University of Northern Colorado doctoral student Kay Cypret’s dissertation makes a compelling statement on war while highlighting female narratives from World War I. Cypret began her UNC studies at the start of the pandemic and graduated this past summer from the Music D.A. — Music Composition program. Her dissertation, “A Great War Requiem,” is a seven-movement musical composition that pays homage to the dead. She incorporated diverse materials into the work, from ancient requiem mass texts and melodies to more modern poems.

Cypret said her dissertation serves as a sonic memorial to women who experienced the 1914–18 international conflict, also known as the Great War and “the war to end all wars.”

“The Great War had a significant impact on societies across the globe; its repercussions can still be felt. Additionally, the requiem genre is a type of musical composition with a history of capturing the need to commemorate the dead. Requiems are still being composed and performed today. My composition is another piece in the canon that adds to its long history,” she said.

Library closures and limited interlibrary loan availability due to COVID-19 challenged Cypret to find alternative ways to access content-rich source materials.

“While the pandemic presented unforeseen obstacles, my experience at UNC has been one of resilience, resourcefulness and growth,” Cypret said. “It caused disruptions to university life’s regular activities, and yet it also opened new avenues for networking and collaboration. I contacted old colleagues and friends, fostering deeper connections and building a more comprehensive professional network. Through these connections, I secured recordings and other valuable resources.”

A highlight of her educational experience was working with Spectrum Studio Orchestra, which allowed some of her compositions to be performed at UNC concerts. She worked as a thesis and dissertation specialist graduate assistant during her studies. As for her own investigations, she credited a research class with helping her fine-tune her capabilities and preparing her to undertake a large-scale music study.

Associate Professor of Music Theory Reiner Krämer in the College of Performing and Visual Arts’ School of Music advised Cypret throughout her dissertation.

“Dr. Krämer provided good insights, pitfalls to avoid and gave weekly feedback on the composition and dissertation chapters. His mentorship allowed me to stay on track and meet my goals,” she said.

Krämer said Cypret had a clear vision of what she wanted to accomplish.

“Right from the get-go, Kay knew she wanted to write a serious piece of music based on ancient traditions of music writing. She developed and executed a plan to achieve that goal,” Krämer said.

While Cypret wrote her composition for choir and organ, she created an organ-only version for a 40-minute performance she organized in Boulder last April.

“Normally for this kind of project the composition is only 20 minutes, but her piece had to be longer to say what she needed about remembrance, sadness and grief. By bringing in poetry written by women about women who served on the battlefield in nursing jobs and other traditional gender-specific roles, the project offers a new context for how we think about World War I,” Krämer said.

Cypret envisions the composition being performed in concerts and plans to make musical arrangements for band and orchestral performances. Since completing her dissertation, she’s been composing, applying for festivals and composition grants and seeking a music composition professorship.

“I am busy applying for music professor, adjunct and administrative roles,” she said.