Doubt, for narrator and orchestra

Doubt is a single-movement composition of roughly twelve minutes for narrator and orchestra (woodwinds, horns, and trumpets in pairs, timpani, percussion, strings). The piece explores the controversial issue of capital punishment. The text was compiled from resources found on the websites of Death Penalty Information Center (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) and Anti-Death Penalty Information (http://www.antideathpenalty.org), as well as excerpts from the Bible. Doubt was conceived of as a dramatic work in which a narrator recites factual information in a direct and unemotional manner and the orchestra provides a response to the mixed emotions elicited by the text. The list of dates and case summaries presented in the middle section of the piece seemed most powerful and effective when recited in a natural speaking voice, which is why I chose not to set the text as song. Also, I chose the orchestral medium rather than a chamber setting because the nature of the topic demanded a larger range of colors and combinations, as well as a louder, fuller sound. Much of the music was composed while deciding which texts to include. Thus the music influenced the choice of text as much as the text suggested the musical setting. The four formal divisions of the piece are delineated primarily by the text. The first section is an orchestral introduction representing various emotional perspectives suggested by the texts. The narrator begins the second section with a Biblical verse over sparse orchestration. The third and main section of the piece begins with a new melody in the low strings that is closely related to the harmonic organization of the piece. The narrator lists dates of convictions, executions, exonerations and facts related to doubtful cases. The third section and the narration conclude with another brief passage from the Bible. The fourth section is a dramatic orchestral coda, bringing back the opening harmonies of juxtaposed perfect fifths. The final chord is full of tension and discord, reflecting the oppositions inherent in the topic of capital punishment: life vs. death, sympathy vs. reproach, pain vs. hope, but above all, doubt about guilt vs. innocence.

ION, OPERA IN SEVEN SCENES, BASED ON EURIPIDES ORIGINAL PLAY

The opera ION serves as my Doctoral Dissertation at the University of Maryland School of Music. The librettist of the opera is Nick Olcott, Opera Assistant Director at the University. My interest in this little-known play of Euripides began with my work with Professor Lillian Doherty of the University's Classics Department. Since I am fluent in Greek, I was able to read the play in original, becoming aware of nuances of meaning absent in the standard English translations. Professor Leon Major, Artistic Director of the University's Opera Studio, was enthusiastic about the choice of this play as the basis for an opera, and has been very generous of his time in showing me what must be done to turn a play into an opera. ION is my first complete stage work for voices and constitutes an ambitious project. The opera is scored for a small chamber orchestra, consisting of Saxophone, Percussion (many types), Piano, a Small Chorus of six singers, as well as five Soloists. An orchestra of this size is adequate for the plot, and also provides support for various new vocal techniques, alternating between singing and speaking, as well as traditional arias. In ION, I incorporate Greek folk elements, which I know first-hand from my Balkan background, as well as contemporary techniques which I have absorbed during my graduate work at Boston University and the University of Maryland. Euripides' ION has fascinated me for two reasons in particular: its connection with founding myth of Athens, and the suggestiveness of its plot, which turns on the relationship of parents to children. In my interpretation, the leading character Ion is seen as emblematic for today's teenagers. Using the setting of the classic play, I hope to create a modern transformation of a myth, not to simply retell it. To this end, hopefully a new opera form will rise, as valid for our times as Verdi and Wagner were for theirs.

Distant Light: Songs on Texts by Richard Boada

Distant Light: Songs on Texts by Richard Boada is a collection of songs for baritone voice, piano, alto saxophone, and percussion (vibraphone and marimba). The texts do not present a continuous narrative, but they share common themes. Most are set in the rural South and deal with the conflict between nature and industrial development. This piece functions as a cohesive whole, but each song could be performed separately and would be effective out of the context of the entire work. Distant Light is made up of eight songs and is approximately 23 minutes in duration.

