Last updated: Feb. 5, 2022
LYLE K. NEFF
Birthplace: Georgia, U.S.A.
Residence: Newark, Delaware
E-mail: lneff@udel.edu
WWW-page: http://udel.edu/~lneff/
Site at Academia dot edu: https://udel.academia.edu/LyleNeff
Skip to any of the following: Education --
Current
Employment -- Published work
-- Papers
Read -- Awards,
Affiliations -- Teaching Experience --
Performance Experience -- Selected Performances of
Compositions -- Languages --
Other
Employment -- Other Special Knowledge
Education:
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Degrees:
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Ph.D. in Musicology, 2002, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;
dissertation
titled Story, Style, and Structure in the Operas of Cesar Cui
(listed at Doctoral
Dissertations
in Musicology Online, downloadable from http://hdl.handle.net/2022/24419)
-- Committee: Jane Fulcher (chair), David B. Cannata (of Temple
University, research advisor), A. Peter Brown, Austin Caswell
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M.M. in Music Composition, 1982, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, FL
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B.M. in Music Performance (composition), Summa cum
laude, 1981, Augusta College (now Augusta State University),
Augusta, GA
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High School Diploma, 1977, Westside High School, Augusta, GA
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Coursework:
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Music theory seminars/study with Allan Thomas, Roy
Johnson, Peter Spencer (Pedagogy), Jane Perry-Camp, John Boda
(Wagner)
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Musicology seminars/colloquia/study with Elias Dann,
Jon Piersol (bibliography), Hans Tischler (Medieval), Thomas Noblitt
(Renaissance), A. Peter Brown (Classical), Austin Caswell (20th
Century),
Georg Feder, Malcolm Brown
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Composition study with Eloy Fominaya, John Boda, Roy
Johnson, Juan Orrego-Salas, Donald Erb
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Piano study with Vola Jacobs, Edward Kilenyi
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Organ study with John Schaeffer
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Russian/Slavic study with Richard Chapple, Rodney Sangster, Ronald
Feldstein,
Galina McClaws, Laurence R. Richter, Nadia Peterson
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Other:
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Training in three supervisor seminars through
Indiana University Personnel and Main Library (1987-1988)
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Workshop in Music Cataloging, at Indiana University Music Library (June
10-14, 1996)
Current Employment and Professional Duties:
- Library Assistant III, Cataloging and Metadata Dept., Morris Library,
University of Delaware (Jan. 2007 to present)
Published Work, Including Vocal-Music Translations Performed or Broadcast (see also list of other translation work):
- "Miracle Worker," for vocal
quartet or mixed chorus a cappella;
anthem published 2011 by GIA Publications
- "Hymn Inspirations for Organ," published Oct. 2009 by Augsburg Fortress
- "Come and Walk in the Light,"
for mixed chorus, optional solo, and piano; anthem published by
Augsburg Fortress
- "Show Me the Way,"
for mixed chorus a cappella; anthem published by Augsburg Fortress
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Liner notes for first of six volumes of a CD set of
Cui's collected piano music, performed by Osamu Nakamura (now Osamu de
Kanazawa). (Notes for remaining volumes completed, but those CDs were never issued.)
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Section on opera-related databases in collectively authored article
"Opera
on the Internet," in Opera Quarterly, v. 16, no. 4, Fall 2000
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New articles on Mal'vina Bamberg, Mar'iya Kerzina, La Comtesse Louise de
Mercy-Argenteau, Nadezhda Rimskaia-Korsakova; revision of article on
Cesar
Cui, for The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, 2nd
Edition (later as part of Grove Online)
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Transliteration and translation of libretto for Rimsky-Korsakov's May
Night and Snowmaiden, in reissue by the Musical Heritage
Society
of conductor Fedoseyev's recordings from the 1970's (2000).
