SOLOS & DUETS
FOLLOWING THE CRACKS ON A BROKEN MIRROR (5' 30")
MARIMBA SOLO (4.3)
Commissioned by Robert Clayson, this is an intense and unsettling solo for marimba. While traveling through many different sections, the piece is continually interrupted by sudden stops and abrupt changes. These are meant to depict what it might be like to walk through the cracks of a broken mirror as if you were a speck of dust. The cracks are sharp, sudden, and you never really know where you're going to end up. As you reach the end, the mirror begins to shatter and fall apart as one too many cracks gets added to the chaos.
Digital Score/Parts: $20
YEP (6' 00")
MULTI-PERCUSSION SOLO
Performer: Mitchell Beck
Yep is a quick and disorienting multi-percussion exploration through a wide variety of emotions and musical styles. From intensely aggressive to reserved and delicate and many stops in between, Yep is meant to leave you a bit disoriented, but also pensive about the balance between contrasting emotions and musical styles.
RUNNING FROM THE WOLVES (5' 30")
MARIMBA DUET (5.0)
Performers: Mitchell Beck and Jonathan Milke
This programmatic piece takes you through the daily life of both natural predators and their prey. You will hear the playfulness of bunnies hopping through a field, the stealthiness of a wolf pack hunting their prey, and an aggressive chase towards the end. Although the capture of prey may be a gruesome part of nature, it's often necessary to keep balance. Being well equipped to hold their own through evasion, you may hear the quiet escape of the lucky few who did not fall prey to the wolves at the end.
Digital Score/Parts: $25
TRIOS & QUARTETS
TRIO FOR PERCUSSION (6' 00")
PERCUSSION TRIO
Performers: Mitchell Beck, Steven Partida, and Russell Wharton
"An advanced piece utilizing 'found instruments' like bottles, cans, and wood planks in a relatively small setup. It employs complex rhythmic ideas and odd time signatures for contemporary settings."
- Tapspace Publications
THE LIFESPAN OF A DAY (7' 40")
MALLET TRIO
Performers: Mitchell Beck, Paul Millette, and Steven Partida
I. Yesterday's Dance (2' 30")
II. Today is a Dream (3' 00")
III. Prelude for Tomorrow (2' 10")
This piece gives you a musically simple yet conceptually well thought out look into how I feel a lot of people approach the concepts of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I feel that people often reminisce on the past and long for the old times. While all too often people take for granted the moments of today, the only time that we truly live in. Leading us to the never ending thoughts of the future, where we often plan too far ahead and glorify the idea that tomorrow will be better than today.
Digital Score/Parts: $30
TRIO: FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE, BASSOON, AND TRUMPET (3' 00")
WIND / BRASS TRIO
This trio is a short exploration of the textural qualities of alto saxophone, bassoon, and trumpet. Using a variety of extended techniques, the piece creates a unique sound world that is quirky, unsettling, and aggressive by the end.
Digital Shared Score: $25
TOKOYAMI (13' 00")
SOLO MARIMBA (5.0) AND PERCUSSION TRIO
Marimba soloist: Sophia Lo
Percussion trio: Joel Castro, Chris Trlak, Russell Wharton
I. One-Eyed Fish
II. One-Eyed Boy
Commissioned by Sophia Lo, this is a challenging piece for both the soloist and the ensemble performers. The piece gains its inspiration from the anime series Mushi-Shi. The Tokoyami is a certain spiritual being associated with darkness that permanently affects the protagonist of this series. The first movement is meant to portray the protagonist's curiosity as a child and the dark undertones of consequences soon to be inflicted by the Tokoyami. The second movement is far more aggressive and disorienting as it is meant to portray the protagonist's escape from the grip of the Tokoyami and the consequences inflicted upon him. Although forever affected by this dark spirit, the end of the piece is meant to portray how the protagonist grows to respect and accept the spirits of the world he lives in.
Digital Score/Parts: $40
TRIPPING OVER PARANOIA (6' 20")
PERCUSSION QUARTET
Performers: Mitchell Beck, Paul Millette, Steven Partida, and Russell Wharton
Tripping Over Paranoia is a programmatic piece that follows the life of someone suffering from severe paranoia. As the piece progresses, you will hear the common theme of unison triplets being used to signal moments of paranoia. The piece is inspired by many different types of music and travels through a wide variety of moods such as tense, lyrical, groovy, comical, and brute force. This piece is crazy, all over the place, and will most likely leave you disoriented by the end.
Digital Score/Parts: $35
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