M.A. - Music

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/2112

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 42

Na'lå'la' I Taotao Tåno': Navigating the Performative Terrain of CHamoru Reclamations
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Gumataotao, Andrew Mantanona; Moulin, Jane; Music
Many scholars have examined the decolonization movement of the CHamoru people of Guam however, little attention has been placed on how CHamoru expressive culture is a significant arena embedded in such calls for social justice. This thesis investigates the contested ground and oceans of CHamoru political rights through the framework of performativity that traces various facets of Indigenous reclamations throughout Guam’s history and contemporary reality. I draw insight from Pacific scholars that interrogate notions of tradition and Indigeneity while at the same time, interweaving CHamoru voices who actively use music and dance for the purposes of maintaining, reshaping, and perpetuating CHamoru culture. Through the perspective of an Indigenous CHamoru, I employ an ethnographic memoir approach to this applied ethnomusicological study of CHamoru resistance that is diffusely articulated in a myriad of ways through history, complicated life stories, political upheaval, militarization, and responses to ongoing colonization. By privileging CHamoru agency enmeshed in intellectual rigor, this thesis aims to articulate what Danielle Brown poignantly affirms as a study written from a place of familiarity, about places and people who are crucial to my continued development. Through decolonization lived in performance, this body of work is an “ethnography of home”.
Sustaining Musical Identity of the Ichigenkin: Negotiating Performance, Composition and Aesthetics of Japan's One-string Zither of the Seikyodo Ichigenkin School
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Rice, William Richard; Lee, Byong Won; Music
Tradition and modernization have been competing facets of the Japanese cultural arts since the opening of trade with the West at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1968. Japanese traditional musicians have needed to negotiate to what degree western aesthetic influence should have on the music. The ichigenkin is one such tradition. The ichigenkin is a rare one-string zither, once favored by monks, samurai, and literati classes during the Edo Period. In 1989, at the age of 21, Minegishi Issui (b. 1967) inherited Seikyodo Ichigenkin, a family-run school, founded by her great-great grandfather, Tokuhiro Taimu (1849-1921), dedicated to preserving the art and philosophy of the ichigenkin. In efforts to sustain a disappearing musical art, Minegishi Issui has negotiated a number of changes under her tenure as iemoto of Seikyodo Ichigenkin. These changes include incorporating new playing techniques, commissioning new compositions, experimenting with musical form and structure, improvising in performance, and incorporating cross-cultural influences. Despite these objective changes and additions to the ichigenkin tradition, I argue that Minegishi has kept the cultural aesthetic of the music that gives the Seikyodo Ichigenkin school its identity and meaning, all while adhering to the original philosophy set forth by the school’s founder. This thesis will discuss efforts that Minegishi Issui has taken to sustain and bring new life to the ichigenkin tradition.
Tahitian dance as taught in Hawaiʻi
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978) Paisner, Miriam Natalie.; Music (Ethnomusicology)
I chose to study Tahitian dance because of a deep attachment and love for its sounds and movements--movements I did not understand yet wanted to experience, movements I was not sure my body could learn to do but that needed trying. In addition, Tahitian p
Fijian meke: an analysis of style and content
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978) Good, Linda; Music (Ethnomusicology)
It is the author's hope that this study will help students of Fijian culture understand the beauty and importance of meke (action chant). Little has been published about Fijian traditional music. Most of this has been of a general nature, written by missi
Taking The Tradition Out Of Traditional: The Shakuhachi In The Naruto Anime
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021) Shaver, Travis John; Lee, Byong Won; Music
In my five years playing the shakuhachi (the traditional Japanese bamboo flute), I have noticed that with increasing frequency, people come up to me with new and interesting ways in which they associate the sound of the instrument. The traditional association—and the reason I wanted to study the instrument—was its history as a Zen Buddhist tool to gain enlightenment. This is also almost the exclusive discourse in academic literature. However, among the public this association is changing, and I am more likely to hear audience members mention how they have heard the sound in and associate the instrument with its use in modern compositions like Tōru Takemitsu’s November Steps and popular contexts like in a track of Linkin Park, Hollywood movies like Jurassic Park, video games like Okami, and anime like Naruto. With the global rise of Japanese popular and traditional culture and the Japanese government’s use of it as a political and economic tool to increase soft power and their status as a cultural superpower through government programs such as “Cool Japan,” phenomena like this are ever more important to examine. This thesis aims to investigate a small portion of this phenomenon, in particular the use of the shakuhachi in Naruto. I break down the dissociation from its traditional meanings and uses in the Zen honkyoku repertoire and sankyoku music and its transformation into a consumed sound. Using transcriptions of the score, I analyze how the shakuhachi is utilized in the score and why, connecting it to Japanese and Western sounds, scales, and genres. Finally, I also use surveys and an interview to evaluate fan reaction to these items as well as their own creations using the sounds of the instrument. Throughout this thesis I argue that although the shakuhachi is still very much connected to the history and culture, without this knowledge many Naruto fans are creating and attaching connections, meanings, and value to the shakuhachi that are linked to this history and culture but at the same time new and detached from it.
