RESEARCH INTERESTS
Duilio Dobrín, Dr. of Arts
I. Academic Research Topics and Presentations
Author: Music Education and the Courts. The Transformational Power of Empathy. 2020
ABSTRACT
MUSIC EDUCATION AND THE COURTS: THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER OF EMPATHY
Duilio Dobrin* (University of North Texas, Dallas, TX, USA)
My advocacy for Music Education has reached far and wide, beginning with my role as Education Director and Resident Conductor for the Florida Philharmonic for nearly a decade. I reached over half a million children with a primary target of 5th grade and a secondary focus on K-1st. Yet, it was an earth-shattering and non-musical experience that fueled my passion just a few months ago: I had the privilege of having been chosen to serve a full-time term as Grand Juror for the City of Dallas. During these months of facing just about every type of imaginable crime, in over two thousand cases, my thoughts invariably turned to empathy. How many of these acts were the ultimate result of lack of empathy? What could have occurred if these lives would have been touched by music, as a natural giver of empathy? Because of a strict confidentiality clause, a final research document cannot be released until the year 2020, but the process of looking at each case in light of personal perpetrator backgrounds and present findings on the development of empathy through music could yield life-changing research. I can safely say, though, that this data does include FBI-analyzed police shootings and State Department mandated violations of the Sixth Amendment.
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Presenter (multiple locations) and Author: The science behind the art of conducting; a physics-based approach. 2015
ABSTRACT
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE ART OF CONDUCTING; A PHYSICS-BASED APPROACH
Duilio Dobrin* (University of North Texas, Dallas, TX, USA)
The art of conducting has been taught by empirical means for nearly four hundred years. The complexity and number of competencies required demand masterful musicianship, aural skills, interpersonal relationships, leadership attributes, etc. Though each of the above-stated competencies is arguably measurable, these remain subjective as it is with all forms of art.
I propose that the most significant tool utilized by a conductor, namely his/her physical gestures, must elicit vertical alignment of sound in time. Gestures can be quantified and trained to exact ensemble alignment by implementing a physics-based approach, which considers gravitational deceleration, acceleration, and horizontal velocity as its main components.
The testing of thousands of subjects over the past several years has demonstrated that musicians and non-musicians alike are able to predict (with astonishing levels of accuracy) when a common object, thrown underhand and straight up into the air, will return to the tester’s hand. Guided largely by the force of gravity, said object will experience maximum speed the instant it leaves the hand, after which it will decelerate to reach its highest point and speed equal to zero. The process then reverses itself, as the object returns to the hand: it is precisely this returning point of contact that the brain will predict followed by the command to produce a given sound be it vocal or instrumental. The exact same properties will apply to curved motions (parabolas) as horizontal velocity does not affect speed.
In conclusion, I submit that, when replicating a D-A (deceleration-acceleration) computer-generated model with our arms and relying on a physics-based analysis, a conductor will elicit near-one hundred percent predictability – thus accuracy, from any type of ensemble. Gravity demands it.
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Author: A Four-Year Curriculum in Commercial Music. Establishing a New Major at the University of North Texas, Dallas: under review by the State of Texas’ Board of Regents. 2014
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Instructor and Author: ILork (Interlochen Laptop Orchestra): a laptop orchestra curriculum for the Interlochen Academy. 2013
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Instructor and Author: The Synesthesia Code: a curricular initiative for the Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches. 2012
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Writer: New Curriculum Initiative for the State of Texas. High School: Musical Composition. 2010. Approved
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Writer: New Curriculum Initiative for the State of Texas. High School: Music Business. 2010. Approved
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Writer: New Curriculum Initiative for the State of Texas. High School: Guitar. 2010