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"The Tale of Tsar Saltan: A Centenary Appreciation of
Rimskii-Korsakov's
Second Pushkin Opera," in The Pushkin Review, v. 2, 1999
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Entry on Rimsky-Korsakov in Readers Guide to Music, Murray
Steib, editor, published London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999
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"Close to Prose, or Worse than Verse? Rimsky-Korsakov's Intermediate
Type
of Opera Text," in Opera Quarterly, v. 15, no. 2, Winter 1998
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"Cesar Cui's Opera Feast in Time of Plague," in The Pushkin
Review, v. 1,
1998. (The translation of the libretto in this article was used later for the production of the opera in Oct. 2010 by the Little Opera Theatre of New York.)
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"A Documentary Glance at Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov as Music
Theorists,"
in the Tchaikovsky and His World, edited by Leslie Kearney,
published by Princeton University
Press (1998).
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Articles on Fomin, Glazunov, Liadov, Lysenko, Napravnik, Paliashvili,
Pashkevich,
and Rimsky-Korsakov in Biographical Dictionary of Russian/Soviet
Composers,
published by Greenwood Press (1989)
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English singing translation of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Legend of Tsar
Saltan, produced at Indiana
University with 4 performances (Apr. 1987) and broadcast on NPR World
of Opera
(Aug. 1987)
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Praise Ye the Lord and In the Beginning; two anthems
published in 1980 under
the pseudonym "Kevin Lyle" by Doxology Music, Aiken, S.C.
Papers Read, and Participation on Panels (see also list of additional writings):
- Participation in a panel entitled "Pushkin and Opera," on Oct. 18,
2009, at the Hudson Guild Theatre in New York City as part of the
production of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri and Cui's Feast in Time of Plague by the Little Opera Theatre of New York
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"Opera Libretti on the Web: E-Texts, E-Music, and E-Hopes,"
presented
for the Western European Studies Section of the Association of College
and Research Libraries, Romance Languages Discussion Group, at the
American
Library Association's Annual Meeting, Chicago, July 8, 2000, as part of
Italian Studies 2000: in Honor of Mario Casalini
(1926-1998).
(Web page for text of paper)
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"A Captain's Daughter -- A General's Challenge: Cesar Cui a la
russe," read at Mid-Atlantic Chapter
meeting of American Musicological Society, Temple University,
Philadelphia,
PA, Oct. 17, 1999; different, shorter version under shorter title read
at the
Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, Lexington, KY, Mar. 20-22, 1997
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"A Composer's Analytical Approach: Rimsky-Korsakov's Razbor
'Snegurochki'"; paper presented at the
South-Central Chapter Meeting of the American Musicological Society,
Louisville, KY, Mar. 29, 1996
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"'And With Warbling Sweetly Sung,/She Can Speak Our Native Tongue!':
Rimsky-Korsakov's
Opera Tsar Saltan in American English"; paper presented at the
22nd annual conference
of the Midwest Popular Culture and the Midwest American Culture
Associations,
meeting with the Lyrica Society, Indianapolis, IN (Nov. 3-4, 1995)
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"While the Bear
Sleeps: Lullabies in the Operas of Rimsky-Korsakov"; paper presented
at the
Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, Norfolk, VA (Mar. 17-18, 1994). (Web page for text of paper)
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"Pythagorean Tuning in the Middle Ages: A
Reappraisal"; paper presented at at the Graduate Student Conference,
Center
for Renaissance Studies, Newberry Library (June 19-20, 1987)
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"Cui at 150:
Time to Exhume the Corpus?"; paper presented at the Indiana University
School
of Music (Nov. 21, 1985)
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"Climbing the Musical Tower of Babel: How to create an
English Version of an Opera"; paper presented at the Music Theory
Forum of the
Florida State University Music Theory Society (Mar. 19, 1983)
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"Platti and the Baroque Harpsichord Sonata";
lecture-recital presented at Augusta College for the Virginia Wilkes
Music
Award (Mar. 28, 1980)
Awards/Affiliations:
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Walter Kaufmann Prize, Indiana University Musicology
Dept. (1996-1997 academic year)
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Clara Schumann Society
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Outstanding Young Men of America (1987)
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University Fellowship, Indiana University (1983/84,
1986/87)
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National Resource Fellowship in Russian, Indiana