Musical Aesthetics in Alex North's Score for The Bad Seed
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Martin, Johnette M.; McQuiston, Kate; Music
The Bad Seed is an American, female-centered psychological thriller that aestheticizes attitudes toward 1950s gender roles. Director, Meryn Leroy, and composer, Alex North, tap into a fear of the young character, Rhoda as a threat, but more so, a fear for the character, Christine as a person and a mother. My work demonstrates how North contributes to female-centered film aesthetics by offering sympathetic consideration for female characters through his original music. Through critical analysis of genre-specific film and its music in the example of Mervyn Leroy’s The Bad Seed, I demonstrate aesthetic connections between Alex North’s The Bad Seed score and the psychological thriller genre.
Two Generations of Contemporary Chinese Folk Ballad Minyao 1994-2017: Emergence, Mobility, and Marginal Middle Class
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2020) Gao, Yanxiazi; Lau, Frederick; Music
This thesis explores two generations of contemporary Chinese minyao music (xiaoyuan minyao, 1994-1996 and xin minyao, 2005-2017). Originally, the term minyao was used in imperial China to refer to a type of folk entertainment, which focused on rhyming verbal expressions. But in a post-socialist context, minyao is now known as a genre of commercial popular music featuring western folk music and poetic Chinese lyrics. Over two generations, musical themes of minyao shifted from a focus on nostalgia and gentle romance to poetic self-expression and brutal criticisms of social issues. Accordingly, the tastes of minyao audiences shifted as well. By examining those shifts and China’s urbanization and population mobility, I argue that the second (current) generation of minyao audience draws from the marginal middle class, who see contemporary Chinese minyao as a symbol of good taste. I further argue that the second generation of minyao artists and audiences build their “sonic township” (O'Toole 2014; Kim 2016; Wang 2018) by singing and listening to minyao together in “live house” music clubs. The live house, as a sonic performing space, musically articulates the audience’s home origins and regional identities. The music of this “sonic township” is characterized by 1) the notion of wen as a civilized, refined, literary and feminine sophistication; and 2) a “feminine” style of singing (Moskowitz 2010; Baranovitch 2013). These two traditional qualities help define the aesthetics of minyao and its reception among audiences in current China. This thesis also attempts to combine aspects of gender and social class to discuss the regional identity and cultural attachments of contemporary minyao as a genre of popular music.
Wakayama Ryū Edo Bayashi in the United States: intercultural history, transmission, authenticity, and relationship with contemporary taiko
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2019) Shibata, Sean; Lee, Byong Won; Music
This thesis explores the history and significance of Wakayama Ryū Edo Bayashi as it relates to the broader musical performance art of taiko. Wakayama Ryū Edo Bayashi , or simply referred to as Edo Bayashi , is a musical repertoire of festival music that is taught and performed by the Wakayama Ryū, a school of traditional folk performing arts based in the shitamachi area of Tokyo. By examining the historical connections between practitioners of Edo Bayashi and the modern genre of kumidaiko , this thesis outlines the pathways that led to the transmission of Edo Bayashi to the United States and constructs an intercultural history of the music. Furthermore, the musical impact of Edo Bayashi on other taiko music is discussed through the analysis of taiko compositions that have borrowed musical materials from Edo Bayashi. Finally, this thesis examines the significance of the transmission of Edo Bayashi to the United States by exploring the theoretical possibilities that Edo Bayashi poses to the field of ethnomusicology via discourses of authenticity, nostalgia, and identity.