WORKS FOR HORN BY AMERICAN WOMEN COMPOSERS

This performance dissertation consists of three recitals featuring the music of American women composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. My purpose in presenting these recitals is to expose and explore the lesser known compositions of these composers through live public performances. I selected a cross section of composers whose compositions employed a wide range of musical styles, techniques and instrumentation. The instrumentation included not only the "standard" works for solo horn and horn and piano, but various chamber compositions as well. Of these chamber works, there exists a duet for horn and harp, a trio for violin, cello and horn, and a quartet for viola, horn, piano, and percussion. In addition to the published works chosen, it was my intent to further heighten the awareness of American women composers through the commissioning of a work specifically for this dissertation. The resulting piece was Arbor for horn and harp by Elisabeth Mehl Greene, which received its premiere on April 18, 2009. Through this project, it is my hope to have not only increased the public's awareness of these lesser known works but to have contributed to the performances of these ever growing number of works by American women composers.

LUCIANO BERIO’S NATURALE: A STORY COMBINING FOLK MUSIC AND ART MUSIC

The study of a score by a serious performer is a fundamental step in the process of arriving at a knowledgeable and deeply informed approach to performing a piece of music. In order to obtain this knowledge numerous aspects of the score must be taken into consideration. It is the intent of this dissertation to gather and analyze the information concerning Naturale, a work written by Luciano Berio in 1985 for viola, percussion and recorded voice, based on Sicilian folk songs. All the aspects surrounding Naturale’s existence are taken into consideration in this study. First, it is important to reflect on Berio’s compositional style and traits, the manner in which he relates his works one to another, what he sees in folk music and his own personal desire to intertwine art music and folk music. For Berio Naturale is not an isolated venture into the realm of mixing folk music and his own avant-garde style; it is instead one of many works resulting from his long-standing relationship with folk music. Another essential aspect in this case is the study of Sicilian folk music itself, and the sources used by Berio to find the songs by which he was inspired. The work is examined section by section with figures showing both excerpts of Naturale as well as the original songs with their translations. An analysis containing harmonic, thematic and formal aspects of the score was developed in order to arrive at a better understanding of the structure and pacing of the piece. For this research the author went to Italy to conduct an interview with Maestro Aldo Bennici, the Sicilian violist for whom Naturale was composed. This interview helped in the discovery of two more songs used by Berio that have not to this point been identified in any other document. Bennici’s outstanding testimony portrayed the expressive character of this music and the evocative imagery behind this score. I hope to bring this knowledge to other performers, that they may fully understand and appreciate the unique beauty and power of Berio’s Naturale.

The circle in the relationship between space and body. Photo-essay based on Isidro Blasco and the BAPNE method

This article demonstrates a visual study on the educational space in which the teaching of body percussion is carried out in universities. The methodological framework is chosen by the Visual Arts Based Educational Research, using the work of an artist as a conceptual and methodological model. The research remains notable (1) due to the theoretical reference to the BAPNE method, (2) due to the visual reference to the work of Isidro Blasco – especially with the piece “Shanghai Planet 2009” - ;(3) due to the parallelisms established between the object of study in this investigation -the spatial analysis- and the focuses of interest revealed by the art critics in relation to the work of this artist. By means of a visual speech formed with 7 photo-collages the relationship between body and educational space is visualized in the basic disposition of circular learning. The visual constructions by way of photo-collage and their aesthetic charge brings us closer to the intimacy of the educational space, in the style in which it is distributed to the students in the music classroom, the materialization of interpersonal relationships, the occupied and empty volumes.

"The pride of noise": drums and their repercussions in early modern England

This article draws on a wide range of literary and archival sources in order to explore the cultural resonances of drumming in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. It concentrates not on instrument design and playing techniques but on the varied meanings that contemporaries attached to the ubiquitous sound of the drum. The discussion begins and ends with the unmistakable military associations of drumming. In between, consideration is also given to a range of interconnected but sometimes contradictory resonances that appear to have endowed drums with considerable cultural significance. Drums spoke, for example, of authority and they worked hard to impose order in urban streets. They also played their part in the contemporary culture of punishment, and many miscreants were subjected to the humiliation of public percussion. Beyond this, drums were particularly potent in their ability to express masculinity, and female drummers were rare and remarkable. The primal potency of the instrument also rendered it valuable to the insubordinate, and rioters—like soldiers— were regularly called together 'by the drum'. Lastly, the sound of the drum was sometimes intensely festive and could also be used to publicize special events such as dramatic performances and the display of curiosities. The repercussions of drumming were thus varied, and confusion sometimes resulted when the different possibilities became entangled.

