Bates College Department of

Music Presents

Senior Thesis Concert

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

A Hybrid In-Person/ Live Streaming

Concert at the Olin Concert Hall,

At Bates College

Composition Thesis Showcase Program Notes

“Unfunny CEO” and “No Love, Whenever” are two pieces Billie Grummer (b.1999) from my thesis. My nished thesis will be a collection of ve experimental pop songs arranged for a tenor vocalist and various small Unfunny CEO ensembles of instrumentalists. In making “experimental pop,” my No Love, Whenever specic purpose is to preserve the immediacy and accessibility of pop music while using more complex compositional techniques than those which are typically found in the style.

Anaïs Ranque (b.1999) Along with the general philosophy of pop, I’ve also preserved In Loving Memory - original version some compositional elements which I feel are important to the style’s identity. All of the arrangements use an electric bass and a typical In Loving Memory - jazz adaptation pop/rock drumset based around the kick, snare, and hat. Most arrangements also use one other instrument or section for block chords and another for melodies. To dierentiate the style from jazz, Ian Robertson (b.1999) the songs are almost entirely based in triadic harmony. All of the songs Sounds of Scotland in three movements are at least loosely structured in terms of verses, choruses, and bridges. Lastly, all songs feature a lead vocalist singing lyrics which I’ve also written. While they are certainly harder to sing than the average pop (played without intermission) song, I felt it important that someone who knew the song could sing along while listening.

I’ve added experimental elements to these pop conventions to make the music feel more exciting, dynamic, and unpredictable. Tonally, these elements include chromaticism/atonality, polytonality, and modulation. Rhythmic elements include odd meters, meter changes, polyrhythms, oset patterns, and simultaneous patterns of diering lengths. I want these uncommon techniques not to feel like untting embellishments added for shock value into an otherwise

