Date of Award
4-2008
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
Music
First Advisor
C. Curtis-Smith
Second Advisor
Dr. Richard Adams
Third Advisor
Dr. David L. Code
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
There are times where one walks through life untouched, unaffected by their surroundings. This is not how the universe functions. Eventually, this comfortable sleep is disrupted, and we are given a choice: to change or to die. Life is not what we do, nor is it what happens to us. Our life is measured in how we react to what happens to us.
This composition loosely explores the changing self and asks the question: how much do we actually change? Though programmatic in nature, each movement and each section within movements does not represent an exact story. Instead, the titles of the movements suggest a mood from where to start.
The instrumentation of Three Moments and Change, brass quintet and string orchestra, can be thought of as two very contrasting voices. The brass, being powerful and precise, represents the self and its many faces. The string orchestra represents the life around the self, the universe that can be as reflective as it is distant, perhaps involved, or even sympathetic to weary traveler.
The aim of this composition apart from the program is to present a work in a modern tonal language that is accessible to a pre-professional performance level and provides literature for a less-than-usual instrumentation.
Recommended Citation
Schumaker, Adam, "Three Moments and Change" (2008). Masters Theses. 5268.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/5268