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Panelist and Writer: A re-design of band and orchestra programs, from kindergarten through high school, for Dallas Independent School District. 2005
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II. Publication of Musical Compositions and Arrangements
Publishers:
Edizione Musicali Pagani, Milan, Italy
Warner Chappel, London, England
Sheet Music Plus Press, USA
Compositions:
Requiem para Pia, Chamber Orchestra, Coppell Chorale, TX, 7
Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra "Of All Things Lost", Zagreb Philharmonic, 28'
Libertango Remix, Chamber Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic, 6’
The Well-Tempered Tango, Piano Trio, Ensemble Vivant, Toronto, CA, 12’
Astortango, Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, 10’
Convexity, String Orchestra, Pedagogical work, 3’
Sand and Foam, Orchestra and 4 Marimbas, Corvallis Youth Symphony, 8'
Homenaje a Piazzolla, Orchestra, Florida Philharmonic, 8'
Jerusalem Fantasy, Orchestra, Nashville Symphony. Pub. by WarnerChappel, London, 7'
Hashkivenu, Chamber Ensemble and Chorus, Community Synagogue, NY, 8'
A New Shabbat,Organ and Chorus, Community Synagogue, NY, 22'
Missa Brevis, Organand Chorus, St Mary’s, Norwalk, CT, 15'
Harmonius, Chamber Ensemble and Narrator, Connecticut Arts Commission, 20'
Arrangements:
Dobrin et al., fifty orchestral arrangements, Songs of the Americas, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, 3 hrs
Dobrin et al., seventy songs for Cantor and Organ, A High Holy Day Collection, Temple Bat Yam of Fort Lauderdale, 3hrs
Dobrin/Gershwin, Highlights from Porgy and Bess, Chamber Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, 12'
Dobrin/ Queen/Frye, Miami Heat Play-offs pre-game show, Full Orchestra, Aired nationally on CNN, TBS. Aired locally on NBC, 11'
Dobrin/Rodgers, CBS this Morning Theme Song, Brass Qtet., Aired nationally on CBS, 3'
Dobrin/M. Rodgers, Once Upon a Mattress, Middle School Orchestra, Greiner Fine Arts Academy, Dallas, TX, 1 hr
Dobrin/Estefan, Mi Tierra, Latin Ensemble and Strings, Booker T. Washington School for the Performing Arts, Dallas, TX, 3’
Dobrin/Gardel, El dia que me quieras, Strings, and bandoneon, Rucner Quartet, Zagreb, 5’
Dobrin/Piazzolla, Fuga y Misterio, Bassoon Quartet, Banff Music Festival, 4’
Dobrin/Gardel, El dia que me quieras, Piano and Bandoneon, 6’
Dobrin/Piazzolla, La Muerte del Angel, Piano and Bandoneon, 5' Dobrin/Piazzolla, Invierno Porteño, Piano and Bandoneon, 7' Dobrin/Piazzolla, Decarissimo, Piano and Bandoneon, 5'
Dobrin/Piazzolla, Adios Nonino, Piano and Bandoneon, 7’
Presented at Oregon Music Teacher’s Association Annual Conference
Dobrin/Perez Prado/Cachao, McGill Mambo, Jazz Band, McGill Univ., Montreal, 6’
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ABSTRACT
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE ART OF CONDUCTING; A PHYSICS-BASED APPROACH
Duilio Dobrin* (University of North Texas, Dallas, TX, USA)
The art of conducting has been taught by empirical means for nearly four hundred years. The complexity and number of competencies required demand masterful musicianship, aural skills, interpersonal relationships, leadership attributes, etc. Though each of the above-stated competencies is, arguably, measurable, these remain subjective as it is with all forms of art.
I propose that the most significant tool utilized by a conductor, namely his/her physical gestures, must elicit vertical alignment of sound in time. Gestures can be quantified and trained to exact ensemble alignment by implementing a physics-based approach, which considers gravitational deceleration, acceleration, and horizontal velocity as its main components.
The testing of thousands of subjects over the past several years has demonstrated that musicians and non-musicians alike are able to predict (with astonishing levels of accuracy) when a common object, thrown underhand and straight up into the air, will return to the tester’s hand. Guided largely by the force of gravity, said object will experience maximum speed the instant it leaves the hand, after which it will decelerate to reach its highest point and speed equal to zero. The process then reverses itself, as the object returns to the hand: it is precisely this returning point of contact that the brain will predict followed by the command to produce a given sound be it vocal or instrumental. The exact same properties will apply to curved motions (parabolas) as horizontal velocity does not affect speed.
In conclusion, I submit that, when replicating a D-A (deceleration-acceleration) computer-generated model with our arms and relying on a physics-based analysis, a conductor will elicit near one hundred percent predictability - thus accuracy, from any type of ensemble. Gravity demands it.
*Email: Duilio.Dobrin@untdallas.edu