The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Spring 2019 Selected Wind Band Works of Jennifer Higdon: A Conductor's Analysis Mark P. Johnson University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Mark P., "Selected Wind Band Works of Jennifer Higdon: A Conductor's Analysis" (2019). Dissertations. 1626. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1626 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SELECTED WIND BAND WORKS OF JENNIFER HIGDON: A CONDUCTOR’S ANALYSIS by Mark Patrick Johnson A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Music at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Approved by: Dr. Catherine Rand, Committee Chair Dr. James Standland Dr. Gregory Fuller Dr. Edward Hafer Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. Catherine Rand Dr. Richard Kravchak Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Director of School Dean of the Graduate School May 2019 COPYRIGHT BY Mark Patrick Johnson 2019 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon rose to worldwide prominence through her orchestral compositions. She is a prolific composer who has made significant contributions to the genres of solo concerti, mixed chamber ensemble music, choral music, and opera. Higdon describes her approach to composition as intuitive, where music is internally heard and then notated. The purpose of this study is to create a conductor’s analysis for four wind band pieces written by Dr. Jennifer Higdon. It will examine the signature characteristics of Higdon’s compositional style and use those characteristics as a fundamental for the creation of written analysis. The dissertation will provide conductor’s analysis’s for Kelly’s Field, Machine, Mysterium, and Road Stories. Published research on the wind band music of Jennifer Higdon is minimal. Each of the four works will be analyzed with regards to instrumentation, form and structure, melodic content, harmonic content, and rhythmic content. Information on commissioning, historical context, and the programmatic nature of the works will be also investigated. The combination of all these elements defines Higdon’s compositional style across all genres. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like thank my committee and the excellent faculty here at The University of Southern Mississippi that have provided support, guidance, and encouragement throughout my three years. Special thanks to Dr. Catherine Rand for her tireless work for and dedication to her students. Thank you to the band graduate staff, I would have been unable to accomplish this degree without each one of you. I would also like to thank the students at Southern Miss who have given their time and talents every day to create such excellent music. Thank you to Dr. William F. Malambri, who in 2009, told me that I would one day become Dr. Johnson. His constant support through my academic and professional career has allowed me to achieve my academic goals. Thank you to Mr. Ronnie Ward. Without his tireless efforts to instill a love for music in his students, this conductor would never have developed his love for band, jazz, conducting, and music theory. And finally thank you so much to Dr. Jennifer Higdon for your music that compelled me to research and write this dissertation. iii DEDICATION To my parents, Mark and Sharon: I will be eternally thankful for growing up in a house with music constantly playing. Thank you for supporting my passion for music through lessons, instrument purchases, rides to rehearsals and auditions, and being in the audience for many, many concerts since 1995. I love you both very much. To Sharon and Tom Biga: From the moment Kasey brought me to meet you, I felt like I was a part of your family. Thank you for your many years of support throughout many moves and adventures. To my wife, Kasey: This degree would never have been possible without your love and support. Thank you for your unwavering support throughout our lives together. I love you, and I promise to never go to doctoral school again. To my many teachers throughout my life: Thank you for the many lessons learned. To my students past, present, and future: Thank you for allowing me to share my passion and love of music. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................ vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .................................................................................. viii CHAPTER I –INTRODUCTION PURPOSE, NEED FOR STUDY, AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................ 4 Need for Study ............................................................................................................ 5 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER II – BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................. 12 CHAPTER III – REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................ 17 CHAPTER IV – MYSTERIUM ...................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER V – KELLY’S FIELD ................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER VI – ROAD STORIES .................................................................................. 46 CHAPTER VII – MACHINE ........................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER VIII – CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX A – Interview with Dr. Scott A. Stewart ...................................................... 91 v APPENDIX B – Letter of Permission ............................................................................. 102 APPENDIX C - IRB Approval Letter ............................................................................. 103 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 104 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Mysterium form chart. ....................................................................................... 25 Figure 2. Kelly’s Field form chart. ................................................................................... 37 Figure 3. Speed Bike form chart. ...................................................................................... 49 Figure 4. Winding Tree Lane form chart. ......................................................................... 56 Figure 5. Rail Lights form chart. ...................................................................................... 65 Figure 6. Machine form chart. .......................................................................................... 82 vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Musical Example 1 Mysterium, mm 15-19, clarinets and bass clarinet. .......................... 26 Musical Example 2 Mysterium, mm 32-38, trumpets and trombones. ............................. 27 Musical Example 3 Mysterium, mm 32-39, clarinets 2 and 3, and bassoons. .................. 28 Musical Example 4 Mysterium, mm 41-43, clarinets 2 and 3, and bassoons. .................. 28 Musical Example 5 Mysterium, mm 45-47, clarinets. ...................................................... 29 Musical Example 6 Mysterium, mm 48-50, clarinets. ...................................................... 29 Musical Example 7 Mysterium, mm 1-7 saxophones. ...................................................... 31 Musical Example 8 Mysterium, mm 45-47, horns. .......................................................... 32 Musical Example 9 Kelly’s Field, mm 11-14, trumpets. .................................................. 38 Musical Example 10 Kelly’s Field, mm 16-19, flutes, oboes, and clarinets. ................... 39 Musical Example 11 Kelly’s Field, mm 21-23, bassoons and tenor saxophone. ............. 40 Musical Example 12 Kelly’s Field, mm 31-34, trumpets. ................................................ 40 Musical Example 13 Kelly’s Field, mm 31-34, trombone 1............................................. 41 Musical Example 14 Kelly’s Field, mm 58-61, clarinets. ................................................ 41 Musical Example 15 Road Stories movement I, mm 1-5, horns. ....................................