UNLV Percussion Ensemble PROGRAM

College of Fine Arts presents the
UNLV Percussion Ensemble
Directed by Dr. Dean Gronemeier and Dr. Timothy Jones
PROGRAM
Chuchichäschtli
Charles Halka
(b. 1982)
Erin Vander Wyst, bass clarinet
Timothy Jones, percussion
Le chant du serpent
Eckhard Kopetzki
(b. 1956)
Paul De La Torre, Joey Ellison,
Dennis Garza, and Eddie Yervinyan, percussion
Omphalo Centric Lecture
Nigel Westlake
(b. 1958)
Luc Brust, Ryan Harrison,
Luigi Ng, and Lindsay Suta, marimbas
Tinplay
Per Andreasson
(b. 1957)
Kyle Bissantz, Paul De La Torre,
Luigi Ng, and Eddie Yervinyan, percussion
Coffee Break
Mark Ford and Ewelina Bernacka Ford
(b. 1958)
Paul De La Torre, Joey Ellison, Ryan Harrison,
Lindsay Suta, and Avery Taitano, percussion
What Clarity?
(b. 1983)
Dave Hollinden
(b. 1958)
Ricardo Reese, percussion soloist
Adam Steff, conductor
Kyle Bissantz, Luc Brust, Brandon-Davis Vaccarino, Max Feld,
Sam Friend, Dennis Garza, Michaela Grillo, Ryan Harrison,
Timothy Jones, Luigi Ng, Lindsay Suta, and Alex Tomlinson, percussion
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
7:30 p.m.
Dr. Rando Arturo-Grillot Recital Hall
Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas PROGRAM NOTES
Chuchichäschtli is the Swiss-German word for kitchen cupboard. It is also a word foreigners find
very difficult to pronounce: the ‘ch’ is pronounced as in the German word ‘ach,’ and the ‘sch’ as in the
English word ‘sheep.’ The word is as fun as it is difficult to say. Chuchichäschtli was written for
Benjamin Mitchell, an American clarinetist living in Zurich, Switzerland.
Le Chant du Serpent, The Song of the Serpent. Composed in 2000, this piece is written for eight
drums, with instructions to be played con mano – only with the hands. Each player is encouraged to
shout, clap and generally explore the musical possibilities of both western and non-western
instruments from several disparate traditions. What begins as a slow mysterious exploration of sounds
quickly develops into a raucous and driving, serpent-inspired ride. Shouts, clapping and drumming
paint a picture of a huge serpent's body, which seem to consist of a large number of imaginary
dancers that writhe in movements reminiscent of a wild fire.
Originally, Omphalo Centric Lecture was composed for two percussionists and a bass clarinet, but
was reworked for a quartet and published for four marimbas. But there had been versions wherein the
piece is performed using different arrangements of instruments. There were also versions of this piece
done for six or more percussionists and even for a duo provided there is an electronic
accompaniment.
This piece is composed of eight minutes of 16th notes. The African Balofon (African counterpart of
xylophone), being one of the historical origins of marimba, has become one of the influences in some
of Westlake’s creations including Omphalo Centric Lecture. This is where he got inspiration especially
with the pieces rhythmic and melodic structure. This is clearly manifested by the persistent ostinati of
various lengths, cross rhythms and variations on simple melodic fragments. Rhythm, energy and
movement are the three key points that made this piece similar to African music. – Nigel Westlake
Tinplay (2004) is Per Andreasson’s first work for percussion, and as the title suggests, explores the
musical potential of non-pitched percussion instruments. With the exception of one crotale note,
Andreasson writes for a combination of conventional drums and an unusual collection of tins, brake
drums, pipes and metal objects. The piece begins with a clockwork precision and instructions to
perform with a ‘constant and relentlessly driving tempo.’ This challenging and poly-metric composition
takes the listener on a light hearted, mechanically inspired journey through rock, funk and everything
in between.
Kasey Blezinger had this to write about the work: “Tinplay by Per Andreasson is the kind of ensemble
piece that all percussionists would have a blast performing. This piece, at its core, is all about funk
and funk beats. Even in the most dense and complex sections there always seems to be an
underlying polyrhythmic motive that is very funk inspired, while this is sometimes incredibly obvious to
the players and the audience (who will undoubtedly be jamming along) this motives are also very
subtle in many instances.”
Coffee Break by Mark Ford is a unique piece written for four different sizes of paper coffee cups with
lids and sleeves. Music is everywhere and of course coffee has rhythm! After many visits to numerous
coffee shops and improvising with cups, Ford decided to write a composition that brings fun, energy
and theater to the concert stage. Coffee Break is like Head Talk on caffeine!
At popular coffee shops the sizes of these cups are called Short (small/espresso), Tall (medium),
Grande (large), and Venti (extra large). Coffee Break also uses one medium Frappuccino cup with lid
and straw. This theatre/percussion work is designed for males to play the first four parts and a female
to play the 5th percussion part (or a fifth male in a wig!) – Mark Ford
What Clarity? Is a concerto for percussion soloist and percussion ensemble by Dave Hollinden. The
piece opens slowly and quietly, with sparse orchestration and the soloist on snare drum. There is a
gradual increase in tempo and energy leading to rhythmic dialog between the snare drum and a large
mallet choir formed from nearly the entire ensemble. This erupts into a ponderously slow tempo over
which the soloist performs virtuosic snare drum passage work in double time. This large body of
sound eventually collapses, dissolving into a very quiet and softly shaped section for Timpani, low
marimba, vibraphone and the Soloist on metal instruments.
A brief chordal section leads to the second half of the piece, which is based on brisk, angular rhythmic
themes and in which the Soloist utilizes the full multi-percussion setup in dialog with the ensemble.
Sections for full ensemble and Soloist are followed by rhythmic passage work for the mallet choir
alone, and finally a short duet for Timpani and the Soloist on High-hat. The final section distills the
harmonic and rhythmic elements of the piece by means of rhythmic dialog between the full ensemble
and the Soloist on a large, low Tom Tom. – Dave Hollinden