Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Kenken Gorder's Listening Presentation

Yesterday one of the students in our Brass Literature class had a listening presentation featuring a variety of pieces composed for ensembles ranging from brass ensemble to tuba and euphonium quartet. Here are some of the pieces I enjoyed most from the presentation...


Written for brass ensemble and percussion. This piece has a heroic sound with some beautiful melodic writing.

This is a quote from the composer detailing more about his intentions...
"The Messiah College Brass Choir commissioned me to compose a work for the grand opening of The Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and the Performing Arts.  The music is meant to be vibrant and energetic as it mimics a distant Pulsar emitting bursts of light and energy. The star can illuminate the most wondrous display of beauty and color showing off its magnificent power and nobility."

Poopy Pants Blues by Adam Rapa

A very unique piece, Rapa claims to have written this in a couple hours after being inspired by his two year old niece. In the original recording he used a multitrack set up to record the various parts and employs a variety of extended techniques to depict the conversation between him and his niece. The video below shows a live performance with Adam Rapa and Frank Sullivan.



This is technical powerhouse of piece written for brass band. This composition seems to have everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. It employs a number of themes stemming from various sources such as Russian folk songs and Tchaikovsky.



No comments:

Post a Comment