William Dietz is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona. He received a Doctorate of Music in Bassoon Performance from Florida State University where he studied with William Winstead. Dietz has served as Principal Bassoonist with various orchestras, including the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica, the Flagstaff Festival of the Arts Orchestra, and the Arizona Musicfest Orchestra. In addition, he performed sixteen seasons with the Tucson Symphony. As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Europe. Dietz has premiered numerous works at the annual conferences of the International Double Reed Society. He is the senior author and editor of Teaching Woodwinds: A Method and Resource Handbook for Music Educators, a text designed for college wind instrumental techniques classes, and has had numerous articles appear in professional periodicals such as The Journal of the International Double Reed Society, The National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors Journal, Bandworld, The Instrumentalist, and Dialogue in Music Education Journal.

I have been fortunate to have had fruitful collaborations with many composers and have enjoyed seeing a work through from its inception to its premiere. After presenting a new piece, I often wondered how the work might fare and if it would receive subsequent performances. Some of these works are now 25 years old and perhaps it is time for a second look. I hope this recording will stimulate interest in these engaging pieces.