Making a Modern Piece of Music More Memorable

My Fleeting Angel is a piece for a piano trio composed by Cheryl Frances-Hoad. It is inspired by The Wishing Box, a short story by Sylvia Plath. Dr. Frances-Hoad wrote the piece in 2005. It won the Robert Helps Prize, earning her temporary status as composer-in-residence at the University of Southern Florida. The vivid descriptions in The Wishing Box provided musical inspiration for My Fleeting Angel. Dr. Frances-Hoad transformed the colorful syntax into harmonies and rhythms throughout the piece

Concerto Evening, Celebrating the Winners of the Annual Student Concerto Competition

Celebrating the Winners of the Annual Student Concerto Competitionhttps://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1000/thumbnail.jp

Utah State University Youth Conservatory Spring Graduation

An event for all the participants in the Utah State University Youth Conservatory to perform piano pieces that they practiced and mastered in the months prior. The Utah State University Youth Conservatory accepts youth up to age 18 and provides them private lessons to develop their piano skills.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1114/thumbnail.jp

Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Contemporary British Classical Music: Composers, Performers, and Audience

This project will focus on the composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad and her influence on contemporary British classical music. Specifically, I will study one of Frances-Hoad’s pieces, My Fleeting Angel, for piano trio. This piece will be placed in context among possible influences, with some identified by Frances-Hoad. This includes both Frances-Hoad’s musical mentors and literary works used for inspiration and adaptation. These elements will culminate in attending a performance of My Fleeting Angel by the Minerva Piano Trio in London on March 9, 2017. This event will be augmented with interviews conducted with Frances-Hoad, the members of the Minerva Piano Trio, and audience members the week of the performance. These interviews will clarify the composer’s and performers’ intentions regarding My Fleeting Angel while conversations with the audience will gauge their perspective of what was communicated in that performance. These ethnographic elements will raise questions for, and contribute to, discussions on artist intention and audience reception in contemporary British classical music