Date of Graduation

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DMA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

School of Music

Committee Chair

Lynn Hileman

Committee Co-Chair

Ernest Goeres

Committee Member

Michael Ibrahim

Committee Member

Mikylah Myers McTeer

Committee Member

David Taddie

Abstract

The purpose of this document is to conduct an examination of Amy Williams' First Lines for flute and piano. The composition is a collection of eleven miniatures, each influenced by the first line of a different poem, which require both the flutist and pianist to perform extended techniques. The goal of this project is to create a document that will assist performers in presenting a comprehensive and informed interpretation of First Lines by collecting biographical and pedagogical information selected to help them understand artistic, practical, and theoretical aspects of the work.;The research document will begin with a detailed biography of the composer. The author will conduct and transcribe interviews with Williams, during which information relevant to the composition of First Lines will be discussed. The interviews will explore Williams' compositional influences and techniques, musical training, and the impetus for the composition. This will be followed by short biographical reviews of each of the poets included in First Lines: Toi Derricotte, Patricia Goedicke, Colleen McElroy, Marilyn Chin, and Olga Sedakova. The reviews will include an overview of each poet's general writing style and a discussion specific to all of the poems used will follow. Additionally, Williams' reasons for selecting these particular poems will be explored, as well as the significance of the First Lines to both the poems and their corresponding movements. Full texts of the poems used will appear in an appendix, as a reference for future performers of First Lines. The research project will also explore compositional elements used to depict each poem. A chapter dedicated to the extended techniques utilized in the piece for both the flutist and pianist will include definitions for each technique, as well as practice suggestions, gathered from interviews the author will conduct with past performers of First Lines, including Andrea Ceccomori (for whom the piece was written) and Alberto Almarza, Artist Lecturer in Flute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

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