Abstract:

Contemporary music, often comprised of works which incorporate extended techniques, are becoming an increasingly integral part of the modern clarinet repertoire. The responsibility lies with every artist and educator to ensure that the number of works in the repertoire continues to grow. In an effort to submit a new group of compositions for inclusion into mainstream performance literature, the author has produced a compact disc recording of four works by American women composers, all of which were found through internet research and the use of websites offered by organizations such as the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM).

The document includes detailed performance notes with corresponding musical examples, basic formal analyses, and various fingering suggestions for Soliloquy for Clarinet by Dorothy Hindman, Fish Gotta Fly by Mara Gibson, Meridians by Judith Shatin, and Two Ukrainian Folk Sketches by Vanessa Lann. In addition, the author has included interview transcripts with detailed biographical information on each composer as well as a first-person discussion of each composition.