John Mackey is an influential and prolific composer of wind band literature. His focus on and exploration of the percussion section are defining characteristics of his compositional voice. Mackey's concerto for percussion and wind band, "Drum Music," is a perfect example of his exploitation of the myriad timbres available within the percussion family, and also serves to showcase the versatility required of a modern percussionist. This dissertation and accompanying lecture recital provide a comprehensive guide for performers of the work. Major aspects of Mackey's compositional approach are discussed with emphasis placed on his use of percussion throughout his works. Analysis and performance concerns are discussed for each of the concertos three movements, and information is provided on the reduced version of the work prepared as part of this study.

Giuseppe Concone's piano études number over a hundred, and are collected in seven various sets. They consist of pieces for elementary, intermediate, and advanced level pianists. A few of them have been printed in anthologies but most of them remain unknown. The present research consists of two parts: an overview of Concone's complete sets of piano études, and a detailed analysis of Op. 30, with a detailed focus on articulation, balancing, voicing, and interpretation. First is a brief overview of the Études Opp. 37, 46, 24, 25, 31 and 34. Then in the analysis of Op. 30, after explaining the salient features of this set of études, there is an illustration of the method by giving an analysis of each étude. Concone's Vingt Études Chantantes Op. 30 are a fine supplement of teaching repertoire for the intermediate piano students. The Op. 30 incorporates a diversity of technical requirements and musical merits that can help students transition from intermediate level to early-advanced level. They may also contribute to being aware of binary and ternary forms, and prepares students for learning other genres of the 19th century piano literature.

Gideon Gee Bum Kim is an internationally-acclaimed contemporary Korean-Canadian composer. Kim has utilized traditional Korean music with Western composition techniques in some of his works. Kim created his own style by incorporating traditional Korean musical elements such as the scale, rhythmic diversity, syncopation, variation, ornamentation, and the progression of melody into a body of music that is otherwise contemporary and Western. The purpose of this study is to develop a performance guide for Gideon Gee Bum Kim's Kangkangsullae for string trio. Kangkangsullae trio is based on Korean historical, cultural and musical influences. I give a detailed historical and cultural background for this work and demonstrate how Kim integrated Western compositional techniques with traditional Korean music. My emphasis is on defining specific characteristics of traditional Korean music which will provide several points toward understanding Kim's compositional style.

Se Enkhbayar (b. 1956) is one of the most important contemporary Mongolian composers in China. His choral tone poem, Önchin Botog, integrates the traditional Mongolian musical elements Urtiin Duu (long song) and Khöömii (throat singing) with modern choral music and is one of the most representative works in the genre of modern Mongolian choral music. The purpose of this study is to provide a performance guidance for non-Mongolian musicians on Se Enkhbayar's work, Önchin Botog, by presenting his biographical and cultural backgrounds, discussing the use of traditional Mongolian singing styles, special rhythmic patterns (horse-step rhythm) and Chinese pentatonic scales. For conductors, this guide can shorten preparation time by providing musical analysis for artistic interpretation and practical points for sound effect creation. For solo singers, this guide will enable a Bel Canto singer to sing Urtiin Duu in Mongolian singing style. For Khöömii singers, this guide provides supplementary practical suggestions.

Polymetric writing is an integral technique in contemporary compositional practice. Dan Welcher and Yo Goto are principal employers of this practice in the wind band medium. Their methods endure even the results of modern scholarship showing limited human perception of polyrhythmic events. This dissertation provides a comprehensive metric analysis of excerpts from the music of Welcher and Goto. Five examples are explored from major band works of each of the two composers. The analytical process in the study utilizes the metrical concept set forth by Maury Yeston, so that a comparison can be made between the rhythmic components of the competing meters. The results of the study show that both Welcher and Goto, in all ten excerpts, create polymetric sections containing elements that surpass the aural limits proposed by modern scholarship. Additionally, through identification of the misaligned metric layers causing each polymeter, pedagogical considerations are offered to aid performance of each identified excerpt.

