Music memorization is a very broad topic with many variables, which changes from case to case. This study mentions historical development, benefits of memorizing music, challenges musicians face with music memorization, and current methods and strategies. It summarizes experiments and studies in various fields including visual design, neuroscience, music, and physiology. It aims to help musicians to make a better judgment in the future about whether to memorize a certain piece of music or not, and to provide effective strategies that can be used.

The reed quintet is an intriguing and innovative chamber ensemble that offers adistinctive soundscape to the genre of chamber music. Through significant efforts to legitimize the ensemble, the reed quintet now exists as a viable option for chamber musicians. However, a significant challenge remains in the limited accessibility of repertoire suitable for developing musicians interested in reed quintets. REED REVOLUTION: A Fundamental Approach to Reed Quintet represents a comprehensive solution, offering aspiring student chamber musicians the essential pedagogical tools and materials needed to excel in a reed quintet setting. This method book encompasses a wide array of strategies aimed at fostering a functional and collaborative ensemble, establishing foundational chamber music skills, and introducing five original compositions commissioned specifically for this project. With REED REVOLUTION, student reed quintets can begin their chamber music journey equipped with tools to become a successful ensemble prepared to explore the existing reed quintet repertoire. Additionally, the method book includes a collection of online resources and recordings, performed by the Arcane Reed Quintet, produced by Dr. Joshua Gardner, and recorded by Jin Studios, LLC. These resources include reference recordings and practice tracks for each instrument and the ensemble, serving as invaluable aids in the learning process.

This paper presents three new arrangements of works for solo tuba and piano, originally written by Black composers before 1950. The works presented here include Méphisto masqué by Edmond Dédé, Three Arabian Dances by Amanda Aldridge, and Warbling in the Moonlight by Alton Augustus Adams. Composer biographies, a formal analysis, and form diagrams are included for each piece, along with the new transcriptions.

A Garden of Roses is a composition for wind ensemble written between October 2022 and March 2023 during a residency with the Arizona State University Wind Ensemble. The piece was inspired by a narrative of grief and acceptance abstracted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s children’s story The Little Prince, and explores the relationship between auditory perception and expectation, influenced by David Huron’s Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation. The piece is approximately 9 minutes in duration.

Saxophonists regularly transcribe works from the 19th and 20th centuries in order tobolster our repertoire from those eras. As one of the youngest concert instruments, few substantial works exist for the instrument prior to the mid 20th century. By regularly transcribing works that are standards in other instruments’ repertoires, we have perpetuated the historical underrepresentation of female composers from the same time period. In answer to this, I have researched, analyzed, transcribed, and recorded four works originally for violin and piano written by female composers born in the 19th century. This program represents differing styles and nationalities, while being a cohesive program of works. The repertoire consists of a set of character pieces by Ika Peyron, sonatas by Dora Pejačević and Germaine Tailleferre, and finally a theme and variations by Teresa Milanollo to serve as a closer. Each chapter provides insights into my transcription process and tables of the alterations made to the original material, as well as short analyses of each piece. i