University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The emergence and evolution of a generalized marimba technique

Kastner, Kathleen Sherry

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Description

Title
The emergence and evolution of a generalized marimba technique
Author(s)
Kastner, Kathleen Sherry
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Fredrickson, Thomas
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
D.M.A.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Music
Language
eng
Abstract
This thesis examines the development of marimba technique in the United States since 1940 from the perspective of the stylistic and musical evolution of the instrument's repertoire, along with the performers and composers who first brought recognition to the marimba as a serious means of musical expression. This study begins with a brief discussion of the precursors of marimba performance, namely the ragtime xylophone technique and the Guatemalan marimba influences that emerged in the United States in the first two decades of the century. The primary focus of the thesis explores the work of seven individuals: composers Paul Creston, Darius Milhaud, Robert Kurka and Akira Miyoshi; performers Vida Chenoweth and Keiko Abe and educator Clair Omar Musser. This thesis argues that the creative contributions of these men and women resulted in the development of a technique and literature for the marimba which elevated the instrument to a vital and imaginative component of serious music.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21949
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1989 Kastner, Kathleen Sherry

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Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois