Twisting Magnetic Spins (Percussion Ensemble)

Percussion Ensemble (2005) 7’
7 Players (see full instrumentation below)

Commissioned and premiered by the University of North Texas Percussion Ensemble, Mark Ford, Director.

Listen to an excerpt from the premiere at UNT:
twistingmagnetic.mp3

Score and parts available for hard-copy purchase from Steve Weiss Music, or purchase a PDF of the score and parts via PayPal for $25:

Program Note:

Twisting Magnetic Spins was commissioned by the University of North Texas for Mark Ford, the director of percussion studies there. Ever since I wrote The Persistence of Past Chemistries for Ethos Percussion Group several years before, where I restricted the sonic palette to instruments primarily made from wood or organic materials, I wanted to write another piece with the same restriction, but this time with metals. The main solos are taken by the vibraphone and the timpani, but perhaps the bigger challenge for the ensemble is the necessity for the accompanying metallophones to play very softly part of the time. After the premiere, this piece was featured by ASU’s percussion ensemble (J.B. Smith, director) at the 2006 PASIC conference in Austin, Texas as part of the New Ensemble Literature session.

Instrument list:
Tibetan Bowls (4) – or reasonable substitute, such as mounted hand-bells with medium yarn mallets
Vibraphone
Timpani (4)
Metal Trash Can
Thunder Sheet
Suspended Cymbal
Hi-Hat
Tam-tam
Brake Drums (3)
Nipple Gongs (2)
Wind Gong
Agogo Bells (2)
Triangle