Three

Movements for a Solo Dancer Eckhard Kopetzki (b. 1956)

I. Mysterious Love
II. Dance on a Shattered Mirror
III. Memory of a Mystery

This piece was also the winner of the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest- Marimba Solo in
2003. Three Movements for a Solo Dancer requires the performer to either play on the frame of the
marimba, or on another instrument like the woodblock. He wrote this to imitate the “’clacking’ of a
dancer’s shoes on a floor”. Along with the frame or woodblock sound, he also calls for the use of the
dead stroke. A dead stroke happens when the performer does not rebound off of the marimba bar to
release the sound, but hits the note and immediately dampens it with that same mallet. This causes the
sound to be cut off and does not allow the note to resonate. Another effect used is the glissando, or
dragging the mallets across the bars to create a continuous slide of notes.

War Drum Peace Drum David Reeves (b. 1972)

This piece was written for the annual Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Snare Drum Competition in February,
2013. In six weeks, Reeves had written this piece and had created the backing track for this competition.
War Drum Peace Drum features a basic ternary (ABA) form. The two A sections are virtually the same
material, making the beginning and the ending of the piece the same. The B section, in the middle of the
piece, is varied greatly from the beginning and ending. This section features the most challenging part of
the piece where it displays complex rhythms and dynamics.

Red Marc Mellits (b. 1966)

I. Moderately Funky

IV. Slow, With Motion

VI. Fast, Obsessive, Bombastic, Red

Red, by Marc Mellits is a neo-minimalist multi-movement for two marimbas. These movements do not
have specific melodies; however, they are based on repeating harmonies and rhythms. The harmonies
used throughout these movements are generally the same, and when they change, it is usually caused
by only one note moving up or down creating a subtle difference. The rhythms also act like the
harmonies in which the changes are small. One example from Movement VI is the repeating pattern is
off-set by an eighth note in one part, disorienting the music.

Canned Heat Eckhard Kopetzki (b. 1956)

Canned Heat was the winner of the 2002 Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest for Multiple
Percussion Solos. This fast-moving piece features some odd instruments for a drum solo; tambourine, a
resonant metal sound, and a tin can (giving the piece its name). This piece does not use a lot of repeated
material throughout. In fact, the only repeated material is the opening section. Otherwise, the rest of
the piece always has something new to offer. This challenges the performer to assign different
characteristics to each of the major sections in order to keep the piece moving forward while keeping it
interesting.