The trumpet ensemble has increasingly become a popular chamber ensemble inside music programs at the secondary and collegiate level. Chamber music ensembles are frequently guided by both democratic processes and ensemble coaches with limited chamber music experience. As trumpet ensembles grow in popularity, pedagogical resources are needed to guide rehearsals. This project serves as a guide for educators and performers to focus on fundamental issues related to trumpet ensembles as well as strategies for ensemble rehearsal.

English composer Frank Bridge (1879-1941) is well known as Benjamin Britten's teacher and to a lesser degree for his chamber music. Because his mature creative period occurred between the First and Second World War, his works were not well studied or performed until the 1970s, well after his death. This dissertation discusses Bridge's life and his music, how World War I affected in this work, and specifically the work Oration Concerto Elagiaco. Oration is considered historically in terms of its meaning and delayed premiere. Additionally, the work's fantasy arch form, Bridge's signature compositional style, and the character of each section is discussed. Finally, this dissertation provides a practical guide to the work, providing practice and performance suggestions for the numerous complex and technically challenging portions of the concerto.

Frederick Thurston was a prominent British clarinet performer and teacher in the first half of the 20th century. Due to the brevity of his life and the impact of two world wars, Thurston's legacy is often overlooked among clarinetists in the United States. Thurston's playing inspired 19 composers to write 22 solo and chamber works for him, none of which he personally commissioned. The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive biography of Thurston's career as clarinet performer and teacher with a complete bibliography of compositions written for him. With biographical knowledge and access to the few extant recordings of Thurston's playing, clarinetists may gain a fuller understanding of Thurston's ideal clarinet sound and musical ideas. These resources are necessary in order to recognize the qualities about his playing that inspired composers to write for him and to perform these works with the composers' inspiration in mind. Despite the vast list of works written for and dedicated to Thurston, clarinet players in the United States are not familiar with many of these works, and available resources do not include a complete listing. Much of this repertoire remains unexplored and unrecorded yet is suitable for intermediate to advanced level …

Articulation is an element of musical performance that affects the attack, sustain, and the decay of each sound. Musical articulation facilitates the degree of clarity between successive notes and it is one of the most important elements of musical expression. Many believe that the expressive capabilities of percussion instruments, when it comes to musical articulation, are limited. Because the characteristic attack for most percussion instruments is sharp and clear, followed by a quick decay, the common misconception is that percussionists have little or no control over articulation. While the ability of percussionists to affect the sustain and decay of a sound is by all accounts limited, the ability of percussionists to change the attack of a sound with different implements is virtually limitless. In addition, where percussion articulation is limited, there are many techniques that allow performers to match articulation with other instruments. Still, percussion articulation is often a topic of little concern to many musicians. The problem is not that this issue has been completely ignored, but rather that a vast number of contradictory and conflicting viewpoints still permeate pedagogical methods and literature. This is most certainly the case with the marimba, where a review of method books reveals …

The use of orchestral excerpts from standard music repertoire as a pedagogical means has been adopted by many instrumental pedagogues to train the advanced instrumentalist. This dissertation presents an innovative idea among the excerpt tradition by drawing excerpts from solo, chamber music and orchestral music to function as etudes for the intermediate level cellist. 320 music excerpts are drawn and organized under the headings of different technical categories in order to train the techniques within the context of quality music. The purpose of the dissertation is to introduce the young player to the concept that techniques and musical expression are not two separated entities, rather, techniques serve as a medium to convey the music.

The repertoire for trombone and percussion has grown in popularity since the later 1980s. There are currently more than 110 pieces written for the ensemble. This project follows the commissioning and collaboration of Dr. Blake Tyson, Professor of Percussion at the University of Central Arkansas and well known percussion composer, in the creation of a new piece for trombone and percussion. The project also created a survey of works for trombone and percussion duet that includes 32 works. The survey includes details such as specific percussion instrumentation range, tessitura, grade level, publisher, and a description of each piece.

Two important performance practices in the modern orchestral performance are discussed in this document: simplification and octavation. Due to the differing opinions and common practices which bass players have around these two performance practices, simplification and octavation have become two of the most complex issues faced by orchestral sections. The first part of the document will provide a brief history of simplification and octavation. The second part of the document will offer recommendation for double bass orchestral practice in the 21st century and examine key works of the bass repertoire in which simplification and octavation occur. The research and practice of leading pedagogues and major orchestral players and the solutions they have developed to reduce the discrepancy inherent within section playing will be discussed. This document will propose several empirical solutions to major excerpts in the bass repertoire, demonstrating how it is to achieve the most uniformed playing, and offer applicable and suggestive guidelines for contemporary orchestral double bass performers.

Artie Shaw's Interlude in B-flat is unknown to many in the classical clarinet world and remains unperformed by clarinetists, despite its historical importance as one of the earliest Third Stream compositions, the earliest composition of its type in the clarinet repertoire. This prompts the question, why? This document explores four possible reasons for the marginalization of Interlude in B-flat. First, Shaw's historical narrative typically places him within the jazz world and not the classical world. Classical clarinetists may assume a Shaw composition will require a jazz background and experience beyond their abilities, namely improvisation. Second, the instrumentation, string quartet plus jazz combo, is atypical, making it difficult to program. Third, jazz and classical educational worlds do not necessarily overlap or interact, and neither has taken ownership of this Third Stream composition. Lastly, manuscripts, recordings, and other materials for Interlude in B-flat are limited and not readily available. Because Artie Shaw is not only a significant American clarinetist but also an important composer within the Third Stream narrative, Interlude in B-flat should be known and performed. This project aimed to promote the understanding and accessibility of this important and unknown composition to the classical clarinet world by providing an accessible arrangement …