UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI DAVID MASLANKA'S SYMPHONY NUMBER THREE: A RELATIONAL TREATISE ON COMMISSIONING, COMPOSITION, AND PERFORMANCE By Brenton Franklin Alston A DOCTORAL ESSAY Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Miami in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Coral Gables, Florida May 2004 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3125378 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3125378 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A doctoral essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts DAVID MASLANKA'S SYMPHONY NUMBER THREE: A RELATIONAL TREATISE ON COMMISSIONING, COMPOSITON, AND PERFORMANCE Brenton F. Alston Approved: Gary D. Green, Chair Professor of Instrumental Performance Associate Dean for Graduate Studies per Professor of Instrumental Music Music Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ALSTON, BRENTON (D.M.A, Instrumental Conducting) David Maslanka's Symphony Number Three: (May 2004) A Relational Treatise On Commissioning, Composition and Performance Abstract of a doctoral essay at the University of Miami. Doctoral essay supervised by Professor Gary D. Green. No. of pages in text 185. The purpose of this essay is to examine David Maslanka's Symphony Number Three for wind ensemble. The music of David Maslanka has been performed throughout the world and has received high acclaim from periodical and newspaper reviews. David Maslanka has written four symphonies for wind ensemble. Gary Green commissioned Symphony Number Three while he was Director of Bands at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. Since the premiere performance of Symphony Number Three in November of 1991, there have been seven performances. This essay will examine elements of the commissioning process, compositional process, musical analysis, and conclude with performance aspects of Symphony Number Three. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my loving parents, Benjamin and Kelley Alston and my guardian musical angel Mrs. Jo Ann Walls. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to recognize a number of individuals who have made significant contributions to this project and have made the completion of this degree possible. First of all, I want to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. David Maslanka for his cooperation during the process of writing this essay, especially for his willingness to discuss his music, compositional process, and himself. An enormous dept of gratitude are due to Professor Gary Green for his passionate inspiration and unending artistic guidance throughout the course of my degree program. He has helped me grow professionally and musically and I will always hold him in the highest esteem as a mentor, colleague, and friend. I am grateful to the following members of my committee for their guidance and suggestions. Edward Asmus, Frank Cooper, Margaret Donaghue-Flavin, Jerry Peel, and Thomas Sleeper. I have been fortunate to have several passionate teachers who have been incredible inspirations during my development as a young musician. Those teachers are: Charles Brodie, Margrite Wilder, and Marianno Pacetti, from Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia; Janice Fuller and Renee McCathren, from Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina; Mark Camphouse, George Parish, and Elizabeth Curtis from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Finally, heartfelt thanks are due to my wonderful family and close friends: Eartha Alston, Lady Alston, Daniel Belongia, Lorrie Crochet, Michelle Cuadros, Charles Damon, Randall Foster, Olivia Griego, Wan-Chun Liao, Elizabeth Marshal, C. David Ragsdale, Nate Rinnert, Jennifer Timmer, M.T. Sidoli, T. Clifton Smith, and Ammie Witt. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF EXAMPLES ............................................................................................. IV LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. IX Chapter I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1 II. COMPOSER BIOGRAPHY .................................................................. 11 III. COMMISSIONING................................................................................. 17 IV. COMPOSITIONAL PROCESS.............................................................. 22 V. MUSICAL ANALYSIS: MOVEMENT I.............................................. 30 VI. MUSICAL ANALYSIS: MOVEMENT II............................................. 52 VII. MUSICAL ANALYSIS:MOVEMENT III ............................................ 67 VIII. MUSICAL ANALYSIS: MOVEMENT IV ........................................... 89 IX. MUSICAL ANALYSIS: MOVEMENT V ............................................. 111 X. CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................... 129 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 133 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Interviews with David Maslanka........................................... 137 APPENDIX B: Letter to Gary Green about A Child's Garden ofDreams..... 178 APPENDIX C: Facsimile of original program notes sent to Gary Green...... 180 APPENDIX D: Letter of Consent from David Maslanka...... ................. ... ... 182 APPENDIX E: Facsimile of article about the premier of the Symphony........ 183 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Page MASLANKA: SYMPHONY NUMBER THREE, MOVEMENT I 5.1 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 1-15 ......... 36 5.2 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 19-26 ....... 37 5.3 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 36-39 ....... 38 5.4 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 50-51 ....... 39 5.5 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 54-55 ....... 40 5.6 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 62-67 ....... 41 5.7 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 73-76 ........ 42 5.8 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 77-80 ....... 43 5.9 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 89-92 ....... 44 5.10 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 129-131 ... 46 5.11 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 145-149 ... 48 5.12 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 150 .......... 49 5.13 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 151-169 ... 50 5.14 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 1., mm. 170-182 ... 51 MASLANKA: SYMPHONY NUMBER THREE:, MOVEMENT II 6.1 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 1-5 .......... 56 6.2 Maslanka, 5'ymphonyNumber Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 21-27 ...... 57 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES CONTINUED Page 6.3 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 28-32 ...... 58 6.4 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 33-36 ...... 59 6.5 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 37-49 ...... 60 6.6 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 61-67 ...... 61 6.7 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 74-81 ...... 62 6.8 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 82-86 ...... 63 6.9 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 103-107 .. 64 6.10 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 108-112 .. 65 6.11 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, Full score, mvt. 2., mm. 126-130 .. 66 MASLANKA: SYMPHONY NUMBER THREE, MOVEMENT III 7.1 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3., mm. 1-2 ........... 71 7.2 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3., mm. 8-13 ......... 72 7.3 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3., mm. 15-19 ....... 73 7.4 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3., mm. 24-32 ....... 74 7.5 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3., mm. 41-50 ....... 75 7.6 Maslanka, Symphony Number Three, full score, mvt. 3 ., mm. 61-65 ....... 76 7.7 Maslanka, Symphony