On February 25, several Music and LEAP graduate students presented research at CSU’s Graduate Student Showcase. Over 300 CSU graduate students presented research and creative works, including six exhibits from music students in areas of performance, education, and therapy, along with four exhibits from students in the LEAP Master of Arts Leadership & Administration program.
Recitative: Ben Justis, Music Performance
This piece was composed as a commission for a friend’s senior recital at CSU. The principle theme reminded me not just of operatic interludes but the “recitatives” Paul Lansky uses in his piece Threads, as well. This piece was submitted to the 2013 Atlanta Symphony Modern Snare Drum Competition and is dedicated to my friends.
Songs from the New World: Pablo Romero Ordenana, Music Performance
A vocal performance showcasing the musical heritage of the new world, including works from Latin American and influential Spanish composers such as Gerardo Guevara, Carlos Gomes, Victor Carbajo, Astor Piazzolla, Emilio Arrieta, and Federico Moreno Torroba.
Middle School Outreach Ensemble: Dana Kettlewell, Music Education
The Middle School Outreach Ensemble (MSOE) is a program designed to further the development of quality music education in Northern Colorado by providing a musical experience for middle school band students and hand-on teaching experience for CSU music education students. Both students and teachers leave the experience with heightened skills, a sense of community, and a perspective on social justice. In the future, the program will expand to include choir and orchestral students. Also, the feedback structure of the program will help to create an evaluation system for current teachers to use in the field.
The Importance of Incorporating Jazz into the Elementary Music Education: Eli Cagen, Music Education
The far-reaching positive influences which jazz can have on young people is worthy of attention. Young children are uninhibited emotionally and at an age where improvisation comes very naturally to them – whether it be with the voice, the body, or a simple instrument. If people are able to recognize the deep value of incorporating jazz into general music, which includes fostering a deeper appreciation for a greater spectrum of music, stimulating creativity through improvisation, and exposure to a broader historical and cultural perspective, the discussion can then move more easily into how educators may bring jazz into their classrooms.
Singing Intervention for Vocal Skills in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease: Blythe LaGasse, Samantha Hantzepetros, Caleb Crain, and Nicole Wilshusen, Music Therapy
The purpose of this pilot study was to determine feasibility and initial efficacy of an eight-week music therapy group protocol on the vocal quality of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Nine participants with PD and self-reported vocal difficulties were included in this convenience sample. Individual participated in a singing group that was focused on vocal volume, articulations, and breath control. Music therapy techniques included Vocal Intonation Therapy, Oral Motor and Respiratory Exercises, and Therapeutic Singing. Results indicated that participants showed no decline in vocal abilities.
Collection, Transcription, and Categorization of Mexican Singing Games: Gaby Ocadiz Velazquez, Music Education
Naranja Dulce, Limón Partido is a cacionero, a lyric book without music which was published during the end of the twentieth century. It included a recording with singing games, lullabies, finger-plays, and rhymes in addition to some historical facts. It is one of the main resources of Mexican folk music. Without these recordings many of the songs would be lost. This research project will collect, transcribe to music notation, and categorize the songs to help in the development of programs of music education based on folksong literature and to enhance the access of Mexican folk literature for music teachers.
The Ideological State Apparatus and the Construction of National Memory: Natalie Dollison, LEAP
My research explores the publicly funded, ideological narrative told through national monuments and state historical markers. I contend that these sites of national memory create racialized spaces which normalize aggressive military action and white supremacy. My presentation will include an overview of my findings and make connections based on the philosophy of Louis Althusser, in which I will explore how publicly funded national monuments act as an Ideological State Apparatus, and how such rampant, yet insidious ideology affects how the Repressive State Apparatus disciplines people of color in the United States.
Passport to Arts Policy, Teaching Civic Engagement in the Arts: Carrie Care, Alexis Harrison, Connor Kealey, Natalie Dollison, and Alina Osika, LEAP
This project focuses on fourth and fifth grade public policy and advocacy curriculum in American public schools. Our research revealed that students were learning basic civics, but not a way to apply this knowledge to a particular topic, such as the arts. It also revealed that the important role of the individual citizenship requires an understanding of how the public policy process works and ways citizens can affect government action. Our curriculum directly addresses art and cultural policy and the role of the individual citizen.
An Investigation of the Purpose and Relevance of One-off Events: Garrett Mynatt, LEAP
Creating festivals that re-occur increases logistical problems because there is a need to plan for the future and establish a presence that will evolve. Festivals are “an organized series of acts and performances usually in a relatively small area” (Juha Iso-Aho, 2008). There is no need to have a festival re-occur; there is more opportunity to explore the community that surrounds them in their true nature when they are singular. Focusing on identity, community, ritual festivals, and future festivals will support my thesis.
Number 5: Nicole Neiderman, LEAP
This painting, entitled Number 5, is inspired by interests in social awareness, advocacy, community engagement, and spirituality, a painting by LEAP Graduate Student Nicole Niederman. According to Niederman, the painting takes a Middle Eastern perspective on the Iraqi War.