title: Graduate Recital
Creators: name: Smith, Larry G.
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 1966

description: As long as the writer has been considering his graduate program, he has felt, because of his own peculiar limitations as a performer, that a recital project would be more beneficial to hie developing musicianship than a research and thesis project.
Strangely enough, the writer had participated quite actively for seventeen years in a most varied succession of musical organizations without having acquired that badge of authority that his successful colleagues wore so proudly: mastery of a particular instrument.
During those years, tho writer had sung soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass in various choral groups, performed upon the piano, clarinet, alto saxophone, bassoon, string bass, bass saxophone, tuba, bass clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, ukulele, flute, baritone saxophone, contra-bass clarinet, baritone, and guitar, with varying degrees of success in instrumental groups of widely varying types and abilities; all without acquiring enough proficiency on any one instrument to be able to call it his major instrument. The writer had literally become a musical "jack of all trades, master of none" .
The author had found his acquaintance with all tho wind instruments most helpful to him in his work as a band director, but still felt quite inadequate as an instrumentalist because of his lack of a major performance instrument and his inexperience as a soloist.
The graduate recital seemed to offer to the writer the prospect of overcoming some of his inadequacies and, by its limitations of time and types of performance, forcing him to concentrate on a few instruments and increase his proficiency on them.
The writer was helped in his choice of a solo instrument when, in 1962, he began to study flute with Eugene Foster, first flutist of the Utah Symphony. He had begun these lessons with the intention of adding to his teaching knowledge of the flute, but soon decided, because of his rather encouraging progress, to concentrate on the flute and try to become a competent performer on that instrument. He studied with Mr. Foster whenever possible and soon decided that this was the instrument he could use as his major instrument for the graduate recital.
Having cleared this first and most difficult hurdle, the writer was able to arrange the rest of the program quite easily. He felt that the recital should present a good cross-section of his capabilities as a musician. In conference with Dr. Max F. Dalby, chairman of his committee he concluded that he should play several major flute works, perform on the bass clarinet, a saxophone, and the bassoon. Because of his interest in composition and arranging, it was felt that an example of his work in this area should also be presented. With this program outline in mind, it was possible for the writer to choose music for the recital.
The writer feels that, on the whole, the recital was successful, and that many of his long-term ambitions have been fulfilled. He has found a major instrument, he has developed considerably in his musicianship and ability to interpret woodwind literature, he has been able to hear several of his compositions well performed by competent woodwind players, and he has had the opportunity to perform with the members of an excellent string quartet. In view of these fulfillments, the writer feels that tho recital was a most worthwhile endeavor which has paid handsome musical rewards that will benefit him throughout tho rest of his musical career.