Please do not remove this page Hannah Kendall's The Spark Catchers Transcribed for Wind Ensemble: Expanding Women Composer's Representation in the Repertoire Wood, F. Mack https://scholarship.miami.edu/discovery/delivery/01UOML_INST:ResearchRepository/12378719190002976?l#13378719180002976 Wood, F. M. (2021). Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers Transcribed for Wind Ensemble: Expanding Women Composer’s Representation in the Repertoire [University of Miami]. https://scholarship.miami.edu/discovery/fulldisplay/alma991031569587802976/01UOML_INST:ResearchR epository Open Downloaded On 2021/09/27 07:36:10 -0400 Please do not remove this page UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI HANNAH KENDALL’S THE SPARK CATCHERS TRANSCRIBED FOR WIND ENSEMBLE: EXPANDING WOMEN COMPOSER’S REPRESENTATION IN THE REPERTOIRE By F. Mack Wood A LECTURE RECITAL 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 2021 ©2021 F. Mack Wood All Rights Reserved UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A lecture recital essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts HANNAH KENDALL’S THE SPARK CATCHERS TRANSCRIBED FOR WIND ENSEMBLE: EXPANDING WOMEN COMPOSER’S REPRESENTATION IN THE REPERTOIRE F. Mack Wood Approved: ________________ _________________ Robert M. Carnochan, D.M.A. J. Steven Moore, D.M.A. Professor of Conducting Professor in Practice ________________ _________________ Jay C. Rees, M.M. Guillermo Prado, Ph.D. Professor of Music Dean of the Graduate School ________________ Dorothy Hindman, D.M.A. Associate Professor of Composition WOOD, F. MACK (D.M.A., Instrumental Performance) (May 2021) Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers Transcribed for Wind Ensemble: Expanding Women Composers’ Representation in the Repertoire Abstract of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Lecture Recital essay supervised by Doctor Robert M. Carnochan. No. of pages in text. (73) This project is a transcription of The Spark Catchers (2017) by Hannah Kendall, originally scored for full orchestra, aimed at increasing representation of women composers in the wind ensemble repertoire. I will provide background information for Hannah Kendall and The Spark Catchers, discuss the transcription process, and provide a formal analysis of Hannah Kendall’s piece. The analysis is intended to guide conductors that program the transcribed version of The Spark Catchers through the form, structure, and thematic elements. Following the discussion of the transcription and analysis, a brief dialogue on the role model theory and how expanding the repertoire from women composers in the wind ensemble repertoire could increase their interest to compose for the medium. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been very fortunate in my life and career to be surrounded by a wonderful support system. Traversing through graduate school would not have been possible without the help, love, and support of many wonderful people. First, I would like to thank my teacher and mentor, Dr. Robert M. Carnochan. He has been an incredible influence on my career and artistic development dating back to my time as an undergraduate student at The University of Texas at Austin. His encouragement to always seek out high quality art and to attend conducting workshops while I was a high school band director changed the course of my life. I likely would have never considered leaving public education to attend graduate school without his encouragement and support. I’m not sure I will every be able to say thank you enough as I now have the opportunity to achieve a lifelong dream of earning a doctoral degree with his guidance and support. Along with Dr. Carnochan, I want to thank my committee at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music. Dr. J. Steven Moore has been a tremendous influence on how I consider programming for ensembles and on the use of Laban gestures in my personal conducting and in conducing courses I teach. Professor Jay C. Rees provided me opportunities to work with and serve the Frost Band of the Hour and afforded me the opportunity to study marching band arranging where I learned arranging techniques that have greatly impacted my arrangements. Dr. Dorothy Hindman entrusted a first-year doctoral student with the premiere of Fission for wind ensemble. I am beyond appreciative of the opportunity to rehearse and perform your music and to have been included on an album and album release. I am also very thankful to have worked with iii fantastic graduate colleagues, Jeffrey Summers and Tina DiMeglio during my time at the Frost School of Music. Prior to my time at the University of Miami, I was fortunate to work and study with amazing human beings at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Damon S. Talley took a chance on me coming straight from teaching high school and his guidance and mentorship continues to shape me today. Dr. Dennis Llinás and Dr. Kelvin Jones were incredibly gracious and afforded me the opportunity to arrange music and drill for the LSU marching band. Their guidance and grace impacted me and really taught me how to provide opportunities for graduate students. I would also be remiss if I did not take a moment and thank Dr. Cliff G. Croomes, not just for being a great colleague and friend, but for encouraging me to take the jump into graduate school and for being a great encouragement throughout both my masters and doctoral degrees. Along with Dr. Croomes, I was blessed to work with several great graduate colleagues at LSU who I need to thank here for their friendship, Mark Bonner, Chasse Duplantis, Gary English, Joseph Meinweiser, Paul Scheffel, and Manuel Treviño. I am thankful to the friends and colleagues who have supported me along the way, but there are a few that really stand out. From my time teaching high school I want to thank Mr. Mark Poole, Mr. Adam Davis, and Mr. Jim Gist for their friendship and support as I decided to leave Texas for graduate school, and I appreciate their continued friendship. I am especially indebted to Dr. Scott Hanna from The University of Texas at Austin. He was very influential in turning my academic career around early in my undergraduate years and continued to be a great support and influence throughout my career. iv Finally, and certainly most significantly, I would like to thank my family for supporting me through this journey. Their love and support was felt across the country. I need to also take a moment and thank the two biggest supporters and my personal heroes throughout this journey, my wife Dr. Rachel E. Wood and my daughter Imogen Wood. Without hesitation, they followed me from Dallas, to Louisiana, to Miami, and now to Bloomington, Illinois. This journey would have been impossible without them and I will be eternally grateful to them for their support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 1 2 OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL COMPOSITION .................................. 4 3 FORM AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 6 4 OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSCRIPTION PROCESS .................................. 17 5 STARTING THE TRANSCRIPTION .......................................................... 20 6 THE TRANSCRIPTION PROCESS ............................................................ 25 7 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................. 44 8 REPRESENTATION IN THE WIND ENSEMBLE REPERTOIRE ............. 46 Bibliography ................................................................................................. 48 Appendix ................................................................................................. 49 vi CHAPTER 1 – BACKGROUND Hannah Kendall (b. 1984) is a prolific composer from London, England. She studied composition with Joe Dudell at the University of Exeter, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. For her graduate studies, she obtained a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music where she studied with Kenneth Hesketh, who has several works for wind ensemble. Kendall is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Columbia University in New York.1 Hannah Kendall has composed works for full orchestra, large ensemble, small ensemble, solo piano, small vocal, choral, musical theater/opera and open score. Her works are typically collaborations with other genres of art, especially poetry and literature.2 The Spark Catchers is composed for full orchestra and aligns thematically with a poem of the same title by Lemn Sissay (b. 1967). The piece was premiered in 2017 by Chineke! at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of the BBC Proms. Kendall has written additional compositions for large ensemble, chamber ensemble, vocal/choral ensembles and solo works. The Knife of Dawn, a one–man solo opera written in 2016, received critical acclaim and helped propel her reputation as an exciting young artist. According to Richard Fairman, “Hannah Kendall has responded with music that is spare, as benefits the subject…The result is intricate and imaginative.”3 Stated in her biography, “Hannah is deeply committed to contemporary culture as a whole and often works collaboratively with artists from other art forms.”4 This is clearly evident in The Spark Catchers as the piece is inspired by poetry. 1 www.hannahkendall.co.uk 2 Ibid. 3 Richard Fairman. “The Knife of Dawn, Roundhouse, London: Spare and Intricate.” The Financial Times. October