Building Bridges Through Music: a Recording and Performance Collaboration with Adult Composers, Young Soloists, and Collegiate Band Accompaniment
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Building Bridges through Music: A Recording and Performance Collaboration with Adult Composers, Young Soloists, and Collegiate Band Accompaniment by Melanie Jane Brooks A Research Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts Approved April 2018 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Gary W. Hill, Co-Chair Jason Caslor, Co-Chair Melita Belgrave Amy Holbrook Deanna Swoboda ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2018 ABSTRACT Although music is regarded as a universal language, it is rare to find musicians of different ages, ability levels, and backgrounds interacting with each other in collaborative performances. There is a dearth of mixed-ability-level wind band and string orchestra repertoire, and the few pieces that exist fail to celebrate the talents of the youngest and least-experienced performers. Composers writing music for school-age ensembles have also been excluded from the collaborative process, rarely communicating with the young musicians for whom they are writing. This project introduced twenty-nine compositions into the wind band and string orchestra repertoire via a collaboration that engaged multiple constituencies. Students of wind and string instruments from Phoenix’s El Sistema-inspired Harmony Project and the Tijuana-based Niños de La Guadalupana Villa Del Campo worked together with students at Arizona State University and composers from Canada, Finland, and across the United States to learn and record concertos for novice-level soloists with intermediate-level accompaniment ensembles. This project was influenced by the intergenerational ensembles common in Finnish music institutes. The author provides a document which includes a survey of the existing concerto repertoire for wind bands and previous intergenerational and multicultural studies in the field of music. The author then presents each of the mixed- ability concertos created and recorded in this project and offers biographical information on the composers. Finally, the author reflects upon qualitative surveys completed by the project’s participants. i Most the new concertos are available to the public. This music can be useful in the development and implementation of similar collaborations of musicians of all ages and abilities. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many incredible people and service-driven organizations were involved in the production of this performance collaboration and research project. It began with the love of my family, grew with the support of my colleagues and mentors, and flourished with the artistic and personal input of my friends across the world. I am grateful for the incredible opportunities I had during my graduate studies at Arizona State University and the Sibelius Academy. I would especially like to thank Gary W. Hill for sharing his remarkable musicianship, knowledge, and kindness. My committee members, Gary W. Hill, Dr. Jason Caslor, Dr. Amy Holbrook, Dr. Melita Belgrave, and Dr. Deanna Swoboda, provided exceptional guidance throughout this thesis project; my mentors, Gary W. Hill, Dr. Jason Caslor, Dr. Wayne Bailey, and Dr. Peter Ettrup Larson, pushed me to learn and grow beyond what I thought was possible; and my wind band conducting colleagues, Trae Blanco, Bryan Raya, Shannon Shaker, Paul Koch, Fredrick Brown, Greg Fritz, Hanna Lehtonen, Risto Sojakka, Juuso Wallin, Tanja Karjalainen, and Juhani Valtasalmi, created memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to the organizations who were integral in making this project a reality: the Herberger Institute for Design and Arts, Harmony Project Phoenix, Niños de la Guadalupana Villa Del Campo, Brophy College Preparatory, and Kappa Kappa Psi. Special thanks to the individuals who gave enormous support to this project: Dr. Heather Landes, Chaz Salazar, Dr. Diogo Pereira, Ron Wakefield, Lisa McKim-Hill, Samuel Peña, Dr. Dr. Melita Belgrave and her music therapy students, Frank Thompson, Dr. Jill Sullivan, Dr. Margaret Schmidt, Michelle Di Russo, Vanessa Villa-Lobos, Bob Frace, iii and Maggie Frace. I am additionally grateful for my colleague, Daniel Gordon, whose brilliant and creative mind is matched only by his unyielding friendship and support. Finally, this project could not have happened without the contributions of twenty- one selfless, talented, and visionary composers. To these musicians I will forever be indebted. iv DEDICATION To Sandy, Doug, Richard, Andy, Megan, and Mindy. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 2 SURVEY OF RESEARCH......................................................................................7 Expanding Upon the 2016-2017 Pilot Study ...............................................7 Survey of Concerto Repertoire ..................................................................10 Description of the 2017-2018 Project ........................................................18 Description of Terminology .......................................................................22 Related Projects and Studies ......................................................................27 3 THE CONCERTOS AND THEIR COMPOSERS ................................................35 Concertos for Flute ....................................................................................35 Double Concerto for Flute and Clarinet.....................................................38 Concerto for Oboe......................................................................................39 Concerto for Bassoon .................................................................................40 Concertos for Clarinet ................................................................................41 Concertos for Alto Saxophone ...................................................................44 Double Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Horn ........................................45 Concerto for Tenor Saxophone ..................................................................47 Concertos for Trumpet ...............................................................................48 Concerto for French Horn ..........................................................................51 Concerto for Mixed Wind Instruments ......................................................52 Concertos for Percussion ...........................................................................54 vi Page CHAPTER Concerto for Piano .....................................................................................56 Concertos for Violin ..................................................................................56 Double Concerto for Violin and Cello .......................................................59 Concerto for Double Bass ..........................................................................60 4 EVALUATION OF THE CONCERTO PROJECT EXPERIENCE .....................61 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................70 APPENDIX I AMERICAN BAND COLLEGE GRADING CHART .........................................75 II CONCERTOS FOR YOUNG SOLOISTS BEFORE THE 2017-2018 STUDY (SAMPLE SCORES) .............................................................................................77 III COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES...............................................................................81 IV EXTENDED PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE 2017-2018 STUDY ................102 V ITINERARY OF RECORDING PROJECT AND BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC FESTIVAL ........................................................................111 VI IRB APPROVAL DOCUMENT .........................................................................116 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “It’s kind of crazy, but it’s Finland!” chuckles Petri Komulainen, professional horn player and head wind band conducting instructor at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.1 In the summer of 2011, I took my first trip to Finland with the hopes of studying at conducting workshops and researching its world-renowned education system.2 Komulainen explained his extensive music training from his primary school years through various conservatories across Finland and Germany, all of which was tuition-free. I first met him at a summer music camp deep in the forests of central Finland, where he was leading the camp’s conducting workshop. Music camp director Hanna Lehtonen explained the setup. Music students would receive daily private lessons, instruction in music theory and improvisation, and rehearsals with the large ensembles, which were organized by ability level. The A-Orchestra consisted of the most advanced musicians, the B- and C-Orchestras were intermediate-level wind bands, and the D- Orchestra consisted of musicians who were complete beginners. It was at this first D-Orchestra rehearsal where I realized something completely foreign to American wind bands: the ensemble was intergenerational. Young musicians ages 7-10 were beginning to learn an instrument alongside their parents, grandparents, 1 Petri Komulainen, video interview by author, Terälahlti, Finland, July 2, 2011. At the time, Komulainen was a guest instructor at the Sibelius Academy. In 2015 he was hired as the director of the Sibelius Academy’s Wind Conducting Master’s program. 2 Robert A. Compton, The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System, DVD- ROM (Memphis, TN: True South Studios, 2011). Finland’s education system has been considered among the best in