Browsing by Author "Taylor, Jayme, committee member"

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Open Access
A guide to the performance of Love and Light by Brian Balmages
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Middleton, Ryan James, author; Phillips, Rebecca L., advisor; Grapes, K. Dawn, committee member; Mallette, Dawn, committee member; Taylor, Jayme, committee member
Brian Balmages is a renowned American composer in the band profession. This thesis is the first formal study of Brian Balmages and his compositions. The author provides a detailed biographical account of the composer's musical background as well as an overview of his works and contributions to music education, both derived from an interview and written communication with Balmages. Although Balmages is well known for his significant contributions to the repertoire of developing ensembles, his 2020 composition Love and Light exemplifies his ability to express his compositional voice in a more intricate and expansive setting. The piece was commissioned in January 2019 by Elizabeth Elliott. This document provides a detailed account of the inception and premiere of the piece, based primarily on interviews with Elliott and Balmages. These personal accounts are vital in understanding the impact of the piece both within and beyond the music community. A detailed theoretical analysis of Love and Light completes this study, covering a wide array of musical elements, including form, melody, harmony, rhythm, orchestration, texture, dynamics, and use of borrowed musical material. Throughout the theoretical analysis, rehearsal and performance considerations for conductors and ensemble members are highlighted.
Open Access
Language accessible school songs: impacts on student sense of belonging and community on a college campus
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Skiles, Sarah M., author; Seitz, Deanne, advisor; Taylor, Jayme, committee member
These videos act as the final product of a community service project showing the power and impact a sense of community on their college campus has on student success. After being a member of the CSU Athletic Bands for five years and completing a minor in American Sign Language, this student project combined two seemingly opposed areas of interest to interpret three school songs with lyrics, the Fight Song, the Alma Mater, and Aggie Boom, into American Sign Language so that the school songs when played at pep-rallies and sporting events are accessible to those who communicate using American Sign Language. This project has three parts, the first is the official interpretation videos of the school song. The second is a video interview of students who participated in the CSU Athletic Bands and students who completed a minor in American Sign Language discussing the impact their involvement in those groups had on their time at CSU. Finally, a video of the Fight Song being interpreted with a live band, performed by the brothers of the Kappa Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity to show campus-wide communities and the real life application of the American Sign Language interpretation of the school songs. These videos act as an example of language-inclusive communities by merging two areas previously thought to have no overlap, the CSU Athletic Bands music and American Sign Language.