Masters Theses

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Browsing Masters Theses by Department "Music"
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    THE NEW SCHOOL OF RUSSIAN AND EASTERN EUROPEAN CLASSICAL GUITAR: THE POST-SOVIET RISE OF A GLOBAL CONTRIBUTOR
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2018-03-29) Pfeifer, Christopher Earl ; Morgan, Joseph ; Morgan, Joseph ; Shearon, Stephen ; Parkinson, Michael ; Music
    This thesis traces the developments in the Russian and Eastern European classical guitar community after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which political circumstances supported increased access to Western resources. Six-string guitar performers from Russia and former Soviet Eastern European states are afforded primary attention over players of the seven-string Russian guitar (semistrunnaya). This is an introduction to Russia’s and Eastern Europe’s evolution from non-essential in the global classical guitar community, to its current status as a source of many of the world’s most influential guitarists. The subjects of this thesis are recognized as part of the New Russian and Eastern European School of Guitar by their individual successes in major international guitar competitions in the twenty-first century, shared educational background and geographic origins, and overall success as classical musicians. This is not intended to be an exhaustive account of every Russian and Eastern European guitarist.
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    Variations on a Theme: Reclaiming Feminine Agency with Tori Amos's Night of Hunters
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2013-03-28) McLeland, Kara ; Miyakawa, Felicia ; Shearon, Stephen ; Helford, Elyce ; Music
    For several decades music scholars have criticized the Western classical music canon for its failure to represent authentic female voices. This thesis demonstrates how Tori Amos's album Night of Hunters is an important work in reclaiming feminine agency in the canon. As a twenty-first century song cycle, Night of Hunters is a twofold variation on a theme. Literally, the album is based on existing pieces written by canonical composers. Figuratively, the album serves as a variation on the long-standing theme of masculine dominance in the canon. Amos establishes feminine agency in this album in very strategic ways: by drawing from subversive models, through the construction of matriarchal lineages and overt invocations of feminine spirituality and mythology, and with the practice of musical borrowing. Drawing on interdisciplinary feminist scholarship, this thesis considers Night of Hunters as a significant work in the ongoing negotiation of feminine agency in the Western classical musical canon.