William Marvin

William Marvin joined the Eastman faculty in 2002 after having taught music theory and aural skills at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Prior to that he was a teaching assistant at Eastman while working on his master’s degree, and received both the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student (1992), and the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Prize (1990). Marvin completed his Ph.D. in music theory at Eastman in 2002. He received his B.A. with highest honors from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Marvin’s work in theory has focused on problems of tonality according to Schenkerian definitions as exemplified in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; examinations of form and tonal structure in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer; aural training in tonal and post-tonal music; sonata deformation in Mahler’s Third Symphony; improvisation in nineteenth-century French organ music; off-tonic beginnings and endings; and the quodlibet as a contrapuntal device in Broadway musicals. He has presented papers at international, national, and regional conferences. His published work can be found atMusic Theory Online, Journal of Musicology, Intégral, Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, and in several books edited by Deborah Stein (OUP), Matthew Bribitzer-Stull (Palgrave-Schirmer), and Gordon Sly (Ashgate).

His work in aural skills has taken him into the unusual realm of teaching aural skills—without notation—to blind music students. From 1997 through 2001, he worked individually with blind students, teaching aural skills and overseeing the rehearsal and performance of an ensemble work for 12 student performers, written by a blind composer and taught completely without notation.

Marvin oversees the undergraduate aural musicianship curriculum at Eastman, and he previously designed and implemented the aural skills curriculum at Oberlin. In both programs, aural musicianship is intimately connected with coursework in written music theory, and his curriculum emphasizes immediate recognition, apprehension, and expressive performance of musical material as heard and seen.

Contact Information

Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs St.
Rochester, NY 14604
office: (585) 274-1551
wmarvin@esm.rochester.edu

Publications

“Mahler’s Third Symphony and the Dismantling of Sonata Form,” in Keys to the Drama: Nine Perspectives on Sonata Forms, ed. by Gordon Sly (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 53-71.

“A Comparison of Four Sight-Singing and Aural-Skills Textbooks: Two New Approaches and Two Classic Texts in New Editions. [Carr/Benward, Karpinski/Kram, Krueger, and Ottman/Rogers].”  Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy 22 (2008), pp. 131-147.

“Subverting the Conventions of Number Opera From Within: Hierarchical and Associational Uses of Tonality in Act One of Der fliegende Holländer,” in New Millenium Wagner Studies: Essays in Musical Culture, ed. by Matthew Bribitzer-Stull, Alex Lubet, and Gottfried Wagner (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007), pp. 71-90.

“Review of Benjamin McKay Ayotte, Heinrich Schenker: A Guide to Research, and David Carson Berry, A Topical Guide to Schenkerian Literature: An Annotated Bibliography With Indices.“  Intégral 20 (2006), pp. 131-138.Link to article (JSTOR).

“Introduction to Writing Analytic Essays,” in Engaging Music: Essays in Musical Analysis, ed. by Deborah Stein (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. xi-xiv.

“The Function of ‘Rules’ in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.”  Journal of Musicology, Volume 20/3 (Summer 2003), pp. 414-460. Link to article (JSTOR).

“Review of Daniel Kazez’s textbook, ‘Rhythm Reading: Elementary through Advanced Training.’”  Music Theory Online, Volume 3.4 (1997). Link to MTO review.

Conference Papers

“Complete, Continuous, Monotonal: Tonality and Form in Mozart’s Operatic Finales.” Paper presented at the 6th European Music Analysis Conference, Freiburg, Germany, October 12, 2007.

Participant, Mannes Institute for Advanced Musical Studies at Yale University: Institute on Chromaticism, June 22-25, 2006.

“Thème libre and Sonata Form in Three Organ Works by César Franck.” Paper presented at the Fourteenth Biennial International Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music, Manchester, UK, July 6, 2006.

“Understanding the Tonic in Retrospect: The Auxiliary Cadence and Other Models.” Paper presented at the Dublin International Conference for Music Analysis, Dublin, Ireland, June 23, 2005.

Workshop on Dictation Strategy for Faculty at Queens College, CUNY. April 23, 2005.

“Mahler’s Third Symphony and the Dismantling of Sonata Form.” Paper presented at the Thirteenth Biennial International Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music, Durham, UK, July 6, 2004.

“Subverting the Conventions of Number Opera from Within: Hierarchical and Associational uses of Tonality In Act One of Der fliegende Holländer. ” Paper presented at “Lingering Dissonances: Wagner 2003,” Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 15, 2003.