Shizuko Akamine And The So-shin Kai: Perpetuating An Okinawan Music Tradition In A Multi-ethnic Community
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2018-12) Miyashiro, Darin Tokuo; Trimillos, Ricardo D.; Music
This thesis examines the evolution of one of the oldest and longest running koto organizations in Hawai‘i based in the small town of Hilo on the island of Hawai‘i. Originally established in 1957 as an affinity group among the Okinawan diasporic community to accompany fellow Okinawan music and dance groups, the So-shin Kai evolved into an independent, multi-ethnic group performing iconic songs representing the various ethnicities that form the local community. The leader who implemented those changes, Shizuko Akamine, faced criticism and doubt. However, with innovative teaching methods she was able to successfully maintain student interest in the koto, and with a diverse repertory she was able to entertain as well as educate the greater community. While her methods may have been a concern among those hoping to preserve “tradition,” the So-shin Kai's evolution under Shizuko Akamine’s leadership ensured continuity of this koto group within the changing community of Hilo.
Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford: Elevating the Female Voice in American Musical Theater
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2018-12) Kerns, Nancy Jane; McQuiston, Katherine; Music
ABSTRACT Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford, along with most other female creators of musicals, remain in the shadows, in spite of an increased focus by the media on women’s contributions to society. The messages of Cryer and Ford’s dramatic themes and songs have not been fully understood by many critics and audience members. Scholarly and popular writings on women in theater remain scarce, and literature on Cryer and Ford contains errors and promotes misunderstandings. In this thesis, I argue that Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford, a writer and composer of musical theater respectively, tackled contemporary issues in their Broadway and off Broadway musicals, introduced new theatrical forms and musical genres to the stage, and have built a distinguished collaborative career and earned a meritorious position in musical theater heritage by incorporating these issues, in particular, those which pertain to women or those which affect women, into their works. I seek to correct and build upon extant writings and information from media resources. My thesis is the first monograph to detail the lives and works of Cryer and Ford, and to assess their contributions to the musical theater genre. My detailed case studies dissect several Cryer and Ford musicals, which speak directly to prominent images and ideas of the time, and reveal how their works emphasize the importance of interpersonal communication, and endorse humanism and, in particular, feminism. Cryer and Ford are trailblazers for other female musical writers, for whom they have advocated, and for whom I provide a comprehensive overview.
Nā Hīmeni Hawai‘i: Transcending Kū‘ē, Promoting Kūpa‘a
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-12) Lum, Zachary A.; Music
This thesis is a study of a genre of mele (Hawaiian musical/poetic expression) called hīmeni Hawaiʻi (Holstein, 1897) and its historical importance. More specifically, I explore its contribution to the notion of aloha ʻāina – a love for one's land – as a fundamental sentiment of Hawaiian identity (Goodyear-Kaʻōpua 2013:13). Hīmeni Hawaiʻi is a specific genre of mele prominent in the late 19th century, identified by characteristic textual and musical attributes. The late 19th century was perhaps the most tumultuous period in Hawaiian political history, with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the events surrounding it. Consequently, this period produced a myriad of mele lāhui (nationalist songs), collected and published by F. J. Testa in 1895 (Basham 2007). These mele lāhui bolstered political support for the deposed queen and related issues. However, in stark contrast, hīmeni Hawaiʻi, equally popular during the same time (Holstein 1897) seemingly show no trace of this political sentiment, in either lyrics or music. In this thesis, I argue that the characteristic apolitical content of hīmeni Hawaiʻi, in fact, served a function during the late 19th century to transcend politics and instill the fundamental sentiment of aloha ʻāina, a defining component of modern Hawaiian identity. Through the use of mele analysis, I suggest that hīmeni Hawaiʻi, though lacking overt political sentiments, promotes Hawaiian epistemologies of aloha ʻāina through the use of what I term the nahele (forest/wilderness) motif. This strain of aloha ʻāina finds significance in both its initial and contemporary contexts. With influence from the musical structures of Christian hymns, hīmeni Hawaiʻi is the result of a hybridized practice that has been localized and eventually accepted as a Hawaiian tradition. The analysis of selected hīmeni Hawaiʻi serves to elucidate this notion of aloha ʻāina, enriching current