A junior percussion recital : [an honors thesis] (HONRS 499)

Toward the end of my sophomore year at Ball State University, I began planning and preparing for the recital that would take place during the spring semester of my junior year. One of the most important aspects of any recital is variety. As musicians, we are all trained in many different genres and styles, but as percussionists, we learn to perform them on a greater variety of instruments than any other musicians. My percussion studies at Ball State have been no exception to this, and I felt it important to display my skills on a wide range of instruments, genres, styles, timbres, and moods.The literature on this program displays my abilities as a performer on the three principal instruments of percussion study: timpani, snare drum, and mallet percussion. The recital opened with March, a solo timpani piece that makes a dramatic statement, not only musically, but also visually, with significant movement between drums, flipping mallets to use the wooden ends, and dampening the heads with felt mutes. The use of the wooden ends of the mallets and the mutes on various drums provide a variety of timbres within the piece as well.The next selection consists of movements from a transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite No. 1 G-Dur BWV 1007 for cello. The softer dynamic levels, prevalence of rubato, and wistful tonality of this piece provide quite a contrast to the preceding timpani piece. The low register of a marimba lends itself well to emulating the warmth of a cello, creating the illusion of sustained notes that are only held by the natural decay of tone after the bar has been struck.Losa for Vibraphone and Marimba Duo provides another glimpse into the versatility of mallet percussion instrument, and is full of rhythmic complexity and much more articulate passages than Suite No. 1. The syncopation and dynamic contrasts as well as the presence of two very different timbres in the vibraphone and marimba provide the audience with a piece of music that is not only complex to the ear but enjoyable to hear.The next piece on the program was Delecluse #9 and is recognized as advanced concert snare drum literature, widely used for undergraduate, graduate, or professional ensemble auditions. This selection demonstrates flexibility and technical accuracy on snare drum, and its complex rhythmic structure calls for a very rigid tempo and intense concentration.Prelude and Blues (Mvt. 1) for vibraphone provides the audience with a change in intensity and mood. Although the chords used are somewhat dissonant, the effect is calming as the arpeggiations blend together in washes of sound. Sensitivity in use of the pedal in this piece is crucial to create the right mood. Too much becomes too choppy, and too little makes the individual notes indiscernible. I chose this piece because I believe it demonstrates the vibraphone's ability to support a long melodic line as well as some influence from the jazz style in the chord structure and some of the rhythmic motives.Finally, I chose to end the program with Keiko Abe's Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra. In itself, this piece consists of a larger variety of technical and musical challenges than any other piece on the recital. From the six-mallet opening to the amount of room for interpretation in the cadenza to the dizzying final theme, this piece is an exciting challenge for the performer as well as a captivating piece on which to end a performance.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.