RECITAL REPERTOIRE FOR TROMBONE AND PERCUSSION

The solo trombone recital was once a rare musical event, but in recent years professional and amateur trombonists frequently present solo performances. The trombone has been around since the latter half of the 15th century and there is a wealth of ensemble repertoire, written for the instrument; however, there is no corresponding corpus of solo works. A small body of solo works does exist, from baroque sonatas and the alto trombone concertos of Leopold Mozart and Georg Wagenseil, to the romantic works by Ferdinand David and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This repertoire is small in number and a modern trombonist often has to resort to orchestral reductions and arrangements for modern performance in a solo recital setting. The trombone came into its own as a solo instrument in the 20th century and it is in this era where the bulk of a modern trombonist's repertoire resides. While there is now no shortage of music to choose from, presenting a diverse, yet musically cohesive recital remains a challenge though many interesting musical opportunities can arise to meet this challenge. While the piano is an extremely versatile instrument, pairing trombone with percussion opens up possibilities that are absent from the more traditional piano pairing. Percussion instruments can offer an almost unlimited variation of timbre and dynamics to complement the trombone. Dynamic range of the trombone must be considered as the instrument has the ability to play at the extremes of the dynamic range. Percussion instruments can match the trombone in these extremes. When presenting a recital of 20th and 21st century music, using timbre and dynamic range as selection criteria when planning the program are effective ways to bring a unique and intense musical experience to the audience. In this paper, the two considerations of dynamics and timbre will be explored and the need for a dissertation recital project will be explained.

SELECTED REPERTOIRE OF THE GILLET COMPETITION FROM 1996 TO 2006

There are many bassoon competitions around the world- and one of the most famous is the Gillet competition, sponsored by the International Double Reed Society. In 1981, it was established as an annual event, the "Femand Gillet Bassoon Competition"- a title expanded in 2000 to the "Femand Gillet-Hugo Fox Bassoon Competition." My goal was to explore the history of the competition, the availability of the repertoire selected for each competition, and the difficulties performing each piece. Through this journey, I was able to discover the variety of material chosen and how it was used, the quality, value, and the importance of the repertoire in each competition. For example, Ferdinand David's Concertino op.12, the style of the piece provides romantic, operatic type lyricism, a flashy presto section and finale, makes it as a standard romantic piece in the bassoon repertoire; Otmar Nussio's Variations on an Air by Pergolesi, contains a slow theme and few diverse variations, which provides a contemporary style music with the traditional music form and descriptive quality. The result of learning this repertoire proves that different styles of music in the competition demonstrate the artistry of the bassoon repertoire and music history in relationship of the development of the instrument. My first dissertation recital featured: Concerto for Bassoon, K. 191 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Concertino by Marcel Bitsch; Metamorphoses by Leslie Bassett; and Sonatine by Alexandre Tansman. My second recital featured: Concerto in E minor, RV 484 by Antonio Vivaldi; On the Summer Map of Stars by Gordon Kerry; Concertino Opus12 by Ferdinand David; Elegie by Jacques Hetu; and Interferences by Roger Boutry. My third recital featured: Cello Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008 by Johann Sebastian Bach; Combinaciones: Sonatina para Fagot y Piano by Salvador Ranieri; Andante e Rondo Ungarese Opus 35 by Carl Maria von Weber; and Variations on an Air by Pergolesi for Bassoon and Piano by Otmar Nussio.