John Harbison is an award-winning and prolific American composer. Hehas written for almost every conceivable genre of concert performance withstyles ranging from jazz to pre-classical forms. The focus of this study, hisConcerto for Oboe, Clarinet, and Strings, was premiered in 1985 as a product ofa Consortium Commission awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts. Theinitial discussions for the composition were with oboist Sara Bloom and clarinetistDavid Shifrin. Harbisons Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet, and Strings allows theclarinet to finally be introduced to the concerto grosso texture of the Baroqueperiod, for which it was born too late.This document includes biographical information on John Harbisonincluding his life and career, compositional style, and compositional output. Italso contains a brief history of the Baroque concerto grosso and how it relates tothe Harbison concerto. There is a detailed set-class analysis of each movementand information on performance considerations. The two performers as well asthe composer were interviewed to discuss the commission, premieres, andtheoretical/performance considerations for the concerto.