Instrumentation:

6 ft. cardtable
Station 1: pencil* and hardcover book*
Station 2: metal can and various coins
Station 3: plastic bucket and small toys (such as legos)
Station 4: ceramic bowl with metal fork and spoon
Station 5: pillow* and stuffed animal
Station 6: body percussion

*items will be damaged or destroyed throughout the work; backups may be required during rehearsal.

This work is in two movements*

1. Bright Ideas (4’00”)

Prepared vibraphone* (small coins taped on bars F3-Eb4)
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-tam or low F gong

2. The Power of Flowers (3’15”)

Three wooden clogs (or temple blocks) | low, medium, high
Marimba (5 octave, adjustments for 4.3 octave included)

*this work requires the use of four mallets

Duration: 7’15”

Commissioner: Aaron Ragsdale (YouTube)

Commissioned by Aaron Ragsdale, Cult of Bulbs was initially inspired by the story of the Phoebus Cartel—an international group of lightbulb-manufacturers which controlled the sale and manufacturing of lightbulbs. The cartel worked to lower the useful life of incandescent lightbulbs in Europe and North America during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Beginning in the upper register with long, flowing lines the piece eventually descends into the buzzy lower register of the prepared vibraphone—becoming overtaken by metallic, buzzing textures and becoming less and less melodic.

After the premiere, Aaron reached out to commission a second movement—this time inspired by a different kind of bulb. The Power of Flowers centers on the 1630’s Tulpenmanie—a major economic bubble in which tulips became unfathomably valuable. Aaron requested a completely different set of instruments for the movement, hoping to eventually commission a third movement that uses both set-ups. The instrumentation skews wooden rather than metal, inspired by the wood clogs Aaron owned that hark back to Tulipmania’s Dutch origins.

Pricing

Full Score: $25

Per movement: $15

PDF includes a full score, formatted for page turns.

Duration: 5’15”

Commissioner: George Warner (YouTube)

Commissioned by George Warner for an animated film Statis Awakening, Cliffside Unremembered was inspired by an evening spent on a cliff overlooking a lake (the name of which I’ve long since forgotten). The piece explores a wide variety of colors the snare drum can provide using a combination of sticks, hands, and brushes. The backing electronics use pre-recorded percussion sounds to create a lush and mysterious soundscape for the snare drum to wander within; a mix of aleatory and written grooves helps to give shape and intention to the piece, making for a unique addition to any recital.

Pricing

Digital: $15

PDF includes a full score, including a staff for the electronics, as well as a notation key. Purchase includes download link for electronics track.

This work is in three movements:

1. Irony (3’45”)

Percussion 1: Gongs (C4-C5), 3 toms
Percussion 2: Steel rods (C4-G4), bongos, kick drum

2. Lead Astray (4’30”)

Percussion 1: Gongs (C3-B3), suspended cymbal
Percussion 2: Vibraphone (mallets, bow), 2 triangles

3. Silver Linings (3’15”)

Percussion 1: Gongs (C5-C6), suspended cymbal, 3 toms
Percussion 2: Wooden planks (Bb3-G4), bongos, 2 triangles

Duration: 11’45”

Commissioner: Drew Morris, for Thought Form Collective (Website | YouTube)

Commissioned by Drew Morris for his “friend that has an embarrassing number of gongs,” and inspired by things I felt during the pandemic lockdowns, GO(i)NG ME(n)TAL is a true tour-de-force for the modern percussion duo.

In Irony, the duo goes through a series of metric modulations, leaning heavily on the metallic components of the set-up. In Lead Astray, the shifts are harmonic in nature, and the use of vibraphone and low gongs creates a warm, sweet reprieve after the cold and deeply-metrical first movement. In the last movement, Silver Linings, nearly all sounds are paired with a metallic doubling, providing tutti-power even as the high-energy counterpoint spins and leaps between voices.

Note: Given that not every percussionist is blessed with three octaves of gongs, performers will appreciate each movement splits the use of gongs up by octave—making the performance of a single movement more likely. For those without access to steel rods or tuned wooden planks, substitutions with tubular bells and marimba (respectively) can also be made. If you are looking for help with other suggestions for substitutions within your set-up, please feel free to reach out!

Pricing

Full score, digital: $35

Per movement, digital: $15

PDF includes a full score as well as solo parts for each player, formatted for page turns.

Duration: 3’30”

Commissioner: Anonymous

Text: “Hope and Patience” by George MacDonald (1824-1905)

Hope and Patience is a setting of a poem by the same name. The piece splits the text between the performers, providing both musicians the opportunity to bring both their instrumental and speaking voices to the foreground. The violin part uses a variety of colors and textures throughout the piece—including scratch tone, col legno battuto, harmonics, glisses, arpeggios, and sparkling melodies. The zarb acts a driving force for the work, incorporating dance-like rhythms, dramatic rolls, dynamic constrasts, and a wide array of tone colors.

Pricing

Digital: $0!

All works in the Commissions from Quarantine series are available for free.

Duration: 18’45”

Text: “Maybe He’s John” | “John Makes Believe”

Collaborators:

Mitchell Beck - premiere, Maybe He’s John (Website)
Parker James - premiere, John Makes Believe (Website | YouTube)
Nathaniel Gworek - performance, Maybe He’s John (Website | YouTube)

This unique, theatrical work-in-progress reflects on past relationships. In Maybe He’s John, the word “maybe” acts as a jumping point for hope, desperation, and despair as the speaker attempts to work through why things didn’t work out with “John.” In John Makes Believe, the speaker reflects on the ways both they and John lied to each other—and themselves—attempting to sort through what was real. While more movements have been in progress over the years, performances of the existing movements have been praised as “totally unique,” “daring and vulnerable,” “painfully relatable” and “harrowing.”

The structured improvisation allows the work to be performed effectively by amateurs and professionals alike, and the simple set-up lends itself to a variety of performance environments—from grand stages and recital halls to intimate galleries or spoken-word events at local venues. This distinctive work is an ideal project for creatives looking to explore a truly collaborative performance experience in which vulnerability is the main goal.

Pricing

Full score, digital: $25

Per movement, digital: $15

PDF includes a full rendering of the text along with annotations for drumset improvisation.

Percussionist Mitchell Beck has commissioned a new work for mixed percussion, trumpet, and electronics that will be completed this winter. Check back again soon for more information!

Pricing

More information this winter!

Duration: 4’30”

Premiered as part of the Tanglewood Music Festival, Something to Prove is a ferocious work for mallet sextet. Beginning somewhat innocuously with soft, mysterious chord exchanges in the vibraphones, the full ensemble soon catapults the work into an explosive array of counterpoint and color—scattered with solo and group features throughout. The piece recalls its opening, culminating in a chorale-like passage with only the marimbas. This small moment of introspection grows dramatically to reprise the flurry of notes from before, ending with a dramatic series of solos, modulations, and a final punctuating gesture.

Pricing

Digital: $15

PDF includes a full score and solo parts for each performer, formatted for page turns.