Autumn re:Percussion

Sunday September 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Andre and Jacques Philidor - March for Two Pairs of Kettledrums (1683)

Charles Ross - R & R Suite for timpani and drum set (1993)

Luciano Berio - Naturale for viola, percussion, and recorded voice

Lou Harrison - Music for Violin and Various Instruments (1972)

Marek Harris - Duo-Sonata #3 for Violin and Viola (2009) (premiere)

Jeff Tyzik (composer and arranger) - Autumnal Jazz pieces

Charles Ross, timpani and vibes

Dave Mancini, drum set and percussion

David Brickman, violin

Melissa Matson, viola

Michael Griffin, bass

Members of the Eastman Mbira Ensemble

While chamber music concerts rarely showcase the percussion family, we are branching out to bring you an eclectic evening of unexpected treats! After a celebratory 17th-century introduction on kettledrums, RPO principal timpanist Charles Ross' R & R Suite pairs those same timpani with Dave Mancini's incomparable drum set talents.

The music of 20th-century Italian composer Luciano Berio presents the viola as a storyteller, using "natural" folk-derived material accompanied by atmospheric percussion details - plus the recorded voice of a Sicilian folksinger - a fantastic piece!

American composer Lou Harrison's attractive, ethnically-inspired Music for Violin and Various Intruments showcases David Brickman accompanied by a variety of instruments, most notable the African mbira (also known as the thumb piano) - we are fortunate to be able to involve the Eastman Mbira Ensemble (Glenn West, director) in this evening's performance.

Composer Marek Harris has written his Duo-Sonata #3 specifically for this First Muse concert - Here are his words about it:

Duo-Sonata #3 for Violin and Viola was composed in what seems to me, just a flash - a brief but highly intense and completely compositionally obsessed 36 hours. On the previous Duo-Sonatas #1 and #2, each a sonata for two violins, I had intensively labored (albeit lovingly), but somehow this time around I was lucky enough to enjoy wave after wave of melodic ideas which seemed to so freely make themselves known to me. After I finished the first draft and began to recall some basic needs such as eating food and drinking water, I happily noted how easily the sketches for each movement lent themselves so readily to re-working. Naturally I immediately took to the rich combination of viola and violin, and their available part-crossing, and sumptuous blend of the two similar, yet contrasting timbres. I wish every work could be born so easily!

To bring the percussion element to its most current, our vibes and drum set artists (plus Michael Griffin on bass) will provide rich support for David Brickman and Melissa Matson as they swing their way through a few jazz pieces arranged and written by Jeff Tyzik - a perfect ending to an Autumn evening!

$10 general / $5 student / $20 family