The purpose of this treatise is to provide the first written research on the music for solo oboe and chamber settings of American composer Simon A. Sargon. It includes historical information about the composer and his oboe music in addition to musical analyses of his works:Sonic Portals Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano(2004),Homage to Hafiz for Oboe and Piano(2004),Sonata in A for Oboe and Piano(2005), and"Haas"Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano(2005). In the opinion of this author, Sargon's compositions for oboe are deserving of a place in the standard repertoire and with this document this author would like to encourage further study, performance, and recording of his music by teachers, students, and other performers. Chapter two contains information about the composer's upbringing, education, and professional experience as well as a brief background of Erin Hannigan, the oboist who premiered most of his works. Chapter three describes Sargon's compositional style and unique voice, his expertise in lyricism, and his adoption of specific compositional techniques from the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. In chapters four through seven, each of the works is analyzed in detail taking into consideration form, pertinent thematic material, and particular compositional devices. Sketches of the formal structure of each movement are located in Appendices A through M. Interviews with Simon Sargon and Erin Hannigan provide insight to the circumstances surrounding the origins of each piece, the collaborative process between the two artists, and Sargon's musical influences. Interview transcripts are found in Appendices O and P. In Appendix N, there is a list of the composer's extensive compositional output, which demonstrates his ability to write in most genres of music including solo vocal and choral works, orchestral, chamber music, solo instrumental pieces, opera, and film music.
