| Summary: | The first part of this dissertation is a musical composition for full orchestra titled, ...And It Was Good. The work's title refers to the biblical text that follows each day of God's creation, "God saw all that he had made, and it was good." The architecture for the single movement work is framed within seven sections, each representing a different day of the biblical creation story. An arch form is used and each section is marked by a different tonal center taken from a whole tone scale beginning on F. The composer employs several songs from various world religions and manipulates them to form new melodies and rhythmic motives throughout the work. The second part of this dissertation is an account of the career of the pop music producer, David Foster. Throughout his expansive career, David Foster has made significant contributions to the pop music canon, specifically within the "power ballad" form and within the genre of "classical crossover." Classical crossover music fuses important elements of popular music's form and sentimentality with serious concert music's romantic lyricism and orchestration. This new hybrid genre has proven remarkably successful within the music industry and the pivotal role of David Foster cannot be understated. As a record producer, songwriter, and arranger, David Foster has reintroduced music from the past, applying new layers of context to many older works. His appropriation of preexisting songs into the more modern pop genre has produced new works of pop art that feature fresh layers of context.
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