I.

2 Music History II Paper, The Role of Castrati in Opera

Out of all of the writing assignments Ive done at EIU, this is my favorite. It was also the

most difficult for me to write. The topic of castrati is an uncomfortable one. The creation of a

castrato involved surgically mutilating a young child in the hope that he might be musically

successful. In order to write this paper, I had to do a substantial amount of research about castrati

and how the people of their time viewed them. While it is a practice that is nearly unimaginable

in our time, I had to discover the reasons it happened in the context of the time period. I also had

to research how castrati influenced music. In my paper, I give several examples of parts that

were written for castrati. Roles in opera were specifically written to utilize the properties of the

castrati voice. Without castrati, those operas would not have developed in the same way. I think

that this represents my best work because it shows the depth of research that I did on this topic. I

think it is a good example of the development of my writing skills because I was able to discuss

an uncomfortable and sensitive topic in an informative, but professional manner.

II.2 SPIT Paper on Flute Techniques

During my time at EIU, I have given many private flute lessons. Two of my

undergraduate research projects included private lessons, and I also teach lessons at a local

studio. In this paper, I reflect on an article written about directing the airstream and how I would

implement these practices in my own teaching. This paper meets the objective by showing my

thought process on how I would use new strategies for instruction. It also shows some of the

experience that I already have in the area of flute teaching. From reflecting on the article, I

gained valuable insight on my own teaching and playing. While this is not specifically about

band pedagogy, the same principles could be applied to help a flute section in full band.
III.1 Thesis Defense Powerpoint

It is difficult to succinctly sum up everything that I learned from participating in

undergraduate research and writing my thesis. Through research, I learned how to formulate

specific, valid research questions and how to investigate them. I learned how to design a research

project, how to write an abstract, and how to pull everything together to present my findings. I

gained a lot of confidence in my public speaking skills and learned how to speak as an expert on

a topic. I also learned how to answer questions on the fly, as people asked questions at my

presentations. While writing my thesis, I developed the ability to write in a clear and informative,

though somewhat dry style. I gained a lot of experience in revising my writing and properly

formatting a thesis. I think this is an example of my best work because it shows the final

presentation that I put together out of the three that I did while participating in undergraduate

research. It clearly presents the information I was using for my speech.