In this thesis, the music and history of Grenada and the African Caribbean diaspora provided inspiration for compositions featuring a seventeen piece orchestra with an emphasis on form, structure,
harmony, rhythm, melody and dynamics. This research includes four original musical compositions, tailored particularly, to characterize the music of the "Big Drum," a lively ancient dance rite of the island of Carriacou, and "Shango," another African based religion in Grenada, and their influences on calypso, reggae, Latin music, jazz, blues, gospel, soul music, and other sub-genres in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora
