KSC Percussion Performs Rhythms From Different Cultures
KEENE, N.H. 3/25/05 - The beat of percussion music from Haiti, Japan, Brazil, and Alaska will mingle with the sounds of a new work composed in New Hampshire during the KSC Percussion Ensemble concert on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Recital Hall of the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for KSC students, senior citizens, and youth age 17 and under. Call the box office at 603-358-2168.
The Percussion Ensemble, directed by faculty member Christopher Swist, will perform a concert of contemporary percussion music, much of which was inspired by ancient rhythms.
Marimba Spiritual, composed in 1983-84 by Minoru Miki, reflects in part the festival drumming of the Chichibu area of northwest Tokyo, but also shows the composer’s blend of European and Japanese musical styles. Music student Chad Wanstreet will be featured on the marimba during this piece.
Christopher Rouse’s Ogoun Badagris, written in 1976, is the name of one of the most violent of all Voodoo deities. The music derives its inspiration from Haitian drumming patterns, particularly those of the Juba Dance.
Ney Rosauro composed Cadência Para Berimbau in 1980 to showcase the berimbau, a Brazilian instrument with a single bow-like string attached to a gourd resonator. The work’s rhythm mirrors the relaxed atmosphere of Brazilian music.
Qilyaun by John Luther Adams was commissioned by the Fairbanks Symphony Association for its “American Originals” concert series in 1998. The song title is the Alaska Inuit word for a shaman’s drum, the sound of which the holy man rides to and from the spirit world.
KSC faculty member Craig Sylvern’s Games for Three Players, which was heard March 9 at the KSC Faculty Composers Recital, will be performed again by the Percussion Ensemble. The first movement, “Pinball Wizardry,” is the composer’s recollection of the sounds of a mechanical pinball machine. “Bottom of the Third” keeps the listener guessing the theme through each variation. The last movement, “A-Hunting We Will Go,” is inspired by a cartoon chase.
Swist currently teaches percussion at Keene State and Holyoke Community College. He has performed with the New Britain Symphony, Waterbury Symphony, Steel Sunrise, Drumspeak, and the Lehninger-Swist Duo.
The Percussion Ensemble gives music students an opportunity for public performance, which is essential to graduation from Keene State with a degree in music. For further information about the music program, call 603-358-2177.
