Summary of Three Dissertation Recitals

Abstract

Three recitals were performed in lieu of a written dissertation. The following program notes and analysis represent the artistry, research, scholarship, and thoughtful interpretive choices that underpinned these performances. Each recital, held at the Walgreen Drama Center, Stamps Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was designed to offer a compelling narrative through music. The first recital, titled “Musical Impressions of the Turn of the Century,” featured works by Claude Debussy, Gustav Holst, Arnold Schoenberg, and Francesco Paolo Tosti. This program, performed on March 22, 2024, at 8:00 p.m., explored diverse musical styles in four languages—English, French, German, and Italian. The second recital, “The Dynamics of Love and Loss in Bloom and Tide,” was held on December 7, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. This performance delved into the mid-to-late nineteenth-century repertoire of Ernest Chausson, Franz Liszt, and Richard Strauss, focusing on themes of love and loss. The third recital, “Timeless Introspection,” took place on February 23, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. It featured two song cycles by contemporary American composers Ben Moore and Maury Yeston. This program aimed to explore contemporary music with reflective texts that resonate across the centuries.