for piccolo and snare drum.
moderately difficult. snare part is based on marching band playing techniques (i.e., rudiments). full range of piccolo is used. very rhythmic.
There's quite a handful of people who attend UMass Amherst simply because they want to be in the marching band, and, if they're in the drumline, especially to work with Thom Hannum. As a result of this phenomena, I met A LOT of people involved in drum corps, while I was a music education major at UMass; my housemate at the time even dated (and eventually married the same...) a drum corps guy. While I find marching band/drum corps style percussion writing often overdone and not always particularly musical, it's difficult to deny that what these people do with just a snare drum is nothing short of amazing. From the exposure I was getting to this style of drumming, I was inspired to write a fife and drum corps piece, but my way. By this point, I wasn't much interested in marching, myself. I thought that using drum corps style snare writing would make a nice substitution for a whole drum set, and if that were the case, the piccolo couldn't simply play little folk tunes. Oh, and the drum corps guy that my old housemate married? He premiered the piece...
ca. 2'
1995.
please email me for an mp3: andrea at reloadsanear dot com.
do consider making a donation (of any amount), if you choose to perform this piece, make copies of it, use it for educational purposes, if it has improved your life in any way (otherwise, yes, it's yours for free; it is copywritten, so give credit as necessary):
performance history: 13 April 2000. Seully Hall, The Boston Conservatory. Yuji Kano, piccolo; Valerie Krob, snare. 28 February 1996. Lillian H. Duncan Recital Hall, Rice University. Jennifer Keeney, piccolo; Julie Angelis, snare. 14 February 1996. Lillian H. Duncan Recital Hall, Rice University. Jennifer Keeney, piccolo; Julie Angelis, snare. 15 May 1995. Bezanson Recital Hall, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Tracy Kane, piccolo; Chad Wyman, snare. |