University (1984/85; Summer 1985)
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Phi Kappa Lambda (1983)
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Florida State University Music Theory Society (1983)
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Graduate Fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi (1981/82)
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Phi Kappa Phi (1981)
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Valedictorian, Augusta College (1981)
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Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and
Colleges (1980)
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Virginia Wilkes Music Award, Augusta College (1980)
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Edward B. Turner Music Award, Augusta College (1979)
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Augusta College Faculty Scholarship (1977)
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Who's Who in Music (1977)
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Valedictorian, Westside High School (1977)
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Georgia Music Teachers Association State Auditions, 1st place winner in
piano concerto division, 2nd place in pre-college piano division (1976)
Teaching Experience:
- Substitute classroom instructor for MUSC101 (Appreciation of Music),
Summer 2007, University of Delaware
- Online instructor for
MUSC101 (Appreciation of Music), Fall 2002-Summer 2020, University of
Delaware
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Visiting Lecturer in Music History, School of Music,
Indiana University (Aug. 2001-May 2002). Courses: M541-M542, Music
History
Review for Graduate Students; M410, The Symphony (undergraduate); M527
Symphonic Literature (graduate)
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Guest lecturer, Indiana University, for two class
sessions on Rimsky-Korsakov's and Cui's operas, in a graduate course
on the
Mighty Five, Nov. 1994
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Associate Instructor, Indiana University, in Theory
(1983/84) and Musicology (1984/85- 1985/86). Courses: I201-202, Music
Literature and Structure; M401-402, Music History
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Teacher of basic musicianship for adults in a short class-course (6-8
lessons),
held at First Baptist Church, late 1970's
Performing Experience (see also list of non-church repertoire):
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Keyboardist in the Florida State University New Music
Ensemble (1982/83)
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Harpsichord recital given at St. John United Methodist
Church, Augusta, GA, as part of the Jarrell Chapel Recital Series
(Mar. 25,
1979)
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Student conductor of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, 1979-1980 (with
public
performance of Borodin's 3rd Symphony (Nov. 15, 1980): "In rehearsal,
Neff
displayed such through knowledge (taking sections of the orchestra
repeatedly
over difficult parts of the score to get rhythms just right) that he was
warmly applauded by the orchestra. And the culminating performance
itself
bore the results of such careful preparation" (from the Augusta
Chronicle-Herald, Nov. 16, 1980)
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Vocal and instrumental accompanist in studios and
recitals at Augusta College, Florida State, and Indiana University
(1977-1987,
1992)
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Keyboardist and percussionist in the Augusta Symphony
Orchestra, 1976-1981
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Member of the Augusta College Choir (1976-1977, 1981)
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Keyboardist and violist in the Augusta College Orchestra (1976-1980)
Selected Performances of Secular Compositions (see also list of compositions):
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Four Songs from Sidney Lanier's The Marshes of Glynn, performed
at Widener University
(April. 25, 1998)
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"Sonata for Horn and Piano" (1983), at Indiana
University (Mar. 31, 1984) and at SUNY- Stony Brook (Nov. 19, 1986)
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"Suite for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Harpsichord"
(1981), at the Southeastern Composers' League Forum, University of
Georgia
(Feb. 19, 1982)
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Starbottle
for the Plaintiff (1981), an opera in 3 scenes, at Augusta
College for
2 performances (May 6-7, 1981)
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"Processional March" for band, based on the Augusta
College Alma Mater, at Augusta College Commencement (June 11, 1978)
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"The Sea Bell" (1976), for string orchestra, by the Augusta Symphony
Orchestra,
(Feb. 26, 1976): "An elegiac work of affecting beauty ... deceptively
simple
sounding ... weaves a melancholy melody through a tapestry of strings--a
work of the caliber one might expect from a far older composer" (from
the Augusta
Chronicle-Herald, Feb.
