RCM percussion showcase

PERCUSSION SHOWCASE Sunday 3 July 2016, 3.00pm Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

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PERCUSSION SHOWCASE Sunday 3 July 2016, 3.00pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Thieving Magpie Overture (8’)

Gioachino Rossini

Loops II (9’)

Philippe Hurel

Sonus Ombra (8’) (world premiere)

Amy Bryce and PERC’M

Aphasia (10’)

Mark Applebaum

Black Page, The Black Page no 2 (4’)

Frank Zappa

INTERVAL Redhocks Drumline Hardware Razzle Dazzle Experiments Ritmixx Crazy Army

Peter Vulperhorst Peter Vulperhorst Sjoerd Westra Peter Vulperhorst Ed Lemley

Head Talk (8’) Sir Duke (4’)

Mark Ford Stevie Wonder (arr William Riby)

Luminosity (4’) Got To Get You Into My Life (7’)

Tomacz Golinski Lennon/McCartney (transcribed Max Mills)

A well Matched Fight (4’)

This event will be streamed live at www.rcm.ac.uk/live

Li Min Xiong

Thieving Magpie Overture

Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)

Percussion Faculty

The Thieving Magpie is a comedic opera by Rossini, written in 1817. It focuses on the Vingradito family and their servant Ninetta, who is accused of stealing a silver spoon. The name is derived from the fact the actual culprit is a magpie.

According to legend, Rossini was locked in a room by his producer whilst he wrote the overture and threw the parts out of the window to his copyist who then created the orchestral parts.

Loops II

Philippe Hurel (b 1955)

Alun McNeil Watson vibraphone Commissioned by the Clermont-Ferrand International Vibraphone Competition, Loops II is a work for solo vibraphone. “In this Loops, I have added an extra level to the principle of looping. The piece is constructed so that the process of cell transformation always brings you back to the motif announced at the outset.

Although the music may seem to be undergoing perpetual transformation because of the morphing process, the listener will nevertheless feel it is going round in circles, since each long procedure brings you back to the starting point, like the little local loops that you can hear throughout the piece. Loops II is a very playful piece full of rhythmic energy, and I wrote it in a spirit of great pleasure and jubilation.” - Philippe Hurel

Sonus Ombra (world premiere)

Amy Bryce (b 1994)

Kizzy Brooks, Stefan Beckett, Will Riby and Gina Hyun-Gi Lee PERC’M

Sonus Ombra means, and is primarily based upon, sounds and shadows. I’ve worked closely with live visuals artist, Emily Bailey on this project to produce a multi-media work that explores the behavior of light and travel through both a visual and aural medium. The music deals with gestures of varying sizes that are stated and then dissolve at different rates. Faster moving rhythmic objects give way to longer gestures that decay over time. Structured in three contrasting sections, Sonus Ombra runs its course in the same way that shadows evolve during different parts of the day. An initial break of dawn with long spanning rhythmic units gives way to a second section of condensed, closely compacted cells. The final journey towards dusk sees a deceleration and slow warping of material and indeed, acoustic sounds that have grown familiar throughout the course of the music that are now distorted through live electronic treatment. The performers trigger these via a drum pad on stage. The final bars die like long shadows that stretch as light disappears and eventually fade to darkness. Emily's video is comprised of footage of the performers which with added effects, serves as an accompanying visual interpretation of the gestures explored in the music. © Amy Bryce

Aphasia

Mark Applebaum (b 1967)

Angela Wai-Nok This is a piece expressly written for a "singer" to perform without making a single sound. Aphasia consists of hundreds of transformed vocal samples and set to a score of hand motions coordinated to each sound. Applebaum choreographed "a kind of invented nonsense sign language" to accompany the now otherworldly sound sequence. Based on everyday activities, the gestures were recorded as a written musical score.

Black Page, The Black Page no 2

Frank Zappa (1940–1993)

Kizzy + band Inspired by the notorious Black Page Drum solo, Zappa decided to write a melodic tune for his touring band, The Black Page no 2, which became known as The Easy Teenage New York version. This edition features a more relaxed rhythm section, however still presents the complex rhythmic challenges for both the melodic musicians and drummer.