Fast recognition of musical sounds based on timbre

Human listeners seem to have an impressive ability to recognize a wide variety of natural sounds. However, there is surprisingly little quantitative evidence to characterize this fundamental ability. Here the speed and accuracy of musical-sound recognition were measured psychophysically with a rich but acoustically balanced stimulus set. The set comprised recordings of notes from musical instruments and sung vowels. In a first experiment, reaction times were collected for three target categories: voice, percussion, and strings. In a go/no-go task, listeners reacted as quickly as possible to members of a target category while withholding responses to distractors (a diverse set of musical instruments). Results showed near-perfect accuracy and fast reaction times, particularly for voices. In a second experiment, voices were recognized among strings and vice-versa. Again, reaction times to voices were faster. In a third experiment, auditory chimeras were created to retain only spectral or temporal features of the voice. Chimeras were recognized accurately, but not as quickly as natural voices. Altogether, the data suggest rapid and accurate neural mechanisms for musical-sound recognition based on selectivity to complex spectro-temporal signatures of sound sources.

Interacção entre estruturas intervalares e estruturas espectrais, na música instrumental/vocal

A presente tese apresenta-se num formato bipartido, sendo a primeira parte uma investigação teórica e a segunda parte um conjunto de composições originais que procuram estabelecer, directa e indirectamente, uma relação com a temática investigada. A investigação incide sobre as diferentes relações que se podem estabelecer entre estruturas intervalares e estruturas espectrais, a partir de um conjunto representativo de obras de diferentes compositores. As obras originais da segunda parte configuram um objecto final de análise e reflexão. As composições que integram a segunda parte da tese são: Inês – sete miniaturas sobre A Castro, para soprano e orquestra, sobre excertos de “Castro”, de António Ferreira; Um sino contra o tempo, para flauta, clarinete, percussão e piano; Terra, para orquestra de cordas; Dor e Amor, para voz, flauta, clarinete, percussão, harpa, piano, violino, viola e violoncelo, sobre poemas de Nuno Júdice; e Ode a Gaia, para soprano solo, coro misto e electrónica, a partir de textos de diversos autores e épocas, desde Homero a Fernando Pessoa. Esta investigação surge a partir da convicção de que é possível e enriquecedor para a composição a coexistência e o estabelecimento de uma relação entre estruturas que valorizam as qualidades dos intervalos que as constituem e estruturas de tipo espectral. Se o pensamento intervalar pode ser relacionado com princípios de estruturação ligados a toda uma tradição musical, desde a música modal, à tonal e à atonal, o pensamento espectral relaciona-se com o estudo do fenómeno sonoro e do timbre e é integrado mais tardiamente no séc. XX como um possível modelo estruturante na composição. A investigação sobre as obras seleccionadas, sobretudo de compositores que colocam o fenómeno da percepção num plano central, procura diferentes interacções entre os dois tipos de estrutura, interrogando-se sobre em que medida é que essa interacção influencia ou é mesmo determinante para o resultado musical final. São analisadas diferentes aplicações, tais como: a procura de qualidades acústicas na criação de estruturas intervalares, a criação de timbres particulares para linhas estruturantes, a manipulação tímbrica de estruturas verticais, a inter-relação de camadas intervalares e espectrais na textura musical de forma sincrónica e diacrónica, e o surgimento de material intervalar a partir de estruturas espectrais. Os principais resultados passam pela confirmação de que o pensamento intervalar é compatível com o pensamento espectral e vice-versa, podendo-se concluir que são essenciais diferentes funções para os dois tipos de estrutura na textura musical e que quer as estruturas intervalares quer as espectrais se relacionam com diferentes aspectos da percepção, tendo, assim, uma influência determinante no resultado musical final, na eficácia da escuta e na sua fruição.

