I first became interested in the field of
musicology and research while studying at NVCC Alexandria and would especially
like to thank Professor John Kocur for his support and inspiration throughout
my discovery of and consequent passion for music history, and neglected and
virtually unknown/forgotten composers. As a transfer student to the B.A. Music
program at George Mason University, I have been able to further my experience
and skill in music research. Namely, my private study’s in period performance
[practice] violin with June Huang has enabled me to increase my expertise in
working with manuscripts (facsimiles) and being able to interpret music in a
style appropriate to the composer’s intention. These experiences and the
knowledge I gained from them helped prepare me for the extent of the research
involved in the Peter Ritter project.
As opposed to doing research for my own personal
interests, having the opportunity to do so in an academic setting as an undergraduate
student is what immediately drew me to the Peter Ritter research project. And
because music research is what I want to do after my undergraduate studies, being
a part of this OSCAR summer group has given me hands-on experience in this
field. This summer, I actually did something that I had not done before – I
learned how to use the records at the Library of Congress and was therefore able
to handle the physical manuscripts of some of Ritter’s music, which I later
transcribed. Seeing the composer’s handwriting in person and turning the pages
of the manuscripts made the research all the more exciting! All of my previous
studies utilized online resources and databases, but I find that using the
original music is more interesting and engaging because not only can you see
markings and errors, which may not be visible in facsimile editions, but it
also provides you the rare experience of working with primary sources.
