Gunther Schuller is credited with coining the term Third Stream, meaning compositions where twentieth-century art music forms exist simultaneously with jazz. Furthermore, Schuller specifically states in the liner notes to the debut recording of Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik "The work is not a Third Stream piece." Yet the concerto alludes to jazz through a multitude of slide glissandi and plunger mute effects, Solotone mute passages, specific references to the jazz trombone styles of Tommy Dorsey and Lawrence Brown, musical quoting or indirect reference, and the use of a walking bass line in Movement V, Finale. What makes one piece Third Stream and another simply a modern composition with jazz implications? Is Third Stream primarily a compositional designation or a performance practice stipulation? How does a celebrated trombone soloist inspire and collaborate with a distinguished composer in the creation of a major work? The somewhat conspicuous title, Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik, seems to point towards Mozart's famous string serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. What connection to Mozart, if any, does Schuller's title suggest? All of these questions are elucidated in this study through careful investigation and research of Gunther Schuller's Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik. New interviews with John Swallow and Gunther Schuller are included.

This dissertation is an ethnography of an African American sacred music tradition – the trombone worship bands of the United House of Prayer for All People (UHOP) – that examines the ways in which musical aesthetics mediate racial and economic marginality and religious authority. Musical worship featuring these “shout bands,” involves UHOP members in an embodied performance of religious discourse, including actualizing the boundaries of sanctified interiority, confirming the charismatic authority of the organization’s sacralized leader, and constituting the independence and sovereignty of the UHOP Kingdom. The project is animated by a central question: given continuities in repertoire, performance practice, and theology between UHOP shout bands and other Black gospel practices, why is musical worship at the UHOP organized around the trombone rather than the human voice? The dissertation answers this question dialectically by showing how shout band music-making offers solutions to the ethical and theological issues members face, while UHOP theological discourse capitalizes on the sensory affordances of musical practice. The opening chapter introduces the role of the shout band in the context of UHOP worship services, framing musical practice as the enactment of sacred divisions of space and subjectivity. This chapter also depicts the feedback loop between worship practice and scriptural interpretation by introducing UHOP-specific idioms of Biblical literalism and re-enactment. Chapter two dilates on the connections between musical microsocialities and forms of authority through an analysis of the “figure of call-and-response” as a medium for the bishop’s charismatic authority. In the final chapter, I survey a variety of UHOP state-mimetic forms – that is, forms appropriated from the symbolic repertoire of the United States government – as points of entry into the ways that members actualize a shared notion of “freedom.”

The dissertation consists of four recitals. Three solo recitals featured a variety of selected works for bass trombone and piano by traditional and contemporary composers. The lecture recital, entitled "The Trombone in German and Austrian Ensemble Sonatas of the Late Seventeenth Century," is a study which examines the role of the trombone, both as a solo and ensemble instrument, and the functions of the instrument in ensemble sonatas of the late seventeenth century. The trombone's use in instrumental ensembles was traced from the fifteenth century to the present. The program included selections by German composers Daniel Speer and Matthias Weckmann, and Austrian composers Autonio Bertali, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.

This lecture-recital investigated the lineage of French composers who were influenced by jazz during the first half of the twentieth century, with a focus on compositions from the solo trombone repertory. Historically, French composers, more than those of other European countries, showed an early affinity for the artistic merits of America's jazz. This predilection for the elements of jazz could be seen in the selected orchestral works of Les Six and the solo compositions of the Paris Conservatory composers. An examination of the skills of major jazz trombonists early in the twentieth century showed that idioms resulting from their unique abilities were gradually assimilated into orchestral and solo repertory. Orchestral works by Satie, Milhaud, and Ravel works showing jazz traits were investigated. Further, an expose of the solo trombone works emanating from the Paris Conservatory was presented. Although written documentation is limited, comparisons between early recorded jazz trombone solos and compositions for orchestral and solo trombone was established. These comparisons were made on the basis of idiomatic jazz elements such as high-tessitura ballad melodies, blue tonalities and harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and many of the aspects of style associated with improvisation. All major French solo trombone repertory to mid-century was surveyed and examined.

