Current Reviews
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April 1, 2024Mutiny! – John HerndonUnabashedly embracing pirate-related musical tropes in the name of creating an entertaining work in the spirit of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Treasure Island that inspired the piece, “Mutiny!” is a roughly three-minute work that will have audiences humming the tune.
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April 1, 2024purple music – Nancy ZeltsmanNancy Zeltsman’s first (mostly) solo album in almost two decades is both reflective and forward-thinking.
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April 1, 2024Percussion + – Volodymyr Veretelnyk, Svyatoslav Denysiuk, and Panos ThoidisPercussion + is an anthology of new compositions from living composers from all around the world performed and recorded by three separate groups of musicians, each contributing several tracks to the compilation.
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April 1, 2024Jet Black – Satoko Fujii Tokyo TrioThis is the second album from the Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio, featuring pianist/leader Satoko Fujii, bassist Takashi Sugawa, and drummer Ittetsu Takemura.
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April 1, 2024Hibiki – Trio SanPianist Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito have previously performed and recorded as Futari.
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April 1, 2024Between Time and After – Michael JonesPercussionist Michael Jones has created a wonderfully professional collection of new music recordings for solo vibraphone.
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April 1, 2024Wood & Water – Anthony Di SanzaThis frame drum duet can also be performed as a solo with audio playback.
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April 1, 2024Mozambique – Donald SkoogThe trio was featured on Donald Skoog’s 2005 album Water and Fire: The Music of Don Skoog.
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April 1, 2024Minute Miniatures – Mark G. McCafferty“Minute Miniatures” fits into spaces that are sometimes left by want of other literature for auditions and for private lessons teaching.
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April 1, 2024A Tribute to Charley – Sperie KarasSperie Karas studied with Charley Wilcoxen as a high school student. As the title of the collection implies, this is a tribute to Wilcoxen.
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April 1, 2024La Vida de la Noche – Brian SlawsonPercussion ensemble works with flexible instrumentation and personnel requirements have become increasingly popular, and with good reason.
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April 1, 2024Truncated – Calvin Warren III“Truncated” is a percussion trio that is short, fast, and straight to the point, as the title implies.
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April 1, 2024Tangito – Brian SlawsonWritten to introduce beginning percussionists to tango music, Brian Slawson has composed an exciting piece!
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April 1, 2024The Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa – Arr. Tyler TollesTyler Tolles’ arrangement of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is sure to be a hit with patriotic fans.
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April 1, 2024Six Miniatures for Percussion Ensemble – Tom Nazziola“Six Miniatures for Percussion Ensemble” is a charming collection of short pieces for intermediate players. Each miniature uses different instrumentation from the standard orchestra or concert band percussion section, making them accessible to a wide variety of school programs and ensembles.
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April 1, 2024Pavane pour une Infante Défunte – Maurice Ravel – Arr. Andrew BockmanThis is a beautiful adaptation from both the original piano and orchestral versions of the piece.
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April 1, 2024My Marimba Works: An Approach to Interpretation and Expression – Keiko AbeThis book is a must-read for any marimba player, enthusiast, or historian.
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April 1, 2024Man of Steel: What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World? – Hans Zimmer – Arr. Brian PerezWhat a great choice for a percussion ensemble arrangement! Published in 2023, it is an arrangement from the 2013 movie Man of Steel.
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April 1, 2024The Kid – Scott FairdosiThe idea behind Scott Fairdosi’s “The Kid” is a novel one: a newly composed percussion-only soundtrack to Charlie Chaplin’s short silent film of the same name, but one that is disconnected from the ragtime tradition, which we now commonly associate with those sorts of projects.
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April 1, 2024Fanfare Triumvirate – Jeff AusdemoreThis four-minute showpiece for a large percussion ensemble is sure to leave a lasting impression on the performers and audience.
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April 1, 2024Again – John HerndonI always find John Herndon’s compositions to be musically engaging and educationally valuable, and “Again” is no exception.
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April 1, 2024Affinity – Francisco Perez“Affinity” is a composition for percussion orchestra written for Justin Schramm and the Prior Lake High School Percussion Ensemble.
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April 1, 2024You’ve Got a Friend in Me – Randy Newman – Arr. Alex StopaAlex Stopa’s arrangement of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story is a charming and challenging take on the popular Randy Newman tune.
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April 1, 2024toKata – Bart VanderbekeBelgian percussionist Bart Vanderbeke has written one new marimba work that can be performed three different ways.
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April 1, 2024Taking Flight – Kyle H. PetersKyle Peters has released numerous works for solo marimba over the last few years.
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April 1, 2024Song for Kendall – Todd Ukena“Song for Kendall” is a playful vibraphone solo for four mallets. Originally published in 2017, this work is around four minutes long.
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April 1, 2024Reflexions – Theodore WiprudWritten in 2009 but recently published by Keyboard Percussion Publications, this 12-movement marimba solo was commissioned by the late James Priess, who had a long and successful teaching and performing career, including being one of the core percussionists who premiered “Drumming” by Steve Reich.
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April 1, 2024Folk Suite – George TantchevThis is a collection of six, four-mallet etudes for solo marimba.
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April 1, 2024Five Miniatures for Marimba – Kyle H. PetersThis new work from Kyle H. Peters was written with the beginning four-mallet player in mind.
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April 1, 2024Détourner le Regard – Thomas Marceau“Détourner le Regard” translates as “to shift one’s gaze.”
