Where (we) Live is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by The Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts in partnership with Vermont Performance Lab, Walker Arts Center and NPN. The Creation Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).
The minute its members were ensconced in our office, So Percussion started borrowing items to add to its set, from an amplified cactus and bells to a mug filled with spare change and an empty padded envelope. The ensemble performs original pieces and the works of John Cage at the Tiny Desk.
World-premiere: Park Avenue Armory; Concept, Choreography and Visual Design: Shen Wei; Original Score: S? Percussion
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton; Video and Animation: Josh Horowitz, Layne Braunstein and Blair Neal; Costume: Austin Scarlett
Sound Design: Lawson White
Mallet Quartet (2009) is scored for two vibraphones and two five octave marimbas. I had never written for five octave marimbas extending down to cello C. On the one hand I was delighted to have the possibility of a low bass and on the other hand apprehensive since just slightly too hard a mallet that low can produce noise instead of pitch. Eventually, after a bit of experimentation, this was well worked out.