conventional song, nor do I want the songs to feel like overly-intellectual pieces of academic art that are more fun to talk around the world and which showed that “Black Lives Matter,” about than they are to listen to. Instead, I want to artfully mingle the proved the power in numbers, and reected this idea of marching into strange and the familiar so that any listener can experience a pleasing battle. The repeated motif which can be heard on several occasions balance of comfort and stimulation. during the piece serves as a reminder of those such as Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others who have died “Unfunny CEO” is a song about excess, reected in the and for who we must keep ghting. It is their name which could be exhaustive maximalism of the composition. The speaker has heard above the noise during these protests, and it is in loving everything, and so does the song. memory of them that we must keep ghting for justice. “No Love, Whenever” is a song of longing that can’t decide whether to keep hope alive or give it up. Can its sweetness and its In Loving Memory – Jazz Adaptation strangeness bring out the best in each other, or will they always be at odds? (Billie Grummer) Since jazz is a genre which emerged from the African American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, it seemed tting to make a jazz adaptation of this piece given its message. In the original, the In Loving Memory – Original Version piano played both the accompaniment and the main melody line. For this adaptation, I wanted the main melody line to be played by a I composed the rst section of this piece in June of 2020, shortly after saxophone for several reasons: I wanted the rich and sorrowful tone the Black Lives Matter protests began in the United States. The piece that it can have when used in slow jazz pieces, but also the bright and attempts to convey the agony, anger, and immense sadness that I was powerful texture which allows it to be commonly used in military and witnessing people of color experience as a result of racism and racial marching bands. The piano served perfectly for the accompaniment as th th inequality and the overwhelming sense of pain I felt for the families of I could easily transform the original triad chords into 7 and 9 those who had lost their lives. The occasional dissonance is meant to chords which are typical of the sound of jazz. The upright bass convey the frustration and confusion, as most Western ears are not provides not only the lower register of the piece, but also the accustomed to hearing it. The dramatic dynamic and tempo changes steadiness which cannot be found in the improvisation of the represent the volatility of the emotions one can experience during saxophone or the complex chords of the piano. Lastly, I really wanted grief, the way sudden bursts of blinding rage and cries of pain can so to use brushes for the drums to reinforce the softness of the quieter quickly turn to sobs of weakness and loneliness. Despite this piece sections of the piece, as well as to provide contrast with the louder being mostly representative of pain and loss, I did want to include more upbeat sections where regular drumsticks were used. passages which conveyed a sense of strength. The descending and Additionally, right around the middle of the piece when it slows back ascending sequences in the left hand conveyed the energy and pace of down after the rst upbeat section, I included a syncopated kick a march to me; they reected the protests which were happening pattern in the drums which seeks to mimic a heartbeat, slowing down. Each instrument is responsible for conveying a specic detail from keyboard, drums, and guitar along with double bass lay a solid experiences tied to the Black Lives Matter protests and the emotions foundation for pop and rock styles. mentioned above at any given time with the overall goal of creating a cohesive and representative soundscape. (Anaïs Ranque) The piece consists of three movements, each with a dierent Scottish inspired approach. The rst movement combines folk and Sounds of Scotland classical genres, drawing inspiration from composers that have integrated Scottish folk music into classical pieces such as Hamish On my semester abroad in St. Andrews, Scotland, I learned a lot MacCunn, James Oswald, AC Mackenzie, and Sally Beamish. It about the dierent musical traditions of Scotland. In my Scottish focuses on Scottish instrumental music (dances and marches), placing music course, I studied Scottish folk, pop, rock, and art music. four instrumental folk tunes into the classical sonata form. The rst Outside of class, I immersed myself in folk jam sessions at a pub in two themes, are reinterpretations of the existing folk tunes “Struan town and heard the latest pop music on the radio in restaurants. I was Robertson” and “Colonel Robertson,” while the other two tunes are even inspired to compose an alternative rock song about my entirely original tunes modelled after the popular reel and jig dance experience in Scotland. Though some Scottish folk music (bagpipes, forms. The second movement is an orchestral arrangement of an ddle music) is pretty widely recognized, I began to realize many original alternative rock style song called “Lost in Time” which I Scottish music forms are often overlooked in traditional music wrote during my time in Scotland. It includes folk and classical (and courses. Additionally, many famous Scottish musicians/groups jazz to an extent) accompaniment, with an epic rock guitar solo near known outside of Scotland are seldom recognized as being Scottish by the end. The nal movement draws inspiration from Scottish vocal foreign listeners. Inspired by my Scottish ancestry, my fascination with music. It is based on two popular Scottish vocal tunes: “Auld Lang the music I learned about while in Scotland, and fond memories of Syne” and “Loch Lomond.” The movement follows a theme and my adventures in Scotland, I set out to compose a piece based on a variations form, presenting ve contrasting variations of each theme variety of Scottish musical styles. My goal was to combine Scottish with the two tunes merging together by the end. Each theme folk, pop, rock, and classical (art music) into one cohesive piece. In statement and the transitions between them draw inuence from pop order to achieve this wide range of styles, I chose a versatile ensemble and rock songs by a variety of Scottish artists such as Dougie that resembles a small orchestra, with some slight changes for added MacLean, Amy MacDonald, Runrig, Chvrches, Gerry Raerty, Franz exibility. The instruments include: two violins, viola, cello, bass, Ferdinand, Teenage Fanclub, The Proclaimers, and Simple Minds. In trumpet, ute, clarinet, piano/keyboard, guitar (acoustic and electric), its entirety, Sounds of Scotland is intended to contribute to and drum kit/percussion. While most of these instruments are found extramusical symbols of unity and appreciation for unfamiliarity in traditional Western classical orchestras, the violin, ute, and clarinet through its keen combinations of dierent Scottish-inspired musical are capable of providing similar tone colors to folk instruments such stylistic elements. (Ian Robertson) as the ddle, pennywhistle, and bagpipes respectively, and the