Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3671-1044
Date of Award
Spring 6-11-2023
Document Type
Thesis (Master's)
Department or Program
Graduate Music
First Advisor
Ashley Fure
Second Advisor
César Alvarez
Third Advisor
Alison Martin
Abstract
Why Not Be Free? is an interdisciplinary exploration of music intervention development demonstrating the application of my integrated research and artistic practices through an outlined antiracist method for designing music to reduce stress in Black college youth and a manifesto detailing the compositional process. I draw from Black feminist and womanist thought, music cognition, and public health literature to outline a framework for designing music interventions to reduce stress among Black populations: the Music Medicine Critical Race Praxis. I situate my work among Black speculative artists reimagining experiences in everyday Black life as well as music intervention researchers integrating creative and research practices in the design of music-guided slow-breathing interventions. I synthesize the radical Black worldmaking practices of the artists with scientific evidence to highlight the capacity for music to sustain Black aliveness through the cultivation of altered states of being and collective well-being. The manifesto hones in on the core performance elements of the work--breath and music--to elucidate how breathing sustains Black aliveness and the ongoing movement toward liberatory Black futures by synthesizing perspectives across performance studies and Black worldmaking perspectives. These analyses are juxtaposed with anecdotes and documentation from the compositional process to illuminate the development of The Breathing Suite cosmology from my own everyday Black, lived experiences. Altogether, this thesis outlines the development of my arts intervention praxis, my approach integrating research and composition to develop methods and intermedia performances that foster collective well-being—Black aliveness.
Recommended Citation
Dorsey, Armond Epps, "Why Not Be Free: The Black Worldmaking Praxis, Research Method, & Manifesto For Developing Music Interventions Against Stress In Black Youth" (2023). Dartmouth College Master’s Theses. 97.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/masters_theses/97
April 2023 draft of the score for The Breathing Suite, composed and written by Armond Dorsey.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Africana Studies Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Composition Commons, Epistemology Commons, Music Performance Commons, Music Practice Commons, Music Therapy Commons, Poetry Commons
Comments
Link to April 2023 Workshop Performance of The Breathing Suite (unedited): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rh8DZHbD8K5aZcHl19iX1wyzMO1MUD_n/view?usp=share_link
Performers:
Poet, Composer: Armond Dorsey
Performer 1: Eli Berman (voice)
Performer 2: Charles Peoples III (voice)
Performer 3: Mac Waters (viola, voice)