Doctor of Musical Arts performance portfolio : Howard John Evans

Evans, HJ

Abstract

This portfolio submission contains three major performance-based projects with
their critical evaluations and details of a public performance completed for the
award of Doctor of Musical Arts. The studio recordings of both Projects One and
Two represent performances of perceptive and imaginative musical
interpretations, which demonstrate artistic stature and excellence. Critical review
and testimonial evidence will be provided to justify and support this claim.
Project One, namely The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, is a premiere recording
of a large-scale contemporary work in a new transcription. This recording was
the culmination of my involvement in the initial concert performances of this
work and represents a unique collaboration. Its significance lies in pushing the
boundaries of the brass band genre and its integration with other performance
disciplines, allowing it to build bridges with the wider music community. This
contemporary transcription also follows in the tradition of previous arrangers and
gives a developmental and historical framework to the project. I believe it also
demonstrates artistic stature and excellence across the wider field of musical
forces used, showing a broader scope of awareness and skill, which is not
confined to the medium of the brass band.
Sanctuary, Project Two, is a unique survey from a major area of the Salvation
Army's reflective music. The literature it draws upon is the form known as the
Meditation, and a recording of this repertoire has never been previously
conceived or produced. Whilst some of the works have been published for many
years this project also includes a premiere recording which adds considerable
weight to the historically important revival this project represents. This is also
attested to and will be further explored in the critical commentary, showing that
the performances here give significant new insights into the performance of
existing repertoire, which has its own historicity of performance practice. In this
way there is a deep personal involvement in this project, as the music recorded
has also been used within its original functional conception, i.e. the publications
in which these pieces have been produced were printed for the sole purpose of
providing suitable material for the regular worship services in which Salvation
Army Bands perform.
One of the major works, which received its premiere recording in Project Two,
provides the thematic link to Project Three, embodied in the composer Ray
Steadman-Allen. He enjoys advanced standing in the brass band genre and has
made a huge contribution to its repertoire over many years. As a composer he
has been one of the most distinctive voices within the brass band scene and
especially for the Salvation Army sphere over many years. My personal
involvement with the composer over a number of years led to the opportunity to promote a work, which, in its entirety, had never before received a premiere
performance, Variants on The Triumph of Peace. The premiering of this work,
and therefore my interaction and collaboration with the composer also acted as a
creative spur to enable Steadman-Allen to complete one of his latest
compositions, Starmaker, so that both works could be premiered at the same
concert. The premieres of these two works were recorded live and have been
commercially produced in CD format.

Citation

Evans, H. Doctor of Musical Arts performance portfolio : Howard John Evans. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 17, 2021
• Award Date: Oct 1, 2008