First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for their continued love and support throughout this academic and musical journey. I would not be here without their guidance and understanding, and I am incredibly grateful for them and the rest of my wonderful family.

I have been very lucky to have the opportunity to study with some of the best bassoonists on the planet: Arthur Weisberg, Michael McCraw, Jeff Keesecker, Peter Simpson, and Roger Soren. Each of these men has had a profound influence on me as a bassoonist, musician, and person, and I cannot thank them enough.

A number of my friends and colleagues were instrumental in helping me prepare this massive project: fellow bassoonists Nathan Daniels and Zach Hague, who let me bounce a number of my pedagogical ideas off of them; David Salas, who kindly answered even the most random music theory questions I had; and Tracey Mania, who helped proofread and edit a tremendous amount of my writing, especially when I tried to make an explanation way more complicated than it needed to be.

I would like to extend my thanks to the members of my committee, Thomas Walsh and James Campbell, for everything they have done for me during my time at IU, and for helping to make this project the best it could possibly be; and a very big thanks to my music theory minor representative, Marianne Kielian-Gilbert, for her gracious help with some of the more puzzling analytical issues that I came across over the course of this project.

Finally, a very special thanks to my bassoon professor, William Ludwig, for helping me get through this crazy doctoral program, and for showing me an entirely new way to think about the bassoon. This project is as much a reflection of his teaching philosophy and influence on me than anything else.