Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School Bandsembles and Bandsembling: The HErini sRotsoe Hreyidr iacknd the Experience Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC BANDSEMBLES AND BANDSEMBLING: THE HISTORY AND THE EXPERIENCE By ERIN ROSE HEIDRICK A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music 2020 Erin Rose Heidrick defended this treatise on April 2, 2020. The members of the supervisory committee were: Shannon Thomas Professor Directing Treatise Evan A. Jones University Representative Gregory Sauer Committee Member Corinne Stillwell Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My personal journey with bandsembling has involved the support of many different people from various eras of my life. First, I would like to thank my family and friends, especially Charlotte Rose, John Heidrick, and Price Sukhia for their relentless support and love. Thank you for listening to me voice my unconventional ideas for so many months with nothing except openness and enthusiasm. You believed in my potential and encouraged me during life’s more difficult moments, and I only hope I can do the same for you when you need encouragement from me. I want to also thank the contributors of the Indiegogo campaign and my followers on social media platforms. Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor and having a role in the creation of a new piece for bandsemble. Reading your survey responses and reflecting on your perspectives made the entire process of writing so much more enjoyable! Finally, this treatise is a testament to the impact of my professors. Thank you to all my teachers who believed in me from the very beginning of my collegiate career, especially those who encouraged me to pursue contemporary music, including Dr. Laura Talbott-Clark, Dr. Katherine McLin, and Dr. Michael Kirkendoll. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Evan A. Jones, Professor Corinne Stillwell, and Professor Gregory Sauer, for encouraging me to pursue this topic and helping me organize my thoughts so I could best create this document. And finally, I am enormously grateful to Dr. Shannon Thomas for her guidance, encouragement, and mentorship over the past three years. I hope to make you proud as I continue to bandsemble in the future! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 Introducing Missy Mazzoli and the Bandsemble.................................................................1 Challenging the Musical Rhetoric .......................................................................................6 Purpose of this Treatise ......................................................................................................11 2. THE HISTORY .........................................................................................................................12 Performer-Led Concert Series ...........................................................................................12 Composer-Led Concert Series ...........................................................................................17 Performer-Composers ........................................................................................................21 3. THE EXPERIENCE .................................................................................................................35 Musicking and Bandsembling............................................................................................35 The Lecture Recital ............................................................................................................38 The Impact .........................................................................................................................50 4. CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................53 APPENDIX: SURVEY RESPONSES FROM THE LECTURE RECITAL ................................54 References ......................................................................................................................................61 Biographical Sketch .......................................................................................................................66 iv LIST OF FIGURES 1 Victoire performing with members of Wilco and Roomful of Teeth at Carnegie Hall during the 2014 Ecstatic Music Festival (from left to right, Olivia De Prato, Eileen Mack, Missy Mazzoli, Glenn Kotche, Lorna Krier, Ellen Oppenheim, Martha Culver, Mellissa Hughes, and Virginia Warnken) ..............................................................................................................4 2 The original founding members of the Mendelssohn Quintette Club (from left to right, Francis Riha, Edward Lehmann, Wulf Fries, Thomas Ryan, and August Fries) ....................14 3 From left to right, composers Roger Sessions, Aaron Copland, and Virgil Thomson, at the Whitney Museum, New York City, 1981 ................................................................................18 4 "Drumming" performed by members of Steve Reich and Musicians, 1973 ............................25 5 Members of The Philip Glass Ensemble ..................................................................................27 6 American composer, improviser, and accordionist, Pauline Oliveros .....................................29 7 Members of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble (from left to right, Bohdan Hilash, Meredith Monk, Allison Sniffin, and Katie Geissinger)..........................................................30 8 Members of Matt McBane’s bandsemble, Build (from left to right, Adam Gold, Ben Campbell, Andrea Lee, Matt McBane, and Mike Cassedy) ....................................................33 9 Screenshot from the Indiegogo campaign page .......................................................................40 10 Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago ......................................................................43 11 Photo of Dohnányi Recital Hall at Florida State University....................................................44 12 Members of Haven performing TWO for bandsemble by Matthew Briggs (pictured from left to right, Alan Berquist, Erin Heidrick, Pono Santos, Christian Marshall, Matthew Briggs, and Amy Humberd), projected image from corresponding film by video artist Tori Bold............45 13 The bandsembling lecture recital poster, advertising members of Construct (from left to right, Pono Santos, Iris Cheng, Erin Heidrick, Christian Marshall, and Ross Hussong), TRIOmphe (from left to right, Iris Cheng, holding electronics, and Erin Heidrick), and Haven (from left to right, Erin Heidrick, Matthew Briggs, Amy Humberd, Alan Berquist, Pono Santos, and Christian Marshall) ..................................................................................................................49 v ABSTRACT This treatise explores the history of the bandsemble and an experience of bandsembling through a public lecture recital. The first chapter, “Introduction,” defines the term “bandsemble” and provides historical context on the emergence of the bandsemble and the rhetoric used in contemporary music projects. Chapter 2, “The History,” argues that the bandsemble belongs to a strong tradition of experimentalism in United States chamber music, through highlighting influential composers and performance projects from the past three centuries. Chapter 3, “The Experience,” details the concept of bandsembling as modeled after musicologist Christopher Small’s theory of musicking. It then details the various elements of a bandsembling lecture recital and concludes with a thematic analysis of audience responses to four survey questions. Lastly, Chapter 4, “Conclusions,” contains my final thoughts on the future of the bandsemble and bandsembling. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Since the early 2000s, several unconventional chamber ensembles have influenced the landscape of contemporary classical music in the United States. These groups feature previously unexplored instrument combinations, and, as a result, each is distinct in its sound and style. At first glance, these ensembles may seem too unconventional to appropriately perform in a concert hall setting. Many popular chamber groups, such as Newspeak, the NOW Ensemble, and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), include electric guitar, electronic keyboards, and drum set alongside more traditional acoustic chamber music instruments. Yet contemporary classical composers have embraced these unusual instrument arrangements. In fact, many regularly compose works for these mixed ensembles, incorporating elements from both the symphonic and rock music worlds into their compositions. A specific type of genre-merging ensemble has become