Recently I finished a new work for tuba and timpani titled, "Rituals and Awakenings." This piece was commissioned by Mark Collins, II and Phi Mu Alpha, for the 50th anniversary of the Rho Tau chapter, located at Appalachian State University. It will be premiered in April of 2017 by Mark Collins, II (timpani) and Preston Light (tuba).
I'm very happy with how this piece turned out, after some self-doubts halfway through the writing process. I had to learn a lot about timpani and how they're played in order to write something that would be fun, but challenging for Mark and future performers. Mark was a huge help answering my questions and giving suggestions throughout the birthing of the piece. I'm already very familiar with writing for tuba, and the very talented Preston Light can handle anything I throw at him, so the tuba side was never an issue. Learning to fit both instruments together was a challenge, but ultimately I feel it expanded my horizons as a composer. To get beneath the surface of the timpani, beyond the *BUM BUM BUM BUM* clichés you normally hear, and into more of the true capabilities of the instrument was something that gradually revealed itself the more I stretched. I hope to be able to write for them again, maybe in a solo capacity, and take that exploration even further!
It's a very challenging work for both performers, and I cannot wait to hear it once they've worked it up. Here's a screenshot of one of my favorite sections:
I'm very happy with how this piece turned out, after some self-doubts halfway through the writing process. I had to learn a lot about timpani and how they're played in order to write something that would be fun, but challenging for Mark and future performers. Mark was a huge help answering my questions and giving suggestions throughout the birthing of the piece. I'm already very familiar with writing for tuba, and the very talented Preston Light can handle anything I throw at him, so the tuba side was never an issue. Learning to fit both instruments together was a challenge, but ultimately I feel it expanded my horizons as a composer. To get beneath the surface of the timpani, beyond the *BUM BUM BUM BUM* clichés you normally hear, and into more of the true capabilities of the instrument was something that gradually revealed itself the more I stretched. I hope to be able to write for them again, maybe in a solo capacity, and take that exploration even further!
It's a very challenging work for both performers, and I cannot wait to hear it once they've worked it up. Here's a screenshot of one of my favorite sections:
Stay tuned!