Percussion Ensemble

Commissioned by Rick Minnotte and the Mt. Lebanon Percussion Program (PA) in celebration of their 30th anniversary, The Dreamers of Dreams draws its inspiration and title from the poem "Ode" by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. The poem starts with two lines that were uttered by Willy Wonka – "We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."

The Dreamers of Dreams (for percussion ensemble)

INSTRUMENTATION
Percussion 1 (Bells, 2 High Woodblocks, 2 Congas, Bongos, Rainstick)
Percussion 2 (Crotales, Log Drums, 4 Concert Toms)
Percussion 3 (Vibraphone, Temple Blocks, Sizzle Cymbal, China Cymbal)
Percussion 4 (4.3-octave Marimba, Djembe)
Percussion 5 (Concert Bass Drum, Large Tam-Tam) 

NOTES
Silent Canyons was commissioned by the Fort Lewis College Percussion Ensemble, directed by Jonathan Latta. The piece was inspired of by the story of the Ancestral Pueblo Peoples or Anasazi (a Navajo word meaning “ancient ones” or “ancient enemies”) and their disappearance from the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States in the 13th century. Because of the negative connotations of the word Anasazi, the Hopi people use the word Hisatsinom instead. They are known for their intricate cliff dwellings that were left preserved after they mysteriously disappeared. Silent Canyons seeks to follow this evolution of a civilization being built in these previously uninhabited caves, the conflicts that arose with other peoples, the disappearance of the people, and returning to the emptiness of the canyons. 

Silent Canyons for percussion quintet (studio recording)

Percussion 1 (bells, xylophone, chimes)
Percussion 2 (vibraphone)
Percussion 3 (4-octave marimba)
Percussion 4 (4.3-octave marimba)
Percussion 5 (4 timpani, wind chimes)
Percussion 6 (snare drum, 4 toms, triangle)
Percussion 7 (kick bass drum, tam-tam)
Percussion 8 (splash cymbal, suspended cymbal, China cymbal, hi-hat, woodblock)

Fidget (percussion octet) - Nathan Daughtrey

"Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe" is a fantasy based on the notion that our brief time on this earth can have any number of outcomes depending on the decisions we make, the relationships we encounter, and how present we are along the way. As our stories evolve through circumstance, timing, and millions of decisions big and small, alternate stories are spun based on which forks in the road we take. The result is an adventure filled with both uncertainty and accomplishment – byproducts of a vulnerable journey.

The piece is designed to play out as if it were an episodic journey filled with wonder. It is constructed in three short, connected movements featuring a solo marimbist accompanied by eight percussionists. While each movement has its own identity, their melodies and harmonic DNA (built upon a seventh suspended fourth chord) keep them rooted to the same story – one that sometimes sounds resolute, and at other times, ungrounded.

Harmonically, the forks in the road of "Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe" are dictated by restating ideas in mediant relation (modulations of minor thirds). Just as we're always ourselves even when in unfamiliar territory, the goal was to create unpredictable turns harmonically while maintaining thematic familiarity within the restatements.

The first movement is held by a rhythmic pattern of fifteen beats (three bars of 2/4 plus a bar of 3/8). This doesn't reveal itself clearly until the syncopated bass ostinato enters, following the dawn of a curious introduction. With sure-footedness the main theme is introduced by the soloist weaving a complex pattern of four-mallet permutations. The ensemble restates this with fuller orchestration, leading to a development of virtuosic acrobatics by the soloist, and culminating in a whirlwind fight for survival.

We descend into the second movement through a rubato series of anxious flourishes. These built on chords containing diminished seconds and augmented fifths, making them feel less grounded. This moves into a distant and reflective period as the soloist arpeggiates the seventh suspended fourth ostinato in the left hand while the right hand plays melancholy, sustained one-handed rolls. This develops from lonely isolation into ferocious layers of conviction.

The intensity reaches a breaking point in which new clarity is achieved through a pulsating, accelerating unison. From this clarity, the journey of the third movement embarks. Unlike the first two movement's fifteen-beat motive, the meter switches to a more comfortable 12/8. The melody here is based on the same DNA from before, but proceeds with a newfound sense of identity. This adventure leads through blazing displays of technique from the soloist and culminates in a courageous and triumphant march forward.

"Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe" was commissioned by Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg, PA) under the direction of Dr. Gifford Howarth, and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore), under the direction of Jonathan Fox. It will premiere in Singapore in March 2012 featuring Dr. Howarth as the soloist with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory percussion ensemble.

Meanwhile in a Parallel Universe

Spiraling Light was inspired by an event that took place in Norway in December of 2009, when a blue mysterious beam of light with a grayish spiral emanating from it appeared in the night sky. Initial speculations suggested it was a fireball meteor, a rare never-before-seen Northern Lights variant, or even a wormhole opening up. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much less exciting than any of those things – a failed Russian missile test.

Spiraling Light (percussion octet) - Nathan Daughtrey

Mercury Rising for Percussion Ensemble

Unleash the Fury for Marimba Quartet

Commissioned by Wibrand Norel to be used as the required piece for the 2018 Open Nederlandse Slagwerk Kampioenschappen (ONSK) in The Netherlands, "Chasing Infinity" draws its inspiration from a quote by Gustave Flaubert from his memoirs:

“Everything measurable passes, everything that can be counted has an end. 
Only three things are infinite: 
the sky in its stars,
the sea in its drops of water,
and the heart in its tears."

Chasing Infinity (percussion ensemble 13) - Nathan Daughtrey

Commissioned by the Monroe Township Middle School Percussion Ensemble, Yale Snyder, Director
and Zachary Morolda, District Supervisor of the Department for the Applied Arts and Career Technology;
Monroe Township School District; Monroe Township, NJ 

INSTRUMENTATION
Bells & Xylophone (shared)
Vibraphone & Marimba (shared with Marimba 2)
Chimes & Xylophone
Marimba 1 (4-octave) & Vibraphone (shared)
Marimba 2 (4.3-octave) & Vibraphone (shared)
Timpani (4 drums)
Percussion 1 (Snare Drum, Triangle, Crash Cymbal)
Percussion 2 (4 Concert Toms, Wind Chimes, Crash Cymbal)
Percussion 3 (Suspended Cymbal, Hi-Hat)
Percussion 4 (Concert Bass Drum, Tam-Tam)
Percussion 5 [optional] (Shaker, Tambourine)
Percussion 6 [optional] (Woodblock, Cowbell)

Luminescence (perc ens 10-12) - Nathan Daughtrey

Performed by the University of Oklahoma Percussion Ensemble, directed by Stuart Langsam at the 2014 National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.

Legacies was commissioned by the North Carolina Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society to honor renowned composer/percussionist/educator Lynn Glassock, who recently retired from his position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This commission has a particularly special meaning to me, as Lynn's percussion octet "Layers" that was the first percussion ensemble work I ever played. The impact his music has had on the world of percussion is immense, not to mention the impact it has had on my own compositions.

As a starting point, I used very similar instrumentation to Lynn’s piece “Factions” for 10 percussionists. Driven primarily by keyboard percussion, each performer additionally plays a battery or accessory instrument. The opening unison rhythm from “Factions” is also quoted and fragmented throughout “Legacies.” All of the melodic and harmonic material was derived from chromatically spelling out the name LYNN GLASSOCK with pitches.Legacies was commissioned by the North Carolina Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society to honor renowned composer/percussionist/educator Lynn Glassock, who recently retired from his position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This commission has a particularly special meaning to me, as Lynn's percussion octet "Layers" that was the first percussion ensemble work I ever played. The impact his music has had on the world of percussion is immense, not to mention the impact it has had on my own compositions.

As a starting point, I used very similar instrumentation to Lynn’s piece “Factions” for 10 percussionists. Driven primarily by keyboard percussion, each performer additionally plays a battery or accessory instrument. The opening unison rhythm from “Factions” is also quoted and fragmented throughout “Legacies.” All of the melodic and harmonic material was derived from chromatically spelling out the name LYNN GLASSOCK with pitches.

Percussion Ensemble

Mint Survivor