The Percussion Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will preform at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, in Cole Concert Hall in the Wright Music Building on the SFA campus.
Directed by Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies in the SFA School of Music, the SFA Percussion Ensemble will perform works by Nathan Daughtrey, Daniel Levitan, James Campbell and other composers. Daughtrey’s “Power Struggle” features an ensemble of four keyboard percussionists and four battery percussionists in a musical battle against each other.
“The struggle is apparent from the opening bars of this piece, with the two halves of the ensemble competing for attention in an exhilarating and bombastic fashion,” Daughtrey said in describing the piece.
Levitan’s “Conservatory Garden” is written in dedication to well-known conga player Frankie Malabe. The piece was named after a section of New York City’s Central Park that Levitan would walk by on his way to lessons with Malabe.
Also on the program is Campbell’s “Night Hunter,” whose title refers to vampires, as well as David Skidmore’s three-movement percussion quartet “In Contact.”
“Each performer in this piece has three drums and two pieces of metal,” Skidmore said of the piece. “The interest, I hope, is created not only by what instrument is being struck, but how the instruments are struck. There should be a direct connection between the energy of the performers and the energy of the audience…without a wall of instruments getting in the way.”
The final selection on the program features Clif Walker’s “Promise Music,” a composition that has been described as having an organic minimalistic style using mood-shaping timbres, such as a crotale on the edge of a timpani, mark tree and wooden wind chimes.
“The overall structure of ‘Promise Music’ appears to be arch-form, with the concluding section being similar to its opening,” Jim Lambert wrote in Percussive Notes magazine. “There are numerous mixed meter changes, which create an intrinsic syncopation. This percussion ensemble will certainly fit the need for large, mature college percussion ensembles.”
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.
