The piece opens freely with a quick 32nd note pattern to be repeated ad lib with written dead strokes to be interspersed throughout. Out of this section comes a more structured multi-meter section (4/4, 7/4, 5/4, 6/4) before settling in 10/8. Independent…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
After a free, improvisatory opening, Choice moves into a rhythmically exciting dance-like section in 6/8. The performer is required to play polyrhythms between the hands as if the music can’t decide whether it is in 6/8 or 2/4. It then dies down into a final…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
Expectation pairs an agile two-mallet marimba solo with an energetic cinematic-style backing track to create a true crowd-pleaser. Written originally for performance in school assemblies and classroom visits, Expectation can also be a fun alternative to…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
Kit Mills
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
After a lyrical opening exploring independent rolls, the piece quickly moves into a perpetual motion section of running sixteenth notes. Traveling through countless meter changes, the driving accents and rhythms end up owning the performer and the audience…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
The first four etudes explore different sticking combinations (1423, 243, 321, and so on) in a musically and compositionally sound setting. Smith provides sticking indications for these four pieces. The fifth and final etude combines the techniques in the…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
Full of Baroque flavored musical ideas, this piece gives the modern marimbist a Baroque composition of their own.Program NotesFresh from attending an early music festival featuring Purcell, Handel, and their predecessors, I decided to write a composition…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
Kit Mills
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
with Spoken Voice
The percussion lay down a groove for this work with solo voice that can also stand alone as a great ensemble work.Program NotesText by M.B. Hanrahan Invitation stands. Driven to a foreign land and dropped from the sky, through a hole in your…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith, Hanrahan
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
The five movements are not programmatic in a literal sense but are suggestive of the tableaux and natural drama one might encounter in a mountain environment. Although the piece was written to be performed in its complete form without breaks between movements…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
Written for a trio of middle aged men, Prelude to Elaboration offers a means to alternative ends: the development of a deconstruction and/or the gradual reduction of a fabricated statement. From the opening perspective the work could be titled Elaboration on…
Style:
Percussion
Composer:
J.B. Smith
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications
A Rewarding Journey is a challenging two-mallet recital piece for 3.0 octave (or larger) marimba, cast in three short movements and demanding speed, agility, dynamic control, and intelligent musical phrasing. An attractive, dramatic piece featuring a variety…
Style:
Solo Works
Composer:
Kit Mills
Publisher:
C. Alan Publications