An Examination of Orchestras and Repertoire Performed at the Midwest Clinic From 1990 Through 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine invited orchestras and their selected repertoire at the Midwest Clinic from 1990 through 2019. A majority of invited orchestras ( N = 261) were from the United States and primarily consisted of high school musicians. The most performed piece for full orchestra was Symphony No. 8, op. 88 by Dvořák and for string orchestra was Serenade, op. 48 by Tchaikovsky. The most performed full orchestra composer was Dvořák and string orchestra composer was Balmages. The most performed arranger for full orchestra was Meyer and for string orchestra was Dackow. Female composers and arrangers were vastly underrepresented compared with males and a majority of performed pieces conformed to the Western European music tradition. Orchestra directors may use findings from this study as a reference list of the most performed full and string orchestra pieces as well as popular composers and arrangers.

Music Listening Habits and Music Behaviors of Middle and High School Musicians

The purpose of this study was to explore music listening and performance characteristics of middle and high school students. The questions under investigation addressed reasons for liking a favorite piece, time spent listening, media used to listen, ways in which students discovered new music, and the types of music performed as well as the types that students would like to perform. Results indicated that students liked their favorite pieces for musical reasons and reported listening to music roughly 4 hours each day outside of school. Students listened largely through portable devices and streaming technology, and just over half indicated they found new music through the Internet or dedicated apps. Classical, jazz, and rock were the most frequently performed genres, although students indicated greater interest in playing all 11 genres. Overall, the results portray middle and high school students as active consumers and performers of music.

The National High School Orchestra 1926—1938

The purpose of this study was to document the history of the National High School Orchestra (NHSO), a select ensemble organized by Joseph E. Maddy under the auspices of the Music Supervisors' National Conference during the 1920s and 1930s. Research questions examined the orchestra's (1) origin, performances, and operation; (2) instrumentation and repertoire; (3) influence on music education; and (4) implications for modern practice. The first NHSO was assembled for the 1926 meeting of the Music Supervisors' National Conference in Detroit, Michigan. Initially led by Maddy, this ensemble was reorganized in 1927, 1928, 1930, 1932, and 1938. The NHSO helped promote instrumental music education through conference performances, radio broadcasts, and concerts presented throughout the country. This organization also demonstrated the potential of high school musicians and served as a basis for the NHSO Camp—the institution known today as the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Effect of Melodic Context, Tuning Behaviors, and Experience on the Intonation Accuracy of Wind Players

In the first of two experiments, subjects ( N = 137) were band students with 1, 2, 3, or 4 years of formal instrumental performance experience. Subjects tuned to a single prerecorded tuning pitch and subsequently played along with a prerecorded four-measure melody. Direction and magnitude of pitch deviation were analyzed for the single tuning pitch and four selected target pitches within the melody. Responses to the tuning pitch were more accurate than for the melodic pitches. There was a high positive correlation among the four melodic pitches, but a low positive correlation between the melodic pitches and tuning pitch. In a second experiment, high school musicians ( N = 167) played along with the same prerecorded melody after either (a) tuning their instrument to a single pitch, (b) receiving verbal instructions to perform “in tune,” or (c) receiving no information. No differences were observed among the three conditions. Students who first tuned to a single pitch were more accurate at this task than at melodic performance. A high correlation was observed among melodic pitches but not between melodic and tuning pitches. Across both experiments, subjects erred most often in the sharp direction; a stronger tendency toward sharp errors was noted among more experienced students. Performance accuracy was observed to improve with experience.

Analysis of Listening Preferences of High School and College Musicians

Undergraduate college music majors, high school musicians in performance groups, and sixth-grade students in eight sites across the United States listened to brief excerpts of music from early contemporary compositions, popular classics, selections in the Silver Burdett/Ginn elementary music education series, and current crossover jazz recordings. Each of the classical categories had a representative keyboard, band, choral, and orchestral excerpt. Self reports of knowledge and preference were recorded by the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) while subjects listened to excerpts. Instrumental biases were found among high school and college musicians' preferences for relatively unfamiliar classical music. College music majors' preferences, in general, were less “own-instrument-based” than were those of high school musicians. In addition, the results suggest training broadens receptivity within and across music genres. There seems, however, to be no predictable connection between the degree to which one “knows ” an excerpt and preference for the excerpt.