Preferred Name
Huanwen Wendy Wang
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Date of Graduation
5-15-2025
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Lori E. Piitz
Second Advisor
Jason Haney
Third Advisor
Gui Hwan Lee
Abstract
This document aims to shine a light on five distinctive piano works by five twenty-first century Canadian women composers. The pieces are Minute Etudes (Book Two) (2002) by Emily Doolittle, From Wapta Ice (2003) by Diana McIntosh, The Jack Pine (2010) by Jocelyn Morlock, Smoke Darkened Sky (2021) by Kelly-Marie Murphy, and …our inner lives were entwined… embroidered with the same pattern... (2021) by Karen Sunabacka. The main objective of this document is to identify stylistic traits in the selected pieces, discuss the source of inspiration of each piece and illustrate how the musical elements reflect the source of inspiration. Interviews with Doolittle, Murphy, and Sunabacka offer additional insights into their pieces. Taken together, these five pieces form a diverse and interesting recital program. It is my hope that this document will encourage and inspire fellow pianists to research and perform more piano works by Canadian women.