perspectives on the political climate of the late 19th century. Stokes (1994:3) argues that music "provides means by which people recognise identities and places and the boundaries which separate them." In the case of hīmeni Hawaiʻi, "place" is inherent in identity through the understanding of aloha ʻāina, a love for one's land. The "boundary," then, becomes the context of political turmoil that separates and connects identity and place. That music "can be used as a means of...constructing trajectories rather than boundaries across space" allows readers and listeners of hīmeni Hawaiʻi to transcend notions of political status and engage foundational ideals of Hawaiian essentialism: the fundamental ideals of Hawaiian epistemologies. By understanding this, I expand ideals of aloha ʻāina not only to include the kūʻē (resistant) sentiments of mele lāhui, but the kūpaʻa (steadfast) sentiments of hīmeni Hawaiʻi. This study and interpretation of hīmeni Hawaiʻi allows us to understand the importance of the nahele motif as it expresses aloha ʻāina and shapes contemporary Hawaiian identity.
Youth Identity and Regional Music in Northeastern Thailand
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-12) DeKievit, Megan M.; Music
Music in the northeastern region of Thailand comes in several forms, including luk thung, which has been identified by scholars such as Craig Lockhard (1998) and James Mitchell (2015) as the most popular genre of music in Thailand, and mo lam, a local style of singing and dancing mainly performed only in this region. Both these genres trace their origins to Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand, and are strongly associated with the country's Lao minority and rural identity. In the 1990s a new Isan musical genre combining musical characteristics of luk thung and mo lam became popularized throughout Isan and the rest of Thailand. Scholars such as Sanong Klangprasri (2541/1998) and Tinnakorn Attapaiboon (2554/2011) have referred to this genre as luk thung-mo lam. While still firmly situated in the Isan region, this genre has gone through various stylistic changes. Resembling the changing job market of the northeast region, this music is experiencing the effects of urbanization, while still maintaining regional flavor in the sonic effect and sentiment. This study will explore expressions of regional identities in contemporary luk thung-mo lam music as experienced by young people in the Isan region. Through analysis of interviews with university students, lyrical translations, music videos, musical transcriptions, and observations of live performance environments, I examine the relevance of the various forms of luk thung-mo lam among university students at Ubon Ratchathani University and argue that this new musical form brought on by the region’s urbanization is used to assert a newly emerging, regional identity while still maintaining cultural values from the past. For a new generation, the popularity of luk thung-mo lam shows both the international connections of Isan and its regional value as an integral part of the national culture and economy.
Exploring a Tradition Identity: Gwangdaejeon in Jeonju, an Innovative Strategy in Pansori Popularization
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-08) Lee, Hae In; Music
Gwangdaejeon (Battle of the Clowns) was a local North Jeolla province television show that premiered in 2012 and ended in 2015, with later seasons being broadcast throughout Korea. This program’s motto was to revive the traditional pansori stage which thrived around Jeonju, the state capital of the North Jeolla province. The show was filmed in hanok (traditional Korean house) village, a historical recreation of a traditional house town in Jeonju. Gwangdaejeon was a competition for the master pansori singers, myeongchang. Gwangdaejeon follows the structure of reality popular song competition programs, which are already familiar to the public. These programs are categorized into two types: amateur and professional competitions. The former centers on auditions for novices who want to become stars, for example, Superstar K. The latter are competitions, such as I am a Singer, exclusively feature professional experts. Gwangdaejeon was similar to I am a Singer, but for myeongchang. This thesis explores the ways a television show contributes to the promotion of Korean traditional music. While Korean pop culture, such as K-pop and TV dramas, are gaining huge popularity all over the world, pansori, an example of Korean traditional vocal music, is disregarded by the majority of Koreans even though it has cultural value. This program offers a chance for Korean people to experience traditional vocal music performances and think more deeply about their own musical identity. I argue that Gwangdaejeon and its clever strategy of combining a popular competitive television program format with Korean traditional music not only aids in the revival of pansori but also offers the best chance at popularizing pansori among Koreans. I demonstrate that it also promotes the preservation of the cultural identity of Jeonju.