The evolution of the role of the trombone as a solo instrument in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries can be traced most effectively through four schools of playing, with the music of today's avant-garde being a logical historical culmination of these four schools. It will be demons t rated that the avant-garde's use of the solo trombone has merely continued the evolutionary process started in the early nineteenth century. The contribution of the early nineteenth-century virtuosi was the establishment of the idea that the trombone could compete on its own terms with other instruments as a solo instrument. In addition to expanding the technical capabilities, they also left a basic solo repertoire. With the death of the virtuosi the trombone as a solo instrument went into a decline. For the remainder of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century the Paris Conservatoire was influential. Standards of solo performance were brought to new heights by excellent study material and contest solos. The next important step came from the late nineteenth-century American band virtuosi. Their influence helped the public to accept the idea of the trombone as a solo instrument. The American jazz trombonists of the 1930's and 1940's also further widened the technical capabilities of the trombone and also further encouraged acceptance of the Instrument in its solo capacity. However, their most important contribution was in new tonal colors. The music of the avant-garde takes all these previous historical achievements and makes use of them in its own unique way.

The primary purpose of this thesis will be to examine the orchestration of the trombone section in the Viennese symphonies of the early Romantic period. In order to fully understand the function of the trombone section in these syphonies, a review of the trombones usage in previous centuries is in order.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and document the compositional components and innovations in the compositional style of Jean-Michel Defaye as they relate to two of his works for solo trombone, Deux Danses (1953, trombone and piano) and Fluctuations (1980, trombone solo, six trombones and two percussionists.) This document investigates the circumstances surrounding the creation of each piece as well as the compositional processes of Monsieur Defaye. Jean-Michel Defaye is an important composer for his commitment to the quality and challenge of the trombone literature he creates. The importance of Deux Danses is in the fact that it was this piece that put Defaye in the international spotlight. Solo works with chamber ensemble, such as Fluctuations, must be more seriously considered for performance if the standard solo repertoire for trombone is to be further expanded. Jazz style is an integral part of both of these important works and a necessary component to fully realize the composer's intent. Monsieur Defaye has demonstrated a commitment to composing for the instrument over the long term and has a sustained interest in participating in the further development of serious literature for all brass instruments. This study will add to the limited published material on Defaye and is intended to further the cause of research into the works of this important composer.

The dissertation consists of four recitals: three solo recitals and one lecture recital. The repertoire of all the programs was intended to demonstrate a variety of music written originally for trombone. The lecture recital, "The Trombone in German and Austrian Concerted Church Music of the Baroque Period," was presented on July 3, 1974. The lecture was an attempt to illuminate the position of the trombone, both as an ensemble instrument and as a solo obbligato instrument, in church music of the Baroque period. The program included the performance of two works by Heinrich Schutz for bass voice, four trombones, and continuo; one work by Andreas Hammerschmidt for alto, bass, trombone, and continuo; and one work by Johann Joseph Fux for soprano, trombone, two violins, and continuo. A line of influence was traced from the Venetian composers Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi, through Schiitz, Hammerschmidt, and Fux, to Mozart.

Compositions include Sightings : for clarinet and marimba (ca. 14:00), Proboscis maximus : bass trombone solo (ca. 11:00), Pathways : for violin, ’cello and piano, Impulses : for marimba duet, and Gleaned from the wind : for chamber orchestra (ca. 13:00).

Compositions include Sightings : for clarinet and marimba (ca. 14:00), Proboscis maximus : bass trombone solo (ca. 11:00), Pathways : for violin, ’cello and piano, Impulses : for marimba duet, and Gleaned from the wind : for chamber orchestra (ca. 13:00). / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / First, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th works reproduced from manuscripts. Includes performance notes for 1st and 2nd works. Includes composer’s graduation recital program. Vita. Accompanied by sound cassette of recital. / Graduate