Suspiciously Significant Nonsense: A (Queer) Analysis of John Weinzweig's Private Collection Through Lip-Synced Performance

This thesis presents two different analyses of John Weinzweigs Private Collection, a group of nine songs for soprano and piano that was completed in 1975. The first analysis is text-based and draws on the existing literature, my own reading of the score, and archival research. The second is a performance-based analysis focused on a lip-synced performance of Mary Lou Fallis and Monica Gaylords recording of the composition, which I personally directed. I also draw upon data collected from audience surveys and performer interviews in this analysis. Here I consider various layers of performativity in Private Collection and ground my work in performance studies and queer scholarship. I argue that lip-syncing is a queer methodology that can illuminate the fragmented and multiple meanings that emerge from recorded music