"Stage Select" by Matt Moore is a poppy romp through the menu of a video game! A woodblock cue represents ‘clicking’ between Title Screen, City Stage, Beach Stage, and Boss Stage. The movements take the audience on a whirlwind tour through a variety of pop styles - funk, swing, Bossa Nova, and driving rock. Stage Select can easily include all available performers and serve as an exciting concert closer!
#music #percussionensemble #percussionist #percussionists #percussion #marimba #vibraphone #xylophone #drumset
"Cymplified" by Jessica Flannigan rocks as many cymbal sounds and textures as you have in your arsenal. Ranging from finger cymbals to hand crashes, all of these instruments converge to shine at the center of attention.
#music #percussionist #percussionists #percussionensemble #cymbals #percussion
Packed full of odd rhythmic groupings, complex layers, and angular grooves, "Bad Timing" by Josh Turner is meant to be a constant exercise in rhythmic gymnastics. There’s always a groove present, but the ensemble has to work a little harder than usual to make it happen. It uses a wide array of sounds (glass bottle, steel plank, brake drums, opera gongs, upturned gong, etc.) alongside traditional percussion instruments to forge a bombastic journey through constantly changing time signatures and rhythmic complexity.
#marimba #timpani #vibraphone #music #calanpercussion #percussionensemble #percussionists #percussion #percussionist
Originally written for unaccompanied marimba, "Bon Voyage" by Angela Kepley was expanded to include percussion sextet accompaniment at the request of Christopher Nguyen and the Salyards Middle School Percussion Ensemble for their performance at the 2022 Midwest Clinic in Chicago with Dr. Brian Zator as guest soloist. Bring your groove, expression, and energy for this exciting piece. From the huge opening statement followed by a couple of quirky sections, a gentle rolling melody, and a rockin’ ending, this piece is a sure crowd pleaser.
#marimba #percussion #percussionensemble #percussionist #percussionists
Originally composed for piano solo, as the last piece in a set of 12 etudes published in 1890, "Hungarian” arranged by Josh Gottry is a short and energetic work that translates perfectly to a percussion ensemble orchestration. Scored for 10 players including five keyboard percussion parts, timpani, and four players on cymbals, snare, concert toms, and accessory percussion, each note of the MacDowell piano score is retained, while the additional voices add punctuation and driving rhythmic figures befitting of the Presto tempo.
#percussion #percussionensemble #percussionist #marimba #vibraphone #timpani #music
"Sandbox" by Eric Odland contains a variety of soundscape-esque ideas meant to encapsulate all different kinds of experiences one can have in a sandbox, from building the tallest sand castle to getting sand in your eyes.
"Sandbox" was premiered by OCU percussion at the Individual and Ensemble competition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2023.
#marimba #marimbaquartet #percussion #percussionist #percussionensemble
"Spencer Variants" was commissioned by the Central Michigan University Percussion Alumni in honor of retiring Professor of Percussion Dr. Andrew Spencer. Andrew and I were faculty colleagues during my tenure at CMU and he enthusiastically performed many of my works for percussion. As a colleague, he was continually supportive of my music and new music by many contemporary composers. His percussion program at CMU has grown to be nationally recognized. It has been an honor and a privilege to write this piece for my friend and colleague. - David R. Gillingham
The definition of the "Bliss Point" is the point at which food has just the right amount of saltiness, sweetness, or richness to be at its peak deliciousness. I believe this concept applies to many things in life though. Too little or too much of something and it diminishes the enjoyment you get out of it, and I think everyone has experienced this at some point. I thought the richness of the harmonies and the nostalgic sound of the music represented this concept well. - Cy Miessler
#percussionensemble #music #marimba #vibraphone
Commissioned by the T.U. Percussion Ensemble, Light & Water by Daiki Kato is a double concerto for solo marimba & timpani with percussion sextet accompaniment. The work depicts the sunshine, the fountain, and the architecture of the National Taichung Theater in Taiwan. The imagery of "water" is interpreted by the solo marimba while the concept of "light" is rendered by the solo timpani. The ideas of "light" and "water" permeate the composition, encouraging the audience to experience the resplendent sunlight and the beautiful waterscapes of the National Taichung Theater through the music.
#marimba #timpani #percussionist #percussionensemble #percussion #percussionists #music
Christmas Time Is Here originally appeared on the 1965 TV special "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and has since become a staple of holiday music. This version for percussion ensemble aims to feel intimate and light, but also makes use of the original's distinctive harmony to weave melody and accompaniment layers through the ensemble.
#percussion #christmas #percussionensemble #percussionist #marimba #vibraphone
This beautiful adaptation of Frédéric Chopin’s "Nocturne in E-flat Major" for keyboard percussion ensemble (+ optional Timpani and Aluphone) by Jacob Arie provides groups with a rich timbral tapestry to develop their dynamics, touch, sound quality, and ensemble skills. With textures ranging from “wind-up music box” to marimba choir to full percussion orchestra, this dynamic arrangement manages to capture both the intimacy of the original composition for solo piano and the spectacle of some of the more well-known orchestral versions.
#percussion #percussionist #marimba #vibraphone #chopin
Marimba soloist Dr. Brian Zator performs "Ghost Garden" ensemble version with Texas A&M Commerce.
Driving through many major American cities, it's hard not to notice the plethora of vacant and abandoned lots. Where once stood proud businesses, lavish homes, or civic buildings, there is now little more than a blank, grassy plot of land. Though the blank space on the canvas of the cityscape can be profoundly sad, something amazing happens within these empty spaces. Left alone, life swells forth, and these vacant lots start to produce trees, flowers, and grass. Many people have started referring to such lots as “Ghost Gardens.” In this piece, you can hear where the lot once held a vibrant and exciting tone, only to slowly fade away and change. Through a series of transitional themes, the main idea reforms and comes back as the piece concludes, thus depicting the beauty of the land as it is re-imagined. This is a percussion ensemble expansion of Hopper’s ever-popular marimba solo. The ensemble perfectly aligns with the original solo so that anyone who has learned it can simply add seven ensemble members and perform on a percussion ensemble concert.
#percussionensemble #percussion #percussionists #marimba
Sheet Music for Band, Percussion, Strings, Chamber, & Voice 
