Date of Award
Summer 2018
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
Music
Committee Chair
Jacqueline McIlwain
Committee Chair Department
Music
Committee Member 2
Joseph Brumbeloe
Committee Member 2 Department
Music
Committee Member 3
Edward Hafer
Committee Member 3 Department
Music
Committee Member 4
Danilo Mezzadri
Committee Member 4 Department
Music
Committee Member 5
Kimberly Woolly
Committee Member 5 Department
Music
Abstract
Four of composer Scott McAllister’s works, Devil Sticks, Uncle Sam’s Songbag Vol. I, Freebirds, and Funk feature the clarinet within a variety of ensembles. The purpose of my dissertation is to analyze the music in three ways: the background and outside influences found within each work, what happens in the pieces in terms of clarinet interaction with the ensemble(s), and finally relate it to McAllister’s other works. Through an interview with the composer, insight was gained into the background and history of each work, including who commissioned and first performed each one, any themes running throughout each piece, and outside influences, musical or otherwise, which appear in the pieces. An analysis of each piece in terms of overall form and structure, musical gestures contained within, and interaction between the clarinet and other instruments helps to define the clarinetists’ role in each piece. The information gathered is then combined to relate the compositions to others by the same composer, revealing commonalities and providing insight into stylistic characteristics used by McAllister as a whole. This information is gathered in hopes of an end result of helping performers to dissect the music to find the influences, compositional techniques, and commonalities with other works by the same composer in order to further their understanding of not only the four pieces predominantly featured throughout the document, but extrapolate the findings into McAllister’s compositional tendencies as a whole.
Copyright
2018, James Gruetzner
Recommended Citation
Gruetzner, James, "Technical and Performance Analysis of Scott McAllister's Devil Sticks, Uncle Sam's Songbag Vol. I, Freebirds, and Funk" (2018). Dissertations. 1561.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1561