Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882-1961) was a prolific Australian-American composer whose cutting-edge musical works ushered performers, conductors, and audiences into the modern era with little regard for their comfort zones. Some of his most important work was the research, collection, and arranging of folk songs, particularly British folk songs. Grainger often set these folk songs for wind band, an ensemble for which he was a strong proponent. His works for band were some of the earliest to include prominent saxophone parts and solos. He was a vocal proponent of the saxophone family and is an important figure in the history of the instrument. Despite Grainger's outspoken love for the saxophone, he never composed any original solo repertoire for the instrument. The new, original composition Pictures of Percy: Suite for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2023) was crafted in an effort to remediate this void within the saxophone repertory. The work includes new arrangements of Grainger's compositions as well original music. The work is intended to add some semblance of Grainger's compositional voice to the saxophone literature while also paying homage to his passion for the saxophone family and his influence on its history.

abstract: During the twentieth-century, the dual influence of nationalism and modernism in the eclectic music from Latin America promoted an idiosyncratic style which naturally combined traditional themes, popular genres and secular music. The saxophone, commonly used as a popular instrument, started to develop a prominent role in Latin American classical music beginning in 1970. The lack of exposure and distribution of the Latin American repertoire has created a general perception that composers are not interested in the instrument, and that Latin American repertoire for classical saxophone is minimal. However, there are more than 1100 works originally written for saxophone in the region, and the amount continues to grow. This Modern Latin American Repertoire for Classical Saxophone: Recording Project and Performance Guide document establishes and exhibits seven works by seven representative Latin American composers.The recording includes works by Carlos Gonzalo Guzman (Colombia), Ricardo Tacuchian (Brazil), Roque Cordero (Panama), Luis Naón (Argentina), Andrés Alén-Rodriguez (Cuba), Alejandro César Morales (Mexico) and Jose-Luis Maúrtua (Peru), featuring a range of works for solo alto saxophone to alto saxophone with piano, alto saxophone with vibraphone, and tenor saxophone with electronic tape; thus forming an important selection of Latin American repertoire. Complete recorded performances of all seven pieces are supplemented by biographical, historical, and performance practice suggestions. The result is a written and audio guide to some of the most important pieces composed for classical saxophone in Latin America, with an emphasis on fostering interest in, and research into, composers who have contributed in the development and creation of the instrument in Latin America. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2011