Alice Parker: Choral Composer, Arranger and Teacher
Latta, John Arthur
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70849
Description
Title
Alice Parker: Choral Composer, Arranger and Teacher
Author(s)
Latta, John Arthur
Issue Date
1986
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Educat.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Music
Abstract
The problem of the study was twofold: (1) to determine Alice Parker's perspectives with regard to her development and achievement as a musician, a composer/arranger and an authority figure in the field of choral music; (2) to establish the extent of her published choral works.
The subproblems were as follows: (1) What perspective does Parker hold concerning her: (a) education? (b) teaching experiences? (c) association with the Mennonite Church? (2) What mentors and associates does she value for having made a positive contribution to her development and achievement? (3) How does she characterize her approach to: arranging/composing and conducting workshops in choral music? (4) What is the extent of Parker's published contribution to choral music literature?
The investigator conducted a series of five one-hour interviews with Parker in July, 1983 in Evanston, Illinois. During the interviews he sought information pertinent to subproblems 1, 2 and 3. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed. The transcript accompanies the study.
The investigator compiled a complete list of Parker's arrangements and compositions including those growing out of her collaboration with Robert Shaw. He examined each work and reported date of publication, publisher, stock number, voice and instruments required, approximate time for performance or number of measures, meter, key, character, source of the text and tune, structure and source of commission. The result of this research constitutes the Catalog of Parker's Choral Works.
Parker has published 171 arrangements in collaboration with Shaw, 120 independent arrangements and compositions including suites and collections, 11 cantatas and four operas.
She places a high value on the contributions to her musical development made by the faculty at Smith College, Vincent Persichetti, Julius Herford, Robert Shaw, Helen Bender, her late husband, Thomas Pyle and her association with the Mennonite Church.
Alice Parker has over the years carved out a unique niche in American choral music. Her choral works, her hymn sings, her choral workshops all reveal her continued use of a remarkable combination of an intuitive and intellectual insight into music and teaching.
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