FSU Percussion Ensemble Concert

Pealer Recital Hall, PAC

FSU’s Department of Music Presents Percussion Ensemble

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present its Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Mackenzie Jacob LaMont, on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. The group will be joined by guest performers Dr. Joseph Yungen, Peter B. Lewis and Cheyenne Jeffries.

Percussion Ensemble students include Gavin Baker, Bryce Campbell, Jacob Deaver, Daniel Hicks, Jacob Hunt, Jacob Hutzell, Bella McConnell, Bernard Pitts and Covy Wohlmuth.

The concert will include, among other works, “Stained Glass” by David R. Gillingham and “Music for Pieces of Wood” by Steve Reich.

“Stained Glass,” composed between 1990 and 1991, is cast in three continuous movements. The first movement, “Foyers,” is so named because of its reference to the many variations of stained glass found in the entrances of dwellings. The second movement, “Cathedrals,” seeks to create the mysteriousness and grandeur of the many great cathedrals of the world that are laden with a multitude of stained glass. The final movement, “Sun Catchers,” joyously depicts all the radiant colors.

“Music for Pieces of Wood” was written in 1973 and is designed for five players. It is written for claves, which are percussion instruments with particular pitches. There are two types used in this piece, the so-called standard and the “African” claves. The clave, which comes from Cuba (the word in Spanish means “key”), is made of two pieces of hardwood that the player beats. Audiences may be most familiar with the instrument in its use in the rhumba and other Latin American dances. Claves have been used in orchestral works by Varese, Copland and Berio. The claves in this piece are designed to create a particular pitch differentiation. The composer specifies the physical arrangement of the players. While the notation is precise, the composer asks the players to repeat each bar “approximately” the number of times indicated, perhaps giving the performers a chance to vary not only the character but the duration of each performance.

Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for seniors, members of the military, and FSU faculty and staff; and free for students and children. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.frostburg.edu. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door.

For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.

Music, Performance, Recital