the saxophone material and the foot stomps. Overall, the piece is based on a five-part rondo form. Performance time is approximately 20 minutes.

Committee: Michael Fiday (Advisor) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Music

Composer Joseph Kreines (b. 1936) has written several works for the classical saxophone. Among these are three works specifically for the alto saxophone: Suite “Alla Barocco” for Alto Saxophone (2004), Monologue 3 for Alto Saxophone (2005), and Cantilena and Toccata for Alto Saxophone (2006). These three compositions portray common traits and represent Kreines' unique compositional style. Aside from discussing Kreines' musical background, this document explores these three works for alto saxophone from a historical perspective and includes a formal analysis and performance considerations for all movements of each composition.

Committee: James Hill (Advisor); Russel Mikkelson DMA (Committee Member); Susan Powell DMA (Committee Member); Thomas Wells PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biographies; Composition; Fine Arts; Music; Music Education; Pedagogy; Performing Arts

Master of Music, The Ohio State University, 1980, Music

Committee: Thomas Wells (Advisor) Subjects: