Date of Award

1986

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Advisor

Dinos Constantinides

Abstract

This dissertation is in two parts. The first part is an original one-act opera, Study in Grey, the second is a history of the Louisiana State University Festival of Contemporary Music. Study in Grey makes use of a libretto by Michael Coy (which he titled "After the Sacrifice") about General Robert E. Lee the night before the surrender of his troops at Appomattox Court House in 1865. There are three characters: General Robert E. Lee--baritone, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Marshall (Lee's aide-de-camp)--tenor, and a black orderly--spoken. The orchestra used is a chamber orchestra: one flute, one oboe, one clarinet, one horn, one trumpet, one cornet, one trombone, one tuba, two percussionists, one harp, and strings. The history of the LSU Festival of Contemporary Music is an investigation of the music, performers, composers, organisers, and circumstances of the Festival from its inception in 1944 through 1986. As the oldest, continuing festival in the United States dedicated to contemporary music, the LSU Festival has had great importance to the world of new music and to the study of composition at LSU. This study is the first comprehensive study of the Festival and gives an overview of its development and growth during the course of the forty-one festivals. The information for the study was collected from a number of sources, including the programmes for the Festival; newspaper reviews and announcements (Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, Baton Rouge State Times, and other press resources); and interviews with present and former students, faculty, performers, critics, and audience members who have been involved with the Festival in the past.

Pages

307

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.4610

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