Players, Not Parts: Rethinking Percussion Writing For Wind Ensemble

Author

Ben Overton Alford

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Department

Music

Committee Chair

William Shaltis

Committee Member

Albert Nguyen

Committee Member

William Plenk

Committee Member

Mahir Cetiz

Abstract

This document is both a supplement to and an explanation of my final project for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Memphis. I have taken five compositions for wind ensemble and rearranged the percussion parts to assist with the ease of performance, equipment, and personnel. I began work on this project in the Fall of 2022, inspired by a rehearsal of Urban Requiem, and was able to have my edit of A Child’s Garden Of Dreams performed by the percussion section of the University Of Memphis Wind Ensemble during the performance of said piece in the Fall of 2023. I present this document so that the reader can better understand the performance, equipment, or personnel issues typically experienced by a percussion student performing in these ensembles. The purpose of this project is to bring awareness to the stresses that are inadvertently placed on the average percussion player in a typical university wind ensemble.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.”

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

Recommended Citation

Alford, Ben Overton, "Players, Not Parts: Rethinking Percussion Writing For Wind Ensemble" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3483.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/3483