P'ansori as Social Critique: Perpetuating a Musical Tradition in Twenty-First Century South Korea
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2017-05) Lee, Sangah; Music
This thesis explores the new form of Korean story-singing tradition, p’ansori, in the twenty-first century through the works of a South Korean performing group called Badaksori (sound from the bottom). Based on the musical and political actions of Badaksori’s members, this study details how this liberal group articulates nationalistic, antiforeign, egalitarian, and pacifist ideologies in its new p’ansori productions. Utilizing historical perspectives, ethnographic research, and textual and musical analyses of performances by Badaksori, this thesis illustrates how key elements of traditional p’ansori have been transformed, reinforced, or retained in the age of modernity. This thesis begins by challenging the conventional conceptualization of traditional p’ansori as a device to promote Confucian morality in the nineteenth century by showing how its subtexts allusively confronted the Confucian ideology. During the Japanese colonial period in the early twentieth century, performers began to use p’ansori to project antifeudalist and anti-imperialist ideas in a more explicit way. In the late twentieth century, this function of p’ansori as social critique was accentuated by incorporating minjung (“masses” or “people”) discourses that challenged the agenda of the authoritarian state. Drawing parallels between minjung discourses and Badaksori’s pursuits, this study draws upon minjung ideology as a theoretical and empirical basis for its examination of the identity, ideology, and performance of Badaksori. The goal of this thesis is to foreground the traditional role of p’ansori as a means of voicing social critiques of dominant ideologies, from Confucian ideology to stateimplemented discourses. I show that p’ansori emerged and has continued as a subversive vehicle to speak for socially and economically marginalized people in Korea. This study also shows that Badaksori has strategically and creatively made use of this traditional function of p’ansori in modern South Korea for its ideological work by altering the textual and musical presentation. I argue that even though musical, stylistic, and thematic appearances of p’ansori performance has continuously changed, its function as social critique has remained unchanged and central throughout its history in Korea.
Opera as Japanese Culture: Creativity, Modernity and Heterogeneous Social Expression in Japanese-Composed Opera
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2016-12) Costello, Padraic
This thesis deals with the agency of Japanese composers who create and produce new opera, stemming from the European opera tradition, in both Japan and abroad. Specifically, I examine the creation of opera through four cultural processes. Opera creation can be understood as historically malleable within Japan, as domesticated through physical internalization and display, as altered through language into a decentered form open to multiple modes of cultural expression, and as crafted through the juxtaposition of opposing sound spectrums, suggesting the heterogeneity, rather than homogeneous collapsing, of available musical materials.. These processes are all intertwined, and position opera creation as a flexible method of expression that allows composers to embrace modernity while simultaneously challenging the dynamics of “Westernization” as a process of modernization in Japan. Historically, opera has been produced and enjoyed in Japan as one of several methods for certain Japanese audiences to embrace “Western” culture, in order to be modern and enhance social prestige. Although groups of Japanese consumers and producers of opera still engage with the genre as a means of participating in this prestige and Western modernization in the 21st century, I suggest that the creation of new opera by composers is a process of challenging opera as a predominantly “Western” mode of cultural expression, while articulating Japanese culture from within a globally engaged Japan. In the process of decentering opera from its European origins, composers challenge the dominant theoretical frameworks of Orientalism and hybridity as inadequate in considering musical and cultural interaction for Japanese creation. Writing opera is a process of actively shifting the cultural logic of opera, and of resituating traditional Japanese culture, society, and aesthetic within the context of modernity, rather than an either-‐ or of rejecting tradition for modernity. The process of creating new opera in Japan can also be seen as an increasingly vibrant rejection of Orientalism and cultural homogeneity in favor of a growing, continually recoded, and diverse Japan, allowing for new possibilities of self-‐expression. Particularly in the post-‐war era, many composers have embraced myriad framings of “Japan” within opera, together constructing a kaleidoscopic imagining of Japanese identity. Through processes of historical framing, domestication, diversification, and cultural juxtaposing, composers claim ownership over opera as a means of social expression within the context of Japan. By considering opera creation by Japanese composers through these cultural processes, I argue that these new operas challenge dominant conceptions of opera as an inherently “Western” construction, while allowing composers to embrace and define Japan’s modernity for themselves.