27, 1976)
Languages:
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American Sign Language (beginning level)
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French (2 semesters reading knowledge)
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German (2 years high school, 1 undergraduate, 2
semesters reading knowledge)
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Old Church Slavonic (1 semester graduate course)
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Russian (4th-year undergraduate level; 2 graduate courses)
Past Employment:
- Library Generalist, Reference Dept., Morris Library, University of
Delaware (Apr. 2005-Dec. 2006)
- Library Technician, Reserve Room, Morris Library,
University of Delaware (Nov. 2003-Mar. 2005)
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Supplemental/Adjunct Faculty (part-time), School of Music,
University of Delaware, beginning 1997 as occasional piano-acompanist, and later teaching the distance-learning
sections of MUSC101 (Appreciation of Music) Fall 2002 through Summer 2020
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Temporary employee (part-time), Shelving, Morris Library,
University of Delaware (Oct. 2002-Oct. 2003)
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Pianist (part-time), Mid-Atlantic
Ballet, Newark, DE (Mar. 2000-Oct. 2003; interrupted for leave
during Aug. 2001-May 2002)
- Clerical Aide, UD Online [i.e.,
distance learning
registration] (part-time)s, Division of Continuing Eduation,
University of
Delaware (Mar. 2000-May 2001)
- Organist (part-time), First Presbyterian Church,
Newark, DE (Jan.1999-Apr. 2006 (interrupted for leave during
Aug. 2001-May 2002)
- Pianist (part-time), Academy of the Dance, Wilmington,
DE (Sept. 1997-Mar. 2000)
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Organist (part-time), Our Redeemer Lutheran Church,
Newark, DE (July 1997-Dec. 1998)
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CONSER/NACO cataloger, Serials Dept., Main Library,
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN (Sept. 1989-May 1997)
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Serials Collection Management Assistant, Serials
Department, Main Library, Indiana University (Sept. 1988-Sept. 1989)
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Senior Library Assistant, Kent Cooper Periodicals
Reading Room, Serials Department, Main Library, Indiana University
(July
1987-Sept. 1988)
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Student jobs
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WFIU Radio, Indiana University (Jan. to July 1987):
programming assistant (Ether Game, etc.)
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Administrative Office, Music Library, Indiana
University (Spring 1986-January 1987): pre-order searcher, data
entry for
new acquisitions
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Serials, Main Library, Indiana University (May-Aug.
1984): assistant in Slavic Kardex
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Automated Processing, Main Library, Indiana
University (Summer 1985): card filer
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Cataloging, Main Library, Indiana University
(June-Aug. 1984): OCLC and authority searcher for regional campuses
music
cataloger
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Office of Graduate and International Admissions,
Florida State University (May-Aug. 1982 and May-Aug. 1983): mail
opener,
foreign-transcript reviewer
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Music Library, Florida State University (May-Aug. 1983): public service
assistant,
some rough cataloging
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Organist at Warren Baptist Church, Augusta, GA
(1977-1981) and at Evans Baptist Church, Evans, GA (1976-1977)
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Brief engagements in Augusta as piano teacher, class theory instructor,
and keyboardist in various community performances
Other Special Knowledge/Skills:
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Computer and Internet applications: WordPerfect,
Word, Microsoft Works, Excel, Powerpoint, Finale (all for Windows);
Word
(Mac); UNIX; image and text scanning; SERC, WebCT, Sakai, Canvas; also
active
coding in GW-BASIC and HTML
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Library: bibliographic searching (electronic,
paper, microform); ALA filing rules, AACR2 Cataloging, LCRI, LCSH, LC
Classification Schedules, CONSER and NACO standards; NOTIS, OCLC
(Connexion and WMS, including
editing), MUMS; shelving, shelf-reading, training/supervision of
student
assistants
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Office: SIS (University of Delaware); course registration by mail
and phone (UD Online); university admissions procedures (Florida State);
foreign school systems and documents; filing, photocopying, dictaphone,
inputting/editing correspondence, course bulletins, etc
Please send notifications about dead or incorrect links here and on related pages to lneff@udel.edu.