Instrument Discussions: Marimba Eroica

PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Marimba Eroica with T.J. Troy, highlighting two distinct versions of the instrument designed by American Maverick composer Harry Partch, followed by an in-depth discussion of the construction, tuning, and performance issues surrounding PARTCH Ensemble’s own instrument, based off of Partch’s second design.

Public domain footage courtesy of The Internet Archive

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Instrument Discussions: Spoils of War

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PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Spoils of War with T.J. Troy, detailing the evolution and application of the most complex and seemingly disparate instruments invented by American Maverick composer Harry Partch.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.SHOW LESS

Making Music: T.J. Troy

T.J. Troy discusses his composition “Five-Corner Square” for the Partch Mallet Trio, including Bass Marimba, Boo, and Diamond Marimba. Together with Artistic Director John Schneider, T.J. discusses the idiosyncratic behaviors and melodic tendencies that informed his part writing for each individual instrument, as well as the broader rhythmic and harmonic schemes employed across the entire work.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Making Music: Alex Wand

Alex Wand discusses his composition “Darkness within darkness” for Partch’s Adapted Guitar I, Gourd Tree, Cello, and two Vocalists. Together with Artistic Director John Schneider, they discuss the inspiration behind the work, the sourcing of libretto from Lao Tsu’s “Tao Te Ching,” and the unique manner Alex combines elements of contemporary music, folk music, and Partch’s exquisite intonation to create an ethereal, otherworldly venture into what Alex calls “the darkness that is the eternal Tao.”

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Making Music: John Schneider

John Schneider discusses his composition “Listening to Lu Tzu” for Partch’s Adapted Guitar II. Together with Ensemble President T.J. Troy, John discusses the history and inspiration behind the work, the enhanced techniques applied to create this ethereal mood, and general notions about composing for Harry Partch’s Adapted Guitar II.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Instrument Discussions: Cloud Chamber Bowls

PARTCH Ensemble Artistic Director John Schneider discusses the Cloud Chamber Bowls with T.J. Troy, resident Bass Marimbist, detailing the history, construction, and musical capability of the Bowls, one of the instruments invented by American Maverick composer Harry Partch.

This video is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

PARTCH Ensemble PREMIERES – Encore Access

We are very pleased to now offer this concert online through a special Encore Access portal: for a nominal fee of just $10, patrons can view the entire concert with unlimited access from the comfort of their own home, at any time of day or night. 

Click the button below and purchase access to this very special event, and enjoy unlimited views of the groundbreaking PARTCH Ensemble PREMIERES.

Patrons who purchased tickets for the original REDCAT event can redeem their ticket for free Encore Access! Simply email our site administrator at [email protected] and you will receive a free Encore Access code via email.

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Dark Brother

Music by Harry Partch (1901-1974)
Final two paragraph’s of Thomas Wolfe’s “God’s Lonely Man.”

Performers:
Alison Bjorkedal – Kithara I
Vicki Ray – Chromolodeon
Derek Stein – Adapted Viola
T.J. Troy – Bass Marimba and Voice
Video captured and edited by Video Angel Productions
Audio recorded by Chris Votek

Presented by Jacaranda Music Series, First Presbyterian Church, Santa Monica, CA, November 9, 2019.

World Premiere of “Future Lilacs” (2016) by Ken Ueno

Color Theory Concert: PRISM Quartet and Partch

Ken Ueno: My work, “Future Lilacs,” metaphorically connects to color theory in blending different temperaments. It is the scientific reduction of sounds to a common denominator (thinking in terms of frequencies rather than scales) that helps me with this approach, which I consider a Newtonian way of rationalizing the ineffable.

June 12, 2016

Co-Presented by PRISM Quartet and Roulette