Musicology
The study of music history is still important and relevant. Knowing the origins of the music one hears or performs empowers them to find deeper appreciation and enjoyment from it. The knowledge base of music history should continue to expand to benefit more listeners. As a music scholar, I search for the aspects of music history that have yet to be written about and work to transmit my discoveries through scholarly writing that is easy to understand.
Education
University of Kansas: PhD, Musicology: 2024
Dissertation: Orchestral Programming and American Identity in the Great Depression and World War II
Link coming soon!
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Master of Music, music history: 2020
Thesis: Thematic Development in John Powell’s Score for How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Read the full Thesis here: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent/138/
Grand Valley State University: Bachelor of Music, clarinet performance: 2017
Publications
Finnegan-Hill, Denise E. Review of How to Train Your Dragon, by John Powell. Notes 78, no. 3 (2022): 466-469. doi:10.1353/not.2022.0031.
Finnegan-Hill, Denise E. “Friendship and Flight: Thematic Development in E.T. (1982) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).” The Journal of Film Music 11, no. 1 (December 19, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.22029.
Conference Presentations
“Understanding Thematic Development in How to Train Your Dragon” at Music and the Moving Image Conference, May 31- June 2, 2019
YouTube
Denise is passionate about sharing her analyses of music in the media with others and uploads videos about her observations on YouTube. You can find her music analysis videos here:
Services
Need help editing your scholarly paper? I can meet with you to help take your writing to the next level.
$30 an hour