Joseph Willcox Jenkins: male chorus arrangements of Stephen Collins Foster melodies
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Carey Joseph Cannon (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Welborn Young
Abstract: During his tenure as the first arranger for the United States Army Chorus (1956- 1959), Joseph Willcox Jenkins composed and arranged a prolific amount of male choral music, much of which remains unpublished. Outside the circles of the U.S. Army Chorus and Duquesne University, where he was a professor for forty years, much of Jenkins's music is relatively unknown. His works, however, reflect a commanding knowledge of the male chorus, unique since of style, and creative use of many compositional techniques. Throughout his brief time with the Army Chorus, Jenkins arranged at least 270 pieces and composed a handful of original works. Among these works are fourteen arrangements of Stephen Collins Foster melodies that remain prominent in the ensemble's performing repertoire to this day. This document presents six performance editions of Jenkins's fourteen arrangements of the Stephen Collins Foster melodies: "Beautiful Dreamer," "Camptown Races," "Nelly Bly," "Oh Susanna," "Ring Ring de Banjo," and "Some Folks." These arrangements will be compared to the original songs, placed in historical context, and ultimately expand the choices of male choral repertoire. The research undertaken here stimulates the historical research of American male choruses, namely the United States Army Chorus, and provides the possibility for further study of Jenkins's musical works. Additionally, along with this document, the results of this study were presented in printed performance editions of the selected works and performed in a lecture recital featuring the arrangements. The performing ensemble was the United States Army Chorus of Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia.
Joseph Willcox Jenkins: male chorus arrangements of Stephen Collins Foster melodies
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Created on 12/1/2012
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2012
- Keywords
- Army, Chorus, Foster, Jenkins
- Subjects
- Jenkins, Joseph Willcox
- Choruses (Men’s voices)
- United States Army Chorus
- Foster, Stephen Collins, $d 1826-1864. $t Works. $k Selections; $o arranged