Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Creative Works and Media Production
Livingstone Undergraduate Research Award in Creative Works and Media Production
Michael Pogudin
Origins of Western Tonal Expectation and Its Compositional Utility: Research in Support of “Fractured:” An Original Composition for Pierrot Ensemble
View Michael's project online
“Fractured” is an original composition written around psychobiological mechanisms that often determine how we feel when listening to music. Even before musical preferences or cultural shaping can occur, humans are born with pre-designed cognitive mechanisms that influence how we react to basic musical structures, such as chords, harmony, and rhythm. By studying and categorizing these attributes, I was able to create a piece that invokes a specific set of emotions for the audience to hopefully experience.
What is your major and expected year of graduation?
I am a senior Bachelor of Music Composition Student at Boyer College of Music and Dance, graduating May 2026.
What inspired you to pursue your project?
As a composer, eliciting choice emotion within listeners is a fundamental skill. Whether it be for your own portfolio, or for a client in film scoring, it is imperative that the composer has strategies to inspire feeling within the audience. I was deeply curious about going to the fundamental core of music and the brain, studying why music makes us feel, and how each person’s tonal palette is molded over time. By understanding the psychobiological aspects behind experience within music, I could tailor my own music to pull on certain cognitive strings and improve my ability to elicit feeling.
How did the Libraries support your research?
Without access to the amazing resources Temple Libraries has to offer, I would have been unable to properly start, let alone finish, my research. The easy online checkout system, keyword book search, ample musical score collection, and peer-review checked research website all played a crucial role in organizing my work and providing a solid base to research. In addition, the kind staff were always helpful in locating a book or score I could not find. The numerous study rooms and open-late hours were also a perfect environment to work and eventually begin writing. Temple Libraries is an amazing resource for any Temple student, regardless of if they’re writing an entire thesis or just needing a place to work.
It has been a pleasure to watch Michael Pogudin develop his compositional voice over the past four years. He is steeped in the tradition of creating works with big melodies, gorgeous harmonies, and impeccable craftsmanship. His work “Fractured” is scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, glockenspiel, and piano, and it is another great work in his catalog. The instruments are used in lovely combinations to create a colorful atmosphere, seamlessly leading the listener around various corners to find new moods and vistas. The music feels reflective and contemplative and is compelling and enticing throughout.
-David Bennett Thomas, Artist-in-Residence, Music Studies, Boyer College of Music and Dance
This category covers research which culminates in a creative or multimedia work in areas such as Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Theater, or Media Production.
This award is generously sponsored by John H. Livingstone, SBM ’49.