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College of Creative Arts awards research activity

Flying WV

West Virginia University College of Creative Arts has selected the winners of the College’s annual Faculty/Student Mentored Research Awards.

Amy Simpson was selected for the graduate first prize for her research, entitled “The Memorization, Preparation, and Performance of Piano Music: Cognitive Foundations and Current Neuro-Music Research.” She is mentored by Professor Peter Amstutz.

Simpson’s research explains the operation of human memory systems, including the concepts of short-term memory, long-term memory, working memory, chunking, categorization, schemas, and auditory scene analysis. 

Honorable mention for the graduate student award is Jordan Bennett, mentored by Assistant Professor Jonas Thoms.

Bennett’s “A History of Multiphonics on the Horn,” traces the use of multiphonics on the horn throughout the instrument’s history, including an overview of the method books that comment on the technique, performers who were important contributors to the technique’s popularity, and compositions throughout the horn’s history in which multiphonics have appeared. 

The undergraduate first prize was awarded to Micah Buser for their research, entitled “Moralizing the Music of an Italian Renaissance Courtesan: Barbara Salutati and Niccolo Machiavelli.” Buser is mentored by Assistant Professor Jennifer Walker.

Buser’s research shows how Barbara Salutati, unlike other courtesans of her time, used her musical talents to her advantage by inspiring the creative output and everyday life of one of her most famous patrons, Niccolò Machiavelli. Public performances were not common for women during the Renaissance, but Salutati still took the stage often and under Machiavelli’s direction.

Lilly Runion received honorable mention in the undergraduate category. “Women in Dance: Making Noise Through Movement.” Runion states, “This research involved exploring the impacts of female dancers and choreographers through history, dating back to the origin of dance itself. It was throughout this research that I was inspired to choreograph a piece that would reflect the oppression and silencing of women throughout history, despite their significant roles and impact.”

Runion was mentored by Teaching Assistant Professor Maureen Kaddar.

The collaborative award went to the Montani Quartet for their research, “Finding Our Voice: Jessie Montgomery’s Banner.”

Jessie Montgomery’s Banner, a work written for solo string quartet and string orchestra, was commissioned by the Sphinx Organization as a tribute for the 200th anniversary of the National Anthem of the United States. Banner includes many tunes from different cultural backgrounds such as National Anthems and folk songs. This music portrays how each culture continues to embrace their own roots while enriching the American cultural landscape. 

The Montani Quartet performed Banner as a representation of their own reality - a multicultural ensemble with members from three different countries working together to find their own voice while communicating the composer’s message. 

The Montani Quartet was mentored by Assistant Professor Erin Ellis and Associate Professor Mitchell Arnold.

Honorable mention for the Collaborative prize was awarded to students Ej Wogaman, Katie Martin and Ashley Knox for their work, “Wait for Me: To Hell and Back.”

In March 2020, the WVU oboe studio took a trip to New York City where they saw Broadway’s Hadestown, a modern retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The world changed upon their return from NYC, with the COVID-19 pandemic moving school online. 

With the encouragement of their mentor, Professor Cynthia Anderson, the trio got to work on a Hadestown-related piece representative of their current situation, waiting for the world to return to normal.

Faculty/Student Mentored Research projects can be viewed at https://ccarts.wvu.edu/students/cca-mentored-research-awards.