This thesis explores a compositional technique in which stellar constellations are arranged upon musical staves in a variety of iterations to create a basis from which to draw melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material. These raw extrapolations of unaltered notes are then arranged and orchestrated into thematic music for full orchestra, centered around elements from the mythological background behind the constellations used. An accompanying analysis explains the specific applications of this technique within each movement of the work, the significance of each, and the variety of ways in which musical inspiration was drawn from the raw materials. The objective of this work is to expound upon a largely unexplored compositional approach in a way that not only challenges the listener to draw parallels between the visual, aural, and literary elements of the stars, but to do so in a way that is enjoyable to the average concert-goer.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores a compositional technique in which stellar constellations are arranged upon musical staves in a variety of iterations to create a basis from which to draw melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material. These raw extrapolations of unaltered notes are then arranged and orchestrated into thematic music for full orchestra, centered around elements from the mythological background behind the constellations used. An accompanying analysis explains the specific applications of this technique within each movement of the work, the significance of each, and the variety of ways in which musical inspiration was drawn from the raw materials. The objective of this work is to expound upon a largely unexplored compositional approach in a way that not only challenges the listener to draw parallels between the visual, aural, and literary elements of the stars, but to do so in a way that is enjoyable to the average concert-goer.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Miller, Adam"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Benjamin Morris","Dr. Michael Murphy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z","subjects":["Composition","Music","Starlight","Astronomy","Orchestral","Suite"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/624","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Benjamin Morris","Dr. Michael Murphy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Miller, Adam"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-12-02T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Composition","Music","Starlight","Astronomy","Orchestral","Suite"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/624"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores a compositional technique in which stellar constellations are arranged upon musical staves in a variety of iterations to create a basis from which to draw melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material. These raw extrapolations of unaltered notes are then arranged and orchestrated into thematic music for full orchestra, centered around elements from the mythological background behind the constellations used. An accompanying analysis explains the specific applications of this technique within each movement of the work, the significance of each, and the variety of ways in which musical inspiration was drawn from the raw materials. The objective of this work is to expound upon a largely unexplored compositional approach in a way that not only challenges the listener to draw parallels between the visual, aural, and literary elements of the stars, but to do so in a way that is enjoyable to the average concert-goer.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“STARLIGHT SUITE”: A COMPOSITIONAL EXPLORATION OF THE ARGO NAVIS CONSTELLATIONS IN THREE MOVEMENTS"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Stephen Lias","Dr. Benjamin Morris","Dr. Michael Murphy"],"dc:creator":["Miller, Adam"],"dc:date.available":["2025-12-02T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores a compositional technique in which stellar constellations are arranged upon musical staves in a variety of iterations to create a basis from which to draw melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material. These raw extrapolations of unaltered notes are then arranged and orchestrated into thematic music for full orchestra, centered around elements from the mythological background behind the constellations used. An accompanying analysis explains the specific applications of this technique within each movement of the work, the significance of each, and the variety of ways in which musical inspiration was drawn from the raw materials. The objective of this work is to expound upon a largely unexplored compositional approach in a way that not only challenges the listener to draw parallels between the visual, aural, and literary elements of the stars, but to do so in a way that is enjoyable to the average concert-goer.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/624"],"dc:subject":["Composition","Music","Starlight","Astronomy","Orchestral","Suite"],"dc:title":["“STARLIGHT SUITE”: A COMPOSITIONAL EXPLORATION OF THE ARGO NAVIS CONSTELLATIONS IN THREE MOVEMENTS"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z"}