“Simulating Counterpoint in Broadway Musicals: The Quodlibet as Compositional Procedure.” Paper presented at the joint meeting of the Society for Music Theory and the American Musicological Society, Columbus, Ohio, October 31, 2002.

“Aural Training through Atonal Music: Methods and Strategies.” Paper presented at the Music Theory Midwest Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 15, 1999.

“Music Reading/Aural Skills: Distinctions and Pedagogical Implications.” Paper read at the Music Theory Midwest Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, May 16, 1998.

Current Research

“Interruption: A Reappraisal of Schenkerian Practice”

“Und so weiter: Schenker’s Recapitulations, Sonata Theory, and Reconciling Self-Contradictory Readings”

“Imaginary Stufen in the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich”

Awards

Grant from Professional Development Committee, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. 2003. Grant allowed continued development of course websites for core undergraduate aural skills curriculum.

Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 1992.

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Prize, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 1990.

Teaching

2007- . Associate Professor of Music Theory, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

2002-2007. Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

1996-2002. Instructor of Music Theory and Aural Skills, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio.

1988-1996. Teaching Assistant, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

1995 (Spring). Part-time Instructor (sabbatical replacement), Nazareth College, Rochester, New York.

1986-1988. Graduate Assistant, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

Course Websites

TH161 – Aural Musicianship I
TH162 – Aural Musicianship II
TH202 – Model Composition and Tonal Analysis IV
TH261 – Aural Musicianship III
TH262 – Aural Musicianship IV

College/University Courses Taught

Eastman School of Music

First Semester Theory (faculty coordinator)
Fourth Semester Theory (faculty coordinator)
First- through Fourth-Semester Aural Musicianship (faculty coordinator; designed and taught complete course sequence)
First-, Second-, and Third-Year Music Theory (complete course sequence)
First-Year Intensive Music Theory
First-Year Accelerated Music Theory
First- and Second-Year Sight-Singing Lab (complete course sequence)
Second-Year Aural Skills
Graduate Review of Music Theory
Graduate Review of Ear-Training
D.M.A. Seminar: Topics in Tonal Analysis and Literature
Ph.D./D.M.A. Seminar: Analysis of Nineteenth Century Opera
Ph.D. Seminar, Theory and Analysis of Tonal Music (Schenkerian Theory)

Oberlin College Conservatory of Music

Aural Skills I – V (designed and taught complete course sequence)
Introduction to Music Theory
Fundamentals of Music Theory I
Counterpoint in Composition

Nazareth College

Second-Semester Ear-Training

Academic Theses Advised

Sarah Marlowe.  [Harmony and Form in Instrumental Music of Dmitri Shostakovich]. Ph.D. dissertation, in process.  Primary advisor.

Carl Heuckendorf.  [Voice-Leading and Form in Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti]. Ph.D. dissertation, in process.  Second reader.

Nathan Fleshner. [Archetypes and Prototypes in Jung and Schenker].  Ph.D. dissertation, in process.  Second reader.

Calvin Peck.  [Soviet Modal Theory and the Instrumental Music of Dmitri Shostakovich].  BM Thesis, in process.  Primary advisor.

James Cheng.  “Schenker’s Direct Chromatic Succession.”  Ph.D. dissertation, in process.  Second reader.

Nathan P. Burgraff.  “Functional Keyboard Skills: The Importance of Playing Basic Harmonic Progressions.”  MA final project, 2009.  Primary advisor.

HyunJoon Park.  “A Guided Approach to Introductory Baroque Improvisation.”  MA final project, 2009.  Primary advisor.

Martin Nedbal.  “Morals across the Footlights: German Opera, National Identity, and the Aesthetics of Morality, 1770-1830.”  Ph.D. dissertation (musicology), 2009 Outside reader.

James Mitchell.  “The Clowns Meet the Gods: Ariadne auf Naxos and Schenkerian Analysis.“  BM Thesis, 2009.  Primary advisor.

Johnandrew Slominski.  “Pedagogy and Performance: Improvisation in Theory and Practice.”  MA final project, 2008.  Primary advisor.

Jordan Wilson.  “Early Songs of Fauré and their Textual Sources.”  BM Thesis, 2008.  Primary advisor.

Caitlin Martinkus.   “Formal Organization in Mozart’s Second Horn Concerto, K.417.”  BM Thesis, 2008.  Second reader.

Peter Jocelyn Franck. “The Role of Invertible Counterpoint within Schenkerian Theory.”  Ph. D. dissertation, 2007.  Second reader.  Winner of Alfred Mann dissertation prize.

