Die Glöcke
For Solo Glockenspiel
Die Glöcke was commissioned by percussionist Timothy Shuster and the piece is dedicated to him. The title in German means, "The Bell" which is of course a fitting title for a solo glockenspiel piece. It is also the name of one of Germany's supposed "Wunderwaffe" (Miracle Weapon) devices which is associated with the Nazi Occultism, antigravity, and free energy research. I became interested in composing music that was more tonally centered and wrote 12 movements for a total of 30 minutes of music or a song cycle for glockenspiel.
Nine Miniatures and a Fantasy
For Solo Marimba
9 Miniatures and a Fantasy is a collection of intermediate pieces for solo marimba. I wrote them with the idea of presenting different technical aspects to the performer in short musical studies. As a teacher of percussion at the collegiate level, I have seen the repertoire for the intermediate player improve significantly over the past fifteen years. I particularly enjoy and encourage students to play the intermediate works by Mark Ford, Bart Quartier, Mitchell Peters, and Richard O’Meara. My hope is that 9 Miniatures and a Fantasy will add to this literature in a positive way.
Perfect Circles
For Solo Timpani
After 14 years of teaching at the university level, it became apparent to me that one of the issues with the solo timpani repertoire was the gap between advanced and elementary compositions. A student who became proficient with his skill on the different strokes and rolls could perhaps play one of Elliot Carter’s Eight Pieces for Four Timpani, but learning the nuances of Carter’s metric modulations would likely be problematic. As a student of Stanley Leonard, I am very aware of his incredible contribution to the repertoire, but many of his pieces require advanced pedal dexterity and can be frustrating for some students. John Beck’s Sonata for Timpani and Bill Cahn’s Raga are also very popular in our studio but also require an upper-level intermediate player.
There are multiple timpani method books by Saul Goodman, Vic Firth, Mitchell Peters, Raynor Carroll, and other modern timpanists who contribute valuable studies to the literature without closing the gap. Once a student plays through the book, he moves on to the orchestral repertoire. This is, of course, a suitable method for moving through the curriculum. It is not, however the only path to the development of a strong timpanist.
What I have written is a set of 12 pieces that move through the circle of fifths, with the aim of supplementing the current repertoire to help fill the gap. The titles of the pieces are shapes and forms that are found in Sacred Geometry. None of the pieces require pedaling. The compositions are short and can be learned within a week’s time. This way, a student can progress through the pieces within a semester of study. For a public performance, I would recommend doing three or four of the pieces.
There are multiple timpani method books by Saul Goodman, Vic Firth, Mitchell Peters, Raynor Carroll, and other modern timpanists who contribute valuable studies to the literature without closing the gap. Once a student plays through the book, he moves on to the orchestral repertoire. This is, of course, a suitable method for moving through the curriculum. It is not, however the only path to the development of a strong timpanist.
What I have written is a set of 12 pieces that move through the circle of fifths, with the aim of supplementing the current repertoire to help fill the gap. The titles of the pieces are shapes and forms that are found in Sacred Geometry. None of the pieces require pedaling. The compositions are short and can be learned within a week’s time. This way, a student can progress through the pieces within a semester of study. For a public performance, I would recommend doing three or four of the pieces.
Songs from the Infinite Plane
15 Duos for Vibraphone and Marimba
Commissioned by a consortium of performers and educators organized by John Kilkenny and Daniel Heagney, Songs from the Infinite Plane is a collection of fifteen intermediate duets for vibraphone and marimba. My primary compositional goal in writing these pieces was to think more melodically. The end result was a “song book.” In many of the duos, the vibraphone carries the melody, but not always. The marimba’s function is mostly harmonic and rhythmic throughout. There are several pieces where I reversed the duty of the two instruments with good results. A good practice would be to learn five duos for a performance. An advanced piece called The Mandela Effect is included as a bonus at the end of the collection.
Reflex: 15 Studies for the Intermediate Multi-Percussionist
Reflex – A quick, automatic or habitual response; the ability to react quickly and effectively.
Composers througho ut the 20th century demanded more from percussionists. Pieces such as Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat (1918) and Darius Milhaud’s La CrÈation du Monde (1922-1923) require skill on a wide array of instruments and the ability to move seamlessly from one instrument to the next. These compositions, along with many others, created a new repertoire for percussionists. Solo multi-percussion pieces, such as William Kraft’s French Suite (1962) and Rick Tagawa’s Inspirations Diabolique (1964), quickly became well-known solo works for percussionists. Today, composers write percussion parts and solos that are increasingly challenging.
As the multi-percussion repertoire increases, it becomes necessary for modern students to increase their skills in this genre. Reflex is a collection of 15 studies for the multi-percussionist. The pieces are short and designed to improve percussionists’ ability to move fluently among different playing surfaces. The studies are written at the intermediate level and require a small number of instruments.They become more difficult as the book progresses and can be used for both study and performance. A picture of each study’s set-up and an instrument key are provided to help the performer. The pieces are named after skeletal-muscular motions of the human body.
Composers througho ut the 20th century demanded more from percussionists. Pieces such as Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat (1918) and Darius Milhaud’s La CrÈation du Monde (1922-1923) require skill on a wide array of instruments and the ability to move seamlessly from one instrument to the next. These compositions, along with many others, created a new repertoire for percussionists. Solo multi-percussion pieces, such as William Kraft’s French Suite (1962) and Rick Tagawa’s Inspirations Diabolique (1964), quickly became well-known solo works for percussionists. Today, composers write percussion parts and solos that are increasingly challenging.
As the multi-percussion repertoire increases, it becomes necessary for modern students to increase their skills in this genre. Reflex is a collection of 15 studies for the multi-percussionist. The pieces are short and designed to improve percussionists’ ability to move fluently among different playing surfaces. The studies are written at the intermediate level and require a small number of instruments.They become more difficult as the book progresses and can be used for both study and performance. A picture of each study’s set-up and an instrument key are provided to help the performer. The pieces are named after skeletal-muscular motions of the human body.
Spin Cycle
12 Pieces for Solo Snare Drum
These twelve pieces are a written commitment to my first instrument – the snare drum. For many years, I felt that solo pieces for the snare drum were too limited. After writing works for orchestra and wind ensemble, as well as smaller chamber pieces and solos for other instruments, I came to a point that I felt confident enough to compose something for single rhythmic lines - appropriate for snare drum.