Browsing by Author "Williams, Susan"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Aggression Prevention Training for Individuals With Dementia and Their Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    (Elsevier, 2020) Kunik, Mark E.; Stanley, Melinda A.; Shrestha, Srijana; Ramsey, David; Richey, Sheila; Snow, Lynn; Freshour, Jessica; Evans, Tracy; Newmark, Michael; Williams, Susan; Wilson, Nancy; Amspoker, Amber B.; Baylor College of Medicine; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Objective: International appeals call for interventions to prevent aggression and other behavioral problems in individuals with dementia (IWD). Aggression Prevention Training (APT), based on intervening in three contributors to development of aggression (IWD pain, IWD depression, and caregiver-IWD relationship problems) aims to reduce incidence of aggression in IWD over 1 year. Design: Randomized, controlled trial. Setting: Three clinics that assess, diagnose, and treat dementia. Participants: Two hundred twenty-eight caregiver-IWD dyads who screened positive for IWD pain, IWD depression, or caregiver-IWD relationship problems randomized to APT or Enhanced Usual Primary Care (EU-PC). Intervention: APT, a skills-based intervention delivered over 3 months to address pain/depression/caregiver-IWD relationship issues. EU-PC included printed material on dementia and community resources; and eight brief, weekly support calls. Measurements: The primary outcome was incidence of aggression over 1 year, determined by the Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory-Aggression Subscale. Secondary outcomes included pain, depression, caregiver- IWD relationship, caregiver burden, positive caregiving, behavior problems, and anxiety. Results: Aggression incidence and secondary outcomes did not differ between groups. However, in those screening positive for IWD depression or caregiver-IWD relationship problems, those receiving EU-PC had significant increases in depression and significant decreases in quality of the caregiver-IWD relationship, whereas those receiving APT showed no changes in these outcomes over time. Conclusion: The cost to patients, family, and society of behavioral problems in IWD, along with modest efficacy of most pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, calls for more study of novel preventive approaches.
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    Chinese and Other Asian Influences in Debussy's Piano Music
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Guo, Chuqiao; Chance, Kevin T.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    This project investigates the relationship between Claude Debussy’s piano music and various Asian influences, with a particular focus on Chinese influences. Debussy is one of the most prominent composers in the history of Western music, and his music draws on many features for inspiration, among which Asian elements and impressionism are the most representative. Debussy was inspired by Asian music, literature, and painting in many compositions, giving these works distinctive sound qualities as well as artistic appeal.Based on a comprehensive study of scholarly literature as well as theoretical analysis, this project explores several Asian influences on Debussy and offers reasons for the formation of Asian style in Debussy’s music. Particular elements of Asian style examined include Japanese prints and painting, Javanese gamelan music, and the Chinese pentatonic scale. Through the analysis of several of Debussy’s piano pieces, including “Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut”, “La fille aux cheveux de lin”, and Le palais du silence, this study discusses how Debussy’s exotic colors reflect various Asian styles. Additionally, through research on Chinese music history and theory, this project compares and summarizes several differences between Chinese music and Debussy’s own music in various compositions. It also analyzes three Chinese piano pieces in order to make comparisons with Debussy’s music. This research supports the conclusion that Asian influences, including Chinese elements, endowed Debussy with indispensable inspiration and artistic expression in his musical compositions.
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    Lost days: modern American song cycles for baritone and piano
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2019) Withrow, Christopher James; Houghtaling, Paul; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    This project consists of two parts. The first part of this project is a professional-level recording of three song cycles, each by American composers, performed by pianist Scott Santoro and me. The song cycles selected for this project are by composers Richard Burke (1947-2014), Libby Larsen (b. 1951), and Debra Kaye (b. 1956). The second part of this project describes each work, presents biographical information about each composer and poet, and discusses each work’s historical context and compositional inspirations. Two of the song cycles are written by composers whose works have not been widely recorded. The third is by a well-known composer with an established discography. The Lost Hours by Richard Burke and Slants of Light by Debra Kaye are both written for baritone and piano, and neither has been commercially recorded. Libby Larsen, on the other hand, is one of America’s most performed living composers and is widely celebrated in vocal music for her contributions to American art song and operatic literature. The Peculiar Case of Dr. H. H. Holmes for baritone and prepared piano was commissioned in 2009 by Dickson College for the Florestan Recital Project, and received its premiere on March 5, 2010. Recording this piece presented an invaluable opportunity to learn about and experience the process of preparing and performing with a prepared piano.
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    The sound of Korea: twenty first century Korean choral music
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Lee, Dong-Kyu; Zaheri, Amir; Minear, Andrew; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    South Korea has seventy professional choirs and is one of the leading choral musiccommunities in Asia and around the world. Korean choral compositions are frequently performed by foreign choirs. This manuscript includes an overview of various types of Korean choral music and notable Korean composers for non-native conductors. It begins with chronology of Korean choral m a brief usic and highlights eleven popular contemporary Korean composers and their music. The works detailed in this manuscript are each included in a new professionally recorded album entitled The Sound of Korea (21st Century Korean Choral Music) featuring the Seoul Vocal Artists. They are discussed in the order in which they are recorded on the album, which is organized according to the following themes: Poetry Settings, Church Anthems, Elements of Jazz, and Elements of Traditional Korean Music. Korean composers often ensure that the meaning of texts is intricately connected to their musical settings. The Korean poetry settings included on this album typify how music and poetry both have repetitions for emphasis, as well as similarities in structures, rhythms, dynamics, and tempo. Church anthems as a genre began with the arrival of Western missionaries in the 1880’s. Today they remain an important genre of Korean choral music and often share similar characteristics, including a prelude, an interlude, and frequent use of a main melody. Many Korean choral composers studied at music institutions known for their Jazz studies, which inspired those composers to infuse jazz harmonies and scat singing in their compositions. Finally, many composers include elements of traditional Korean folk music in their contemporary works. Composers use various elements like folk song melodies, traditional rhythms, singing styles, and modes. By providing a brief analysis of these eleven contemporary Korean choral compositions, this manuscript might help non-Korean conductors recognize various styles of Korean choral music and assist them in their preparations for performing these and other Korean choral works.
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    Suitable for dancing: works for horn and piano by alec wilder
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Williams, Joshua Paul; Snead, Charles; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Alec Wilder’s works for horn and piano provide numerous opportunities for horn playersto explore a variety of musical styles. Wilder’s compositional style can be described as a mixture of classical, jazz and popular music. Many of his works for horn were strongly influenced by the technical and musical capabilities of his dear friend John Barrows, a horn player for whom he wrote many pieces. Wilder often composed music that deliberately deviated from what listeners would traditionally expect. When studying Wilder’s compositions for horn and piano, one finds that there are many nuances that are characteristic of Wilder’s compositional style. This project is a CD recording of Alec Wilder’s Suite for Horn and Piano (1960), Sonata No. 1 for Horn and Piano (1958) and Sonata No. 3 for Horn and Piano (1970). The recording is accompanied by a manuscript that highlights the stylistic similarities among these works and emphasizes the importance of these works in the horn repertoire. Because the history of Alec Wilder is well documented, this manuscript focuses on specific musical elements found in these works. I support my statements by providing examples from all three works.