Jack of All Trades : a symphonic poem for British brass band

“Jack of All Trades” is a large symphonic work for a performance medium growing in popularity in the United States, the British Brass Band. This British Brass Bands originated in the United Kingdom during the late 19th Century. My alma mater, James Madison University, has a brass band directed by Kevin Stees, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium. Having spent four years in the ensemble, I saw tremendous growth as a musician and equally as importantly, a human being. The ensemble performs a wide range of repertoire from traditional marches and hymns to modern symphonic poems and large-scale programmatic works that challenge the performers. While the music (given the group is entirely comprised of brass players and percussionists) may be incredibly challenging, their efforts are rewarded with the compelling stories and experiences they are able to create and share not only with other musicians but to all audiences alike. The lessons I learned from performing with this group and learning about the history and tradition of the medium has had an immense impact on my goals and visions as a composer and storyteller. My thesis is the first of many contributions to the brass band repertoire and retrospectively is also an evolution of my compositional voice. Growing up in a household that listened to a wide variety of music (Smooth Jazz, R&B, Christian Gospel, Classical, and Cinematic) influenced a great part of how I listen and think about music. This is reflected in my early stages of composition where I would compose passages combining different genres. As one can imagine, it was a musical collage bordering on overwhelm, and as such I was unintentional with how quickly I moved from one idea to the next. This thesis, “Jack of All Trades” is my way of challenging my multi-genre musical upbringing and voice but creating two thematic ideas that work to bridge that gap for ease of listening. Note: The score uses my composer pseudonym and business name, “Joe Jaxson” as to not confuse any committee members with my legal name, “Joseph Todd Jackson II.”

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Music

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

The University of Texas at Austin

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Jackson, Joseph Todd, II

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thomas, Omar, 1984-

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Yevgeniy Sharlat

• British brass band
• American brass band
• Brass band
• American music
• Multi-genre

Language dc:language.iso

English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59806

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/132467