Research

Current Research

The art of orchestration embodies not only the choice of appropriate instrumentation and combinations of instruments (and/or the voice) to create the illusion of newfound timbres, but also how the relationships between these timbres are used in supporting and creating musical form. Although in-depth research on the formal function of pitch (such as melody and harmony) has occupied music theorists for generations, research is lacking on the form-bearing and structural implications of orchestration choices across the duration of a work. As well, when compared to the large amount of literature surrounding opera, there is very little literature that exists pointing to the links between orchestrational techniques and formal functions in the creation and performance of an opera, and more specifically to a composer’s instrumental-colour choices and how they function in either contrasting or combining with singing voices to create the dramatic and associative effects so compelling within the operatic tradition. My postdoc project directly addresses this research gap by thoroughly analyzing relevant oeuvres in order to understand these effects and their implications, and by demonstrating these results directly through teaching modules and within my final composition for voices and large ensemble.