Theory Review
Date
February 13-May 5, 2023
Course Code
520/6730
Credits
2 Graduate Credits/3 Graduate Credits*
Tuition
$1,140 for course 520 is due in full with registration. $1,065 for course 6730 is due in full with registration. A $15 Early Bird Discount will be applied to course 6730 only until January 6.
Course Description
The Theory Review class will be a refresher course of basic and chromatic harmony. This class will include the review of scales, modes, intervals, all triads and 7th chords, voice leading rules, spelling and resolutions of all “exotic” chromatic chords, modulations, sequences, as well as figured bass and harmonization of melodies. The material will be covered through exercises, analysis and figured bass. There will also be projects in original composition. Some musical concepts will be isolated for study: neapolitan and augmented sixth chords, chromatic chords with raised and lowered fifth, and secondary dominants to name just a few. This is a refresher course of basic and chromatic theory. Master’s degree candidates who need to brush up on their knowledge of theory before registering for an arranging course should consider this elective.
* This course is offered at two course levels. Students enrolled in the MMEd program at VanderCook are eligible to enroll for the 500 course number. Students not enrolled in the MMEd program who wish to earn graduate credit as a MECA Continuing Education student should register for the four digit course number. The difference in credits earned and tuition cost is attributed to the difference in tuition rates for the MMEd and MECA Continuing Education programs. If you are unsure which section is best for you, please contact us directly at [email protected].
Instructor
Dr. Olivia I-Hsuan Tsai serves as an associate professor at VanderCook College of Music. She is a frequent presenter at conferences of Illinois Music Teachers Association, Music Teachers National Association, and College Music Society, featuring music of Chinese and Taiwanese heritage. Her book “Schubert’s Piano Trios” was published by Scholar’s Press in Germany in 2014. Dr. Tsai is appointed in 2017 as guest professor at Lanzhou Northwestern University. She also performs at many colleges and universities, including Roosevelt University and Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, Coastal Carolina College in NC and Nebraska University in Kearney.
In addition, Dr. Tsai has appeared as a soloist with QingDao Concert Hall Orchestra, Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and Highland Park Strings. She was the staff pianist of the world renowned Aspen Music Festival and Musicorda Music Festival in the US, as well as artist faculty/performer of Oficina Music Festival, Curitiba Music Festival in Brazil and Algarve Music Festival in Portugal.
In 2018, she founded Yang and Olivia Foundation and organized a cultural exchange concert where she performed as part of the diverse and dynamic chamber group Momento Virtuosi, celebrating Qingdao’s Sound of Phoenix Grand Theater grand opening. Since the pandemics, the foundation has helped raise funds for concert venues, individuals in need, and performed for churches and schools via live stream.
Dr. Tsai came to the United States in 1993 not only as a pianist but also a bassoonist. She received her Bachelor of Music degree with high scholastic achievement award in 1996, and Master of Music in both piano and bassoon at Indiana University in Bloomington as Emma E. Claus Scholarship recipient in 1999. She went on to earn her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (UC, CCM) as a recipient of graduate scholarship, where she also served as faculty at CCM’s preparatory department. During her student years, she was the winner of the Buckeye Piano Competition, Graves Piano Competition in the US, and Young Artist Series in Taiwan.