Program Notes

Fanfare by Jonathan Ovalle is a short work for a large percussion ensemble. Featuring an array of melodic and non-melodic instruments, this piece is intended as a bold concert opener, similar to how a fanfare would be placed in a band or orchestral concert. Ideally suited for larger performance spaces, the intention is to fill the room with sound, enveloping the listener. The musical material is largely comprised of ostinati that create interesting textures and layers as they build and dissipate throughout the work.

The title of Escape Artist is inspired by a stray dog that wandered up to the composer Eric Rath when he was having a garage sale. He took her in and found out quickly that she could find every point of exit through the backyard fence! Mr. Rath’s wife dubbed her "our little escape artist”. That was at the time this piece to being written. Eventually they gave the dog away, but the title has stuck ever since.

Begin Transmission by John Herndon is a fantastic addition to the repertoire for young percussion ensembles by providing students an opportunity to apply skills learned in the first year of percussion study into an accessible and lively piece. The piece takes a theme derived from the first five notes of the D-minor scale and manipulates the timbres and textures around it to create a fun and engaging ensemble work.

In 2017 American climber Alex Honnold became the first person to complete a free solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. This daring achievement has been described as one of the greatest athletic feats in history. Freerider is named after the route that Alex followed in his ascent of El Capitan. Patrick Speranza intended for the music to capture the warrior mentality that Alex describes in his preparation to complete his free solo ascent.

Bulldog was inspired by the composer’s English bulldog, Shosti, and their jam time. The content of the piece is based on paradiddles in various forms and includes rhythmic grooves and patterns that represent things Andrea Venet associates with the bulldog "freestyle”. Within paradiddle groupings of different lengths there are various voicing, sticking, and patterns. One versatile thing about paradiddle language are the funny grooves that emerge when extracting one hand/voice, especially when juxtaposing over a contrasting but steady pulse. “Like an English bulldog, the piece is intended to be fun, sturdy, thick, short and sweet!” The piece was commissioned last year by Third Coast Percussion.