Notes
Presented remotely on June 4-5, 2021
Five-Corner Square is the first in a series of planned compositional studies designed to explore the melodic and harmonic possibilities of the Mallet Trio of the Partch instrumentarium, consisting of the Bass Marimba, Diamond Marimba, and Boo (Bamboo Marimba). The Mallet Trio is a distinct voice used throughout Harry Partch’s repertoire, and having served 18 years as PARTCH Ensemble’s resident Bass Marimbist, it has brought immense joy to my life as a performing artist to engage these unique compositional moments, and so given the opportunity to create new music for the Ensemble to perform, this instrumentation was a natural fit for my compositional endeavors and a great opportunity to create new music to perform with my bandmates Erin Barnes and Nick Terry. A virtuosic tour de force, the piece is intended to light the fire of inspiration under each player, as its rhythmic complexity and statistical density only become magnified as the trio enjoins itself in its culminating counterpoint.