Simon Carrington Fletcher.  “Gershwin’s Songwriting Technique: Normative and Non-Normative Tonal Models.”  BM Thesis, 2007.  Primary advisor.

HyunJoon Park.  “Schoenberg’s Adaptation of Traditional Sonata Form in his Fourth String Quartet’s First Movement.”  BM Thesis, 2007.  Second reader.

Robert Laird.  “Improvisation in the Aural Skills Classroom.”  MA final project, 2005.  Primary advisor.

Larisa Rozembaigher Simington.  “Incorporating Keyboard Skills Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Aural Skills Classroom.”  MA final project, 2004.  Primary advisor.

Jonathan D. Flowers.  “Beyond the Bar Line: Analysis, Critical Editions, and Critical Performance in Schubert’sOctet in F, D. 803, Finale.”  MA Thesis, May 2003.  Second reader.

Phillip Palmer.  “Form and Harmonic Organization in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring.“  BM thesis, Spring 2003.  Second reader.

Education

Ph.D. in Music Theory, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, Doctor of Philosophy (Theory), 2002. Dissertation Title: “Tonality in Selected Set-Pieces from Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg : A Schenkerian Approach”; Matthew Brown, advisor.

MA in Music Theory, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 1994. Thesis Title: “Tonal Design and Structural Levels in the Finale from Act Two of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte “; David Beach, advisor.

BA in Music, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, 1986. Graduated with highest honors.

Service

Theory Department Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. 2002-present.  Chair, 2003-2008.
D.M.A. Comprehensive Exam Committee, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. 2003-2005, Summer 2006.  Chair, 2004-2005 and Summer 2006.
Teaching Assistant Prize Committee, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. 2003, 2007, chair 2008.
Aural Skills Graduate Assistant Auditions, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. 2002-present.
Academic Integrity Committee, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Faculty elected position.  2003-2006, 2008-present.
Faculty Advisor, Classical Action Oberlin.  2000-2002.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Concerns Committee, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 1997-2002. Faculty judge for the Cemelli Prize and Robertson Grant (presented by Oberlin Lambda Alumni), 1999-2000.  Chair, 1998-99, Co-chair, 1997-98.
Senior Faculty/Community Associate, ­Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 1997-2002.
Presidential Task Force in response to the “Reverend” Fred Phelps’s visit to Oberlin, 1998 and 2000.
Educational Technology Committee, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 1997-99.
Oberlin College Music Major Committee, 2001-2002.
Oberlin College Music Theory Division Curriculum Reform Committee 2000-2002.
Oberlin College Coordinator of Aural Skills Program 1999-2000, 2001-2002.
Oberlin College Academic Advisor to College Music Majors (3 since 1997)
Oberlin College Redesigned Music Theory and Aural Skills Admissions Examination, 1999.

Coaching

Douglas O’Connor – Bach dm Chaconne, trans. for alto saxophone.  One analytic coaching, December 2009.
Rudy de Vos – Tournemire Cinq Improvisations.  Advisor for lecture recital, May 4, 2008.
Marcy Bacon – Schubert “The Shepherd on the Rock”  Advisor for lecture recital, November 12, 2006.
Tama Gurewich – Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in d minor, Op.15/I  Advisor for lecture recital, February 9, 2005.
Tim Pyper and Christopher Jacobson – three coachings on organ improvisation/keyboard skills for AGO certification, Fall 2005.
Luke Massery – Schumann Piano Concerto in a minor.  One analytic coaching, October 2005.
Robert Raymond – six coachings on 18th Century violin ornamentation and improvisation, Fall 2005.
Christopher Howard – Bach Cello Suite No. 3 in C (viola). One analytic coaching, November 2005.
Alaina Pritz and Filip Blachnio – Brahms Clarinet Sonata in f minor, Op. 120/1.  One analytic coaching, December 2005.
Jihyun Yun (violin): J. S. Bach, Sonata in C major: Fugue.  One analytic coaching, 2004.
Heather Armstrong (oboe): Bolcolm, Aubade and Spring Concertino. Advisor for Lecture Recital,  April 5, 2004.
The Offbeats (jazz a cappella vocal group), 1999-2002.
Felicia Wolfe (oboe): Mozart, Oboe Quartet, 2000.
Alison Zlotow (violin): Schoenberg, Violin Fantasy, 2000.

Affiliations

Society of Music Theory

Music Theory Society of New York State

Subscriptions Manager, Theory and Practice (2009-present)