Brett Dietz’s "Concerto for Marimba and Wind Orchestra" is a wonderful exploration of the marimba’s rhythmic qualities and can be played with high school ensembles and professional groups alike.

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Concerto for Marimba & Wind Orchestra: III - Brett Dietz

BLAZE is a balanced percussion septet pitting the keyboards versus the battery instruments. It draws inspiration from the following Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, as in “trail-blaze” or a blaze on a trail:

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

The piece was commissioned by the departing Sydney Grammar School (Australia) 2021 Percussion Ensemble students Remy Alonso, Lars Hofflin, Luke Levison, Edward Meade, Daniel Sirmai, and Elliot Soh, on behalf of, and dedicated to, their conductor and teacher, Mr. Iain Scotland. 

INSTRUMENTATION
Bells/Xylophone
Vibraphone/Temple Blocks
Marimba 1/Medium Tom
Marimba 2/Kick Drum [laid flat]
4 Timpani/China Cymbal
Percussion 1: Snare Drum, Bongos, Hi-Hat
Percussion 2: 4 Concert Toms, Suspended Cymbal

Blaze (percussion septet) - Nathan Daughtrey

Paul Hart's tongue-in-cheek piece is an inevitably programmatic version of a silent film score. We can hear the story unfold from the opening credits to a clown-like hero and his beautiful heroine to the villain who ties her to the train tracks. If you like Cartoon, you will love Silver Screen.

Silver Screen - Paul Hart

Keyboard #1 (Book of Percussion Audition Music) - McClaren/Daughtrey

performed by the Vox Trio:
Lindsey Goodman, alto flute
Victoria Bass, cello
Lisa Pegher, marimba

Notes from the score: Seductions for alto flute, cello, & marimba is inspired by the beautiful poetry of author Anne Carson and specifically her poem "Stanzas, Sexes, Seductions."  Each movement is my direct reflection of individual words, collections of words or phrases, and just my general feeling after internalizing the work through many readings and eventually memorization and recitation myself.

(photo credit: narendra44mail)

Seductions - 5. more things unbearable (for alto flute, cello & marimba)

Movers & Shakers was commissioned by the Mukwonago High School Arts Department (WI) in celebration of their new fine arts building. The title was extracted from a verse from Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s popular poem, “Ode.” The first line of the poem has even found its way into pop culture with a brief quote by the original Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder. I think the essence of the poem perfectly captures the idea of celebrating a a fine arts program such as Mukwonago High School that has been built from the ground up – not just by one person, but by its administration, staff, parents, and students. The piece features three of the school's ensemble coming together as one – the wind ensemble, string orchestra, and choir.

Movers & Shakers (wind ensemble/string orchestra/choir) - Nathan Daughtrey

Performed by the University of North Texas Symphonic Band, conducted by Dennis W. Fisher

True Things (concert band gr. 4) - Nathan Daughtrey

Bassoon

Percussion 1: Vibraphone (3-octave), Large Ribbon Crasher, Temple Blocks, Bongos, Splash Cymbal

Percussion 2: Marimba (5-octave), Small Ribbon Crasher, Machine Castanets, Muffled Floor Tom

PROGRAM NOTES
"House of Mirrors" was inspired by the Japanese folk tale “The House of 1,000 Mirrors.” At its simplest, the tale shows us that we get back what we put into the world.

"Long ago in small village, far far away, there was a place known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. It was a unique house where the walls, the ceilings, the doors, and even the floors were made of mirrors.

One day, a small happy little dog heard about this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the entrance of the house. He peeked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as he could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their ears lifted high and their tails wagging just as fast as hid! He smiled greatly and greeted his new friends with joyous barks! He was answered with 1,000 great smiles and 1,000 barks that were just as warm and friendly as his. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “ WOW! This is a wonderful place. I will have to come back and visit often!”

In the same village, there was another little dog, who was not as happy as the first one, that decided to visit the House of Mirrors as well. He slowly climbed the stairs leading up to the entrance with his head hung low full of hesitation. As he entered the house, he found himself looking at 1,000 unfriendly, sad little dogs staring back at him. The dog froze in surprise and instinctively bared his teeth and growled at the reflections. He was horrified to witness the 1,000 dogs growl back at him and he scurried away in fear. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “Oh goodness that is a terrifyingly horrible place. I will never go back again!”

These ideas are represented musically in a number of ways. The piece breaks down into three sections – the entrance to the house as an introduction to the tonality and some of the thematic materials, the happy dog, and the unhappy dog. From the first notes of the piece, you can hear the reflections of the mirrors, which manifest themselves in many ways throughout.

"House of Mirrors" was commissioned by Lia Uribe, Matt Brusca, and Fernando Valencia.

House of Mirrors (trio for bassoon & 2 percussion) - Nathan Daughtrey

Commissioned by Across the Grain (Susan Nelson, bassoon & Jeff Barudin, percussion)

Triple Moon (duet for bassoon & marimba) - Nathan Daughtrey

"Two Illusions" is a pair of fun 2-mallet solos for the developing marimbist – Moonlight Shadow & Vicious Fishes. Each solo pairs simpler technical challenges with elements you would find in a higher-level piece, such as grand staff and mixed meter.

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Concerto for Marimba & Wind Orchestra: III - Brett Dietz

C. Alan Publications

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