UC Riverside

My dissertation, titled Symphonic Dances, involves composing an intercultural multi-movement piece for concert band. Intercultural music refers to music pertinent to two or more cultures, in which musical representations of more than one culture exist. Each movement incorporates and combines features of a specific dance music style with musical characteristics of different cultures around the world, particularly from Iran, Africa, the North and South America, and Ireland. It also includes a reflective critical introduction detailing the features of each dance music style and overview of Iranian classical music. In the introduction, I also theorize about the implementation of my system to develop intercultural or more extensively, inter-stylistic musical pieces. Inter-stylistic music or arts combines elements from more than one style. I was influenced by composers who borrowed music styles from cultures different from their own; such as Johann Strauss, who composed Spanish, Egyptian, Russian, and Persian Marches, and Luciano Berio, who composed Folk Songs, including Azerbaijan Love Song. After researching related composition ideas and considering other music-making structures, I found that there are numerous ways of combining musical elements to create a hybrid musical construction, which I clarify as a theory in my dissertation. A principal objective of this dissertation is to help audiences, who are coming from different backgrounds and cultures, build or improve a sense of community with those from disparate cultures by experiencing multiple cultural representations in one single musical work.