Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

6083

Date

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Major

Music

Concentration

Performance

Committee Chair

William Shaltis

Committee Member

Albert Nguyen

Committee Member

Kenneth Kreitner

Committee Member

Scott Hines

Abstract

Solo marimba repertoire has grown significantly since the 1970s. As a result of this expansion, there is no doubt that the marimba is regarded as a legitimate solo instrument. One of the pioneers of the solo marimba is Keiko Abe. She developed solo literature and performance skills, and improved the reputation of the marimba as a solo instrument. She was also directly responsible for improvements to the design of the instrument itself. Ms. Abe has been a well-known marimba player, educator, and composer for almost four decades. Her music, life, and achievements are featured in many international media such as Percussive Arts Notes, BBC Music, Concertgebouw Brugge, Ongaku No Tomo and so on. I am a native of Japan, currently working in the United States as a percussionist. In August 2017, I traveled to Tokyo, Japan with the goal of contributing to the general understanding of Ms. Abe's music. I spent several hours in Keiko Abe's home studio. Ms. Abe gave me a private lesson, and answered questions regarding her music and life. The purpose of this lecture recital and reserch document is to prepare and perform a piece entitled The Song of Trees and four other compositions by Ms. Abe. The paper will briefly describe Keiko Abe's biography, continuing into the reserch of The Song of Trees. The reserch includes the study of connetions between The Song of Trees and some of Ms. Abe's previous compositions, representing different points of her compositioal career. The pieces to be performed and discussed chosen at Ms. Abe's suggestion include: Michi, Memories of the Seashore, Wind across Mountains, Michi Paraphrase, and The Song of Trees. The latter part of the research will be a performance analysis of The Song of Trees, informed by the interview and private lesson with Ms. Abe.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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