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Alan Louis Smith’s Vignettes: Ellis Island: The History, Evolution and Performance of a Modern American Song Cycle

Regensburger, Tamara B.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243873183

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Musical Arts, Ohio State University, Music.
Vignettes: Ellis Island is a twenty-six piece song cycle by American composer Alan Louis Smith. Crafted as a genuine portrayal of the human spirit, it was initially meant to be a single song written as a birthday gift for mezzo-soprano and friend, Stephanie Blythe. The composer, however, was so compelled by this topic that he set a musical backdrop that chronicled American immigration in the early 20th century, through the stories of twenty refugees. A fortuitous meeting between Alan Smith and Paul Sigrist, Jr. (former director of the Ellis Island Oral History Project), resulted in a collaboration that became the catalyst for this song cycle. Mr. Sigrist supplied over 100 pages of quotations, taken from interviews he conducted with the Ellis Island Oral History Project, which then were carefully abridged by the composer to create Vignettes: Ellis Island. This document chronicles the development of this cycle, discussing its origins, influences, historical relevance, and performances. It also provides a biography on the composer, and details interviews conducted from July-October 2008 with Alan Louis Smith, Paul Sigrist, Jr. and Stephanie Blythe. Finally, it serves as a performer’s study on the musical and dramatic interpretation of the work, as coached by the composer.
Loretta Robinson (Advisor)
C. Patrick Woliver (Committee Member)
Karen Peeler (Committee Member)
181 p.
Music
Vignettes: Ellis Island; Alan Louis Smith; American song cycle; mezzo-soprano songs; Stephanie Blythe; Ellis Island Oral History Project

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Regensburger, T. B. (2009). Alan Louis Smith’s Vignettes: Ellis Island: The History, Evolution and Performance of a Modern American Song Cycle [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243873183

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Regensburger, Tamara. Alan Louis Smith’s Vignettes: Ellis Island: The History, Evolution and Performance of a Modern American Song Cycle. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243873183.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Regensburger, Tamara. "Alan Louis Smith’s Vignettes: Ellis Island: The History, Evolution and Performance of a Modern American Song Cycle." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243873183

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1243873183
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.