Mask and Mirror: Cultural Maintenance and the Politics of Fulfillment in Barbados's Junior Calypso Monarch Programme
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2016-12) Corbett, Anjelica
Barbados, like other Caribbean nations, holds junior calypso competitions for Barbadian youth. These competitions, sponsored by Barbados’s National Cultural Foundation (NCF), allow the youth to express their opinions on society. As youth become the voice of the people during Crop Over, the normative social order temporarily inverts. Barbados's Junior Calypso Monarch Programme (JCMP) is a developmental program and competition divided into two age categories: 8-12 years old and 13-18 years old. Through the junior calypsonians’ social commentaries, the JCMP promotes a hardworking, traditional, yet innovative image of Barbados to local and international audiences. The program consists of a workshop on calypso performances, junior calypso tent performances, and the competition’s semifinals, and finals. The winners receive the title of Junior Calypso Monarch, the opportunity to perform in Trinidad and Tobago during Carnival, and other prizes. The title of Junior Calypso Monarch garners respect from Barbadians. It is a sign of the child's and Barbados's future success. The JCMP performance practices masquerade on two criteria: One, Calypso’s musical aesthetics, focused on pleasant and melodious sounds, and the aesthetics’ association with bacchanal conceal the serious nature of the social and political criticism within the performance. Two, the junior calypsonians’ performances provide social commentary on topics deemed appropriate by the Barbadian government and society, and reveal youth’s regulated freedom through performance. Masquerade is an avenue to display the youth’s agency in Barbadian society and resistance against the youth’s stereotypical roles in society. Through examination of calypsos from the 2014 JCMP and its role within the Barbadian government, this work argues that the JCMP increases the value of youth’s role in nationalist projects and social agency through calypso performances as the youth helps define Bajan musical aesthetics and add new dimensions to Barbados’s national image.
Musical change in Huobajie: recontextualizing Nuosu Yi identity
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2013-05) Richter, Jonathan Kessler
The Nuosu Yi people in China's Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces have developed many practices and traditions to express their cultural distinctiveness. For the Yi people Huobajie (Fire Torch Festival) is the most important event to reify the Nuosu collective identity in various regions, but the Chinese state also sees Huobajie as an opportunity to promote the festival as a representation of a unified Chinese nation. Although the People's Republic of China governance officially banned Huobajie during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), more recently Han district officials not only encourage the festival's occurrence, but are also sent to host,judge, and participate in the festival events. This increased attention on the state level has led to increased tension between the Yi and the Han officials, resulting in changes to the music and performance, which in turn have altered the overall structure and meaning of the festival. In this thesis I examine the musical representation and competition in the Laoyaoshan Nuosu Yi minority group's Huobajie to interpret the ways in which statesponsored development affect the process of change in Nuosu Yi music behavior and conceptualization, as well as their self and collective identity. I argue that the attempt in 2011 to recontextualize Huobajie events implemented by an external force led to the realization amongst the Yi that music and performance is a significant form of power and self-representation, resulting in a cultural awakening and a return to independent sponsorship of Huobajie festivities in 2012. This thesis also emphasizes the importance of documenting the decision-making processes of individuals and groups to help track the changes of music and cultural values within a group.
Shaping a Music Genre through Competition and Virtuosity: 21st Century Tsugaru Shamisen Contests in Aomori Prefecture, Japan
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2013-12) Barsky, Jacob Meir
Tsugaru shamisen is a Japanese improvisatory instrumental folk genre that developed in the northeast part of Honshu in the Tsugaru region of Aomori prefecture. Today, Tsugaru shamisen has moved beyond its roots as a regional folk style and developed into a popular form of Japanese neo-traditional music that is both commercially successful throughout Japan and often recognized internationally. This thesis examines virtuosity and Tsugaru shamisen performance competitions through a field study of the 2012 National Tsugaru Shamisen Competition in Hirosaki and the 2012 All-Japan Tsugaru Shamisen Competition in Kanagi. In this thesis I argue that the Tsugaru shamisen genre's evolution as a music driven by virtuosity and competition has made possible its unusual success as a commercially viable national and international music genre that is also able to act as a lucrative commodity for regional music tourism in Aomori Japan.