The United States Military Academy Band, also known as the West Point Band is the oldest active band in the United States Army and the oldest unit at the United States Military Academy, and is considered to be one of the finest military musical organizations in the world. The band has also been instrumental in facilitating the creation of new works for wind band.As the commissioning of new music has been essential to the expansion of the wind band's repertoire, several major commissioning projects were undertaken in the mid-twentieth century by various organizations, including the West Point Band, the Goldman Band in conjunction with the League of Composers and later the American Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, the American Wind Symphony, and the College Band Directors National Association. These commissioning projects and many others have contributed hosts of new quality works to the repertoire of the wind band. The West Point Band's 1952 commissioning project celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the United States Military Academy was among the first of these mid-twentieth century commissioning projects to seek out prominent composers of the day and have them write works for wind band. The project contributed several seminal pieces to the wind band's repertoire, including Morton Gould's Symphony for Band: West Point. In 1996, as tribute to both the Academy and to the earlier commissioning project, the West Point Band sought to celebrate the Academy's 2002 bicentennial in a similar fashion by commissioning well-known composers to contribute substantial wind works. These pieces would be premiered and recorded by the West Point Band over a number of years, including a gala Bicentennial Celebration concert at Carnegie Hall in March 2002. The purpose of this study is to create a consolidated written record of the wind music composed for the West Point Band as part of the band's Bicentennial Wind Commissioning Project, and to describe the process and circumstances by which this music was created and premiered. The continuing development of a quality original repertoire is important to the wind band community as a whole, and commissioning composers to write wind band music is the primary means by which new music is acquired. By any account, the twenty-six works produced through the West Point Band's Bicentennial Commissioning Project constitute a significant contribution to this repertoire. As this project and many of these pieces are not well known, it is the author's intent to bring increased attention to this commissioning project and to this music.

Muzio Clementi's symphonies were first performed in London between 1786 and 1796. After an extended hiatus from 1796 to 1813, his symphonic works appeared on programs again from 1813 to 1824. Clementi's career as a symphonist corresponds closely with trends in London's concert life. The reception of Clementi's symphonies during his lifetime has frequently been misinterpreted by scholars who oversimplify the use of "science" in musical discourse of the day and fail to consider the positive connotations of this adjective, so frequently applied to Clementi. Musical discourse at the time addressed the science and art of music emphasizing a composition, or its composer's, science, harmony, effects, genius, and the audience's response. Though an unstated ideal, reviews evince a preference for balancing scientific and artistic display. Reviews of Clementi's symphonies suggest he initially struggled to balance the technical and artistic qualities of his compositions but succeeded, according to reviews, in finally doing so in 1796. After his early efforts, Clementi was consistently praised as worthy to stand among the current and most prestigious composers of the continent: Haydn and Mozart initially, and Beethoven and Rossini later.

This research investigates a microcosm of the free jazz/free improvisation environment of the 1970s in "Waterfall," from the album Dave Holland/Sam Rivers Vol. 1. This recording features Dave Holland and Sam Rivers exhibiting highly developed improvisational language and effortless interaction. The purpose of this investigation is to create pedagogical material for bassists who are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with performing in an improvisational style that exists separately from the rigid, instrumental role hierarchy of common practice jazz. An analysis of musical elements including melody, rhythm, form, and energy through systems of musical contour, musical forces, and form analysis reveal constituent patterns that can be isolated. These patterns are codified and presented as pedagogical suggestions to assist in the practice of free improvisation.

William Gillock, a 20th-century American composer and pedagogue, composed numerous works in the styles of different periods for early intermediate-level piano students. The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce Gillock's pieces to teachers of early intermediate students and illustrate how they can be used as a bridge to the study of similar music from Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Gillock's Little Suite in Baroque Style is compared with Handel's Suite in E Major, HWV 430; his Accent on Analytical Sonatinas (Classical) is compared with Clementi's Piano Sonatinas, Op. 36, No. 3, 5, 6; and his Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style (Romantic) is compared with Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, No. 3, 6, 9, 16, 18, and 24. Each work is examined to reveal its compositional and technical elements along with pedagogical concepts.

Composed exclusively in the last decade, Joshua Rist's works have received significant performances by numerous high-profile ensembles including prominent high school, collegiate, and community choirs. Although conductors continue to program his works with increased frequency, minimal scholarly work is published about this music and its composer. The quality of Rist's body of work coupled with a scarcity of scholarly research provides opportunity for further study. Closer examination of Rist's works could provide a framework for conductors who perform his music. This study provides background and bibliographic information on the composer. It contains a review of choral works by Rist highlighting critical elements within each work that provide a framework for future performances of his works. This dissertation identifies stylistic characteristics that define Rist's compositional style. Additionally, it highlights the evolution of Rist's artistic growth and development.