O gesto na performance em percussão - uma abordagem sensorial e performativa

O presente trabalho discute o gesto na performance em percussão e sua influência sobre as sensações de continuidade, suspensão e conclusão de um trecho musical. Conceitos de gesto utilizados em música e dança foram observados e redimensionados para a execução instrumental percussiva. Três abordagens distintas sobre o gesto na performance percussiva (Gesto Percussivo, Gesto Percussivo Interpretativo e Gesto Percussivo Expressivo) foram realizadas com a intenção de se gerarem mecanismos e ferramentas técnicas, interpretativas e expressivas para o fazer musical do intérprete percussionista. Através de um experimento que teve como objetivo captar sensações de continuidade, suspensão e conclusão de um indivíduo sobre uma performance musical percussiva, foi possível constatar como o movimento corporal age de forma influente sobre as informações musicais passadas pelo intérprete ao espectador.

O Tai Chi Chuan na percussão

Uma motricidade e uma psique de qualidade que permitam um desempenho de excelência são essenciais para a execução musical. Uma vez que o Tai Chi Chuan é uma atividade que implica um grande desenvolvimento do controlo psicomotor e psíquico, esta tese pretende aferir se a prática do Tai Chi Chuan pode ser um fator optimizador da performance de um percussionista. Tendo por base o estado da arte referente aos efeitos físicos e psíquicos resultantes da prática do Tai Chi Chuan, assim como do conhecimento secular que os seus praticantes possuem de matérias tais como a saúde, o autoconhecimento físico, o controlo da respiração e da ansiedade, a concentração e o desenvolvimento psicomotor procura-se compreender se a aplicação dos mesmos princípios à execução da percussão permite estabelecer paralelos entre ambas as atividades. Partindo da sua experiência como percussionista, o autor desta investigação efetua um estudo heurístico em que se pretende averiguar se a prática do Tai Chi Chuan poderá contribuir de alguma forma para uma melhor performance. Este estudo heurístico reporta-se não só à prática profissional do autor como também à sua experiência pedagógica. A experiência como professor de percussão e simultaneamente professor de Tai Chi Chuan de dez dos seus alunos de percussão ao longo de um ano letivo é também relatada, complementando e enriquecendo este estudo heurístico. Desta investigação conclui-se que a prática do Tai Chi Chuan parece potenciar a performance e otimizar o desenvolvimento das capacidades e destrezas dos alunos no ensino/aprendizagem da percussão, sobretudo nos seguintes aspetos, controlo da respiração e controlo psicomotor..

O grupo do Brooklin: semente da percussão contemporânea no Brasil

This dissertation proposes to disclose the production and the “fruits” generated in Brasil by the Percussion Ensemble of the Conservatório Musical Brooklin Paulista. This group was an important vehicle in Brazil for the emergence of new groups, new schools, new works and the making of percussion instruments. It contains semi-structured interviews with almost every member of the group, and conductors, composers and teachers who were connected with percussion practiced in Brasil in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Trembling Line

The Trembling Line is a film and multi-channel sound installation exploring the visual and acoustic echoes between decipherable musical gestures and abstract patterning, orchestral swells and extreme high-speed slow-motion close-ups of strings and percussion. It features a score by Leo Grant and a newly devised multichannel audio system by the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton. The multi-channel speaker array is devised as an intimate sound spatialisation system in which each element of sound can be pried apart and reconfigured, to create a dynamically disorienting sonic experience. It becomes the inside of a musical instrument, an acoustic envelope or cage of sorts, through which viewers are invited to experience the film and generate cross-sensory connections and counterpoints between the sound and the visuals. Funded by a Leverhulme Artist-in-Residence Award and John Hansard Gallery, with support from ISVR and the Music Department, University of Southampton. The project provided a rare opportunity to work creatively with new cutting edge developments in sound distribution devised by ISVR, devising a new speaker array, a multi- channel surround listening sphere which spatialises the auditory experience. The sphere is currently used by ISVR for outreach and teaching purposes, and has enables future collaborations between music staff and students at Southampton University and staff and ISVR. Exhibitions: Solo exhibition at John Hansard Gallery, Southampton (Dec 2015-Jan 2016), across 5 rooms, including a retrospective of five previous film-works and a new series of photographic stills. Public lectures: two within the gallery. Reviews and interviews: Art Monthly, Studio International, The Quietus, The Wire Magazine.