Seville 1992—the awakening of a city: the universal exposition in Seville (1992) and the creation of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2011-12) Sivova, Anna Emilova
The present work underlines the importance of classical music for the development of Seville, with a special emphasis on the period of Expo '92, and analyzes data from primary and secondary sources collected through library research and interviews. It will situate this material within the national, regional and local contexts that have interacted in complex fashion in Spain since the political shift of 1975. It also analyzes Seville's response to the events of 1991 and 1992 and provides a framework for understanding the remarkable growth in the status and presence of classical music in that city during the recent past, placing it within a discussion of innovation and resistance. On one hand, the dynamics of change involve active social and cultural transformation, based on ideas that are new to a society. Joining the European Union helped stimulate the wish in some circles to draw the south of Spain closer to the cultural traditions that bind that whole continent together. On the other hand, active rejection of such change or passive distancing that ignores its presence creates forces of resistance. Public statements on the value of classical music and its institutions were generally negative before the events of the early 1990s, but they became strongly positive afterwards; still, neither stance (wholly positive or totally negative) reflects the true complexity of the situation. To analyze the effects of classical music presented to Seville as part of Expo '92 (an international event that offered music from 112 countries), the study depends heavily on two books relevant to this exposition that use anthropological methodology. In Hybrids of Modernity Penelope Harvey explores culture, technology, and nationality, and focuses her analysis on Seville's exposition of 1992. She emphasizes that its culture was a product with commercial goals. While her study of the social behavior of Expo '92 visitors has been useful for this study, she does not acknowledge that culture, and especially classical music, is just as much a spiritual and historical experience as a commodity. More recently, a second anthropologist, Richard Maddox, published The Best of All Possible Islands, where he uses Expo '92 as a starting point for scrutinizing the development of democracy in Spain and the impact of European unification. In a communication with the author, Maddox has also underlined the importance of his experience of living near Seville during the organization and opening of Expo '92. Although not a music scholar himself, he has confirmed his familiarity with the music scene of that time. Harvey's and Maddox´s anthropologically grounded observations help in understanding the reactions of Seville's population and the human impact of government-sponsored cultural change on the city. Using Maddox's data, observations on popular discontent, and widespread complaints about the practical effects of modernization (such as the rising real estate prices) that surrounded organization of Expo '92, the present work also demonstrates how classical music served as a positive influence, an exception that acted as a cultural bond among the exposition visitors and how its presence during this event helped establish the bases for a permanent tradition of symphonic performances in the city. By turning to historical documents and conducting personal interviews, it also corrects widely held misconceptions about purported connections between Expo '92 and the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville, and shows that the initial purpose of the Maestranza Theater was to serve as a Palace of Culture, and not an opera house.4 After an examination of the initial actions of and reactions to Seville´s Royal Symphony Orchestra, this study offers conclusions regarding the lasting importance of classical music as a tool for cultural change.
Claiming the colonial and domesticating the foreign: a Native Hawaiian aesthetic for the piano in hula ku'i music
(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2011-05) Sala, Aaron Joseph
This thesis explores the nature of piano performance practice in Hawaiian hula ku'i music. As an auxiliary instrument, the piano serves as melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic decoration to what has become the core Hawaiian ensemble. Its performance is informed by an aesthetic system grounded in Hawaiian culture. The methodology by which piano performances were transcribed has led to the discovery of an analytical technique that is new to the field of ethnomusicology. In conjunction with notation software, MIDI technology provides a complex musical score which also serves as a hyper-descriptive kinetic map, allowing the examination of not only the music itself but also the kinetic behavior of the pianist at the keyboard. Finally, by negotiating a Native voice for ethnomusicology, shifting the focus from a purely ethnographic approach toward one that acknowledges the Native practitioner/scholar, this thesis argues for a common ground between Academic ontology and Native epistemology.

Browse

Recent Submissions