The three recitals consisted of performances of original twentieth century solo works for trombone with the exception of two trombone quartets, Adagio, by C. Saint-Saëns, arranged by Ken Murley, and Sonata by Daniel Speer. The lecture recital establishes the position of Kazimierz Serocki (1922-1981) as a major composer not only in Poland but in the rest of the world as well. His many works cover a wide spectrum of styles and genres. The solo trombone works, in particular, are among his most often performed works from his early neoclassic period. The lecture is also an attempt to illuminate the role of neoclassicism in Poland through a brief discussion of Polish neoclassicists, Grażyna Bacewicz and Michael Spisak, and other composers before and after World War II including Constantin Regamey and Roman Haubenstock-Ramati. An analysis of the two solo trombone works, Sonatina and Concerto, shows the technique of composition used by Serocki and the demands placed upon the performer by the music. These works were among the first in a growing list of works for solo trombone composed in response to the notable lack of large scale works of quality for solo trombone during the early twentieth century. The high quality of …

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.