Análise da problemática da exposição dos músicos ao ruído: perceção ao ruído e determinação dos níveis de pressão sonora na prática musical em contexto escolar

A atenção face dada à problemática da perda auditiva induzida pelo ruído nos profissionais da música tem sido enfatizada estudos nos últimos anos. No entanto, no que respeita aos alunos de música, são ainda poucos os estudos que analisam esta problemática de modo a permitir compreender se estes poderão estar expostos a elevados níveis de ruído no decorrer da sua formação e desenvolver problemas auditivos. O presente estudo pretende caraterizar os níveis de pressão sonora a que alunos de música estão expostos no decorrer das aulas e analisar a perceção do risco dos mesmos e potenciais efeitos sobre o sistema auditivo. Foram analisadas duas Orquestras de Jazz e uma Orquestra Sinfónica de uma Escola Superior de Música (ESM) e de um Conservatório de Música (CM). No total foram selecionados 24 alunos de acordo com o seu instrumento, e medidos os níveis de pressão sonora em diversas aulas, ao longo de duas semanas com recurso a 8 dosímetros. Foi aplicado um questionário para a análise da perceção dos alunos ao ruído e realizados exames audiométricos para a avaliação auditiva dos alunos. Em geral, os resultados demostraram que os alunos estão expostos a níveis elevados de ruído no decurso das aulas de instrumento e ensaios. Foram obtidos elevados níveis de Lp,A,eqT na bateria, vibrafone, saxofone, trombone, clarinete e trompa. Nas três escolas, verificou-se valores mais baixos de exposição no contrabaixo, nomeadamente nas Aulas Individuais. Os valores de Lp,Cpico ultrapassaram o valor de ação inferior de 135 dB(C) na percussão e saxofone. Nas aulas teóricas os valores obtidos ultrapassaram recomendação de 35 dB(A). No que respeita à perceção dos alunos verificou-se que em geral consideram que a exposição a elevados níveis de pressão sonora não tem efeitos significativos na saúde. Apesar de se ter verificado que todos os alunos avaliados apresentam uma audição normal, tinnitus, hiperacusia, distorção e diplacusia foram identificados por um número significativo de alunos. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo refletem a necessidade de implementação de medidas de prevenção e controlo dos níveis de exposição dos alunos de música com vista a um aumento da sua consciencialização do risco.

Anti-vibration gloves and the forearm efforts during tools operations

The objective of this paper is to analyze the forearm muscular contraction levels associated to the use of anti-vibration gloves, by comparing the contraction levels with gloves and without gloves. Two different vibration tools were used in a simulated work environment: (1) A compact Duty Multi-Cutter Bosch and (2) and a Percussion Drill with a drill bit Ø20 mm. Standard operations were performed by each subject in the following materials: (1) Performing cross- sectional cuts in 80x40 mm pine section and (2) performing 20 mm diameter holes in a concrete slab 2 x 2 m, 70 mm thick. The forearm contraction level were measured by surface electromyography in four different muscles: Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS), Flexor Carpi Ulnaris (FCU), Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus (ECRL) e Extensor Carpi Ulnaris (ECU). For the flexor muscles (FDS, FCU), an increase tendency in muscular contraction was observed when the operations are performed without gloves (2-5% MVE increase in the FDS and 3-9% MVE increase in the FCU). For the extensor muscles ECU a decrease tendency in muscular contraction was observed when the operations are performed without gloves (1-10% MVE decrease). Any tendency was found in the ECRL muscle. ECU was the muscle with the highest contraction level for 79% and 71% of the operators, during the operations respectively with the multi-cutter (P50= 27-30%MVE) and with the percussion drill (P50=46-55%MVE). As a final conclusion from this study, anti- vibration gloves may increase the forearm fatigue in the posterior region of the forearm (ECU muscle) during operations with the mentioned tools