Hardware

Peter Vulperhorst

Razzle Dazzle

Peter Vulperhorst

Experiments

Sjoerd Westra (1940 -2012)

Ritmixx

Peter Vulperhorst

Crazy Army

Ed Lemley

Redhocks This set of pieces featuring the RCM Redhocks is an eclectic mix of various styles of marching band music throughout the years, from traditional American style to world music-infused contemporary pieces. Having being coached for the last year

by Peter Vulperhorst, an expert in all styles of marching band drumming, this performce will involve exciting stick tricks and marching choreography.

Head Talk

Mark Ford (b 1958)

Jess Woods, Alex Taylor, Sam Howes, Max Mills and Nick Cowling Percussion Quintet Mark Ford's Head Talk provides the percussion quintet with a dose of sophisticated comic relief. The equipment necessary is somewhat unusual: six pretuned heads. The five performers must have a rounded sense of humor and must theatrically play off each other, and the audience.

Sir Duke (4’)

Stevie Wonder (arr William Riby) (b 1950)

Cameron Lee percussion Toby Morgan guitar

Sir Duke is a song from Stevie Wonder’s most famous album Songs in the Key of Life released in 1976. The track topped the US Billboard hot 100 and reached number two in the UK singles chart.

Stevie wrote the song in tribute to Duke Ellington who inspired him as a jazz pianist. The song acknowledges many other influential musicians such as Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and Sir Duke.

Luminosity

Tomasz Golinski

Gina Hyun-Gi Lee marimba

Luminosity by Tomasz Golinski won first prize in the Universal Marimba Composition Competition 2010 in Belgium and it was selected as a set-piece for the Universal Marimba Competition in 2013.

The second movement contains many virtuosic, fast and furious sections which can challenge the marimba performer. It shows new technical ideas such as extremely fast repeated single and double notes, creating the background for the melodic material which is gradually building up in combination with rhythmical irregularities.

Got To Get You Into My Life

John Lennon/Paul McCartney (trans Max Mills) (1940-1980/b 1942)

Max Mills band

Got to Get You Into My Life was originally a song by The Beatles written in 1966 and featured on their popular album Revolver. In 1978, the legendary R&B/Funk/ Disco band Earth, Wind and Fire covered the song. The performance in this concert will be of that version, with full horn section for that magical, toe-tapping EWF experience.”

A well Matched Fight (4’)

Li Min Xiong

Percussion Faculty

A Well Matched Fight was composed by Li Min Xiong from Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1980 for the Chinese Orchestra’s woodwind and percussion ensemble. The music was written to showcase the virtuosic and musical capacity for Chinese percussion performance. It depicts a well matched fight between the Green Dragon and White Tiger, which also symbolise the vigor, energy and spirit of the Chinese people.

All programme notes are written by RCM percussion students.

RCM FESTIVAL OF PERCUSSION Sunday10 July 2016 | Royal College of Music Trade Fair open from 10.30am | Events begin at 11am The RCM Festival of Percussion returns with performances and talks from some of today’s leading jazz, rock and orchestral drummers and percussionists.

This year are delighted to welcome special guest Dave Weckl, one of Modern Drummer’s 25 best drummers of all time.

There will also be free ‘how to’ lessons with RCM professors and the RCM Trade Fair – featuring some of the UK’s leading instrument manufacturers. For our grand finale, the RCM Big Band returns by popular demand and promises a spectacular evening of toe-tapping tunes.

BOOKING INFORMATION All-festival tickets: £14 (£7 concessions*) Includes access to all Festival of Percussion events, including the evening concert Day tickets: £10 (£5 concessions*) Includes access to all Festival of Percussion daytime events Evening concert only: £8 (£4 concessions*) Includes access to the RCM Big Band evening concert only RCM Sparks Cajon Workshops: £14/£10 adults (£7/£5 children) Workshops must be booked in advance by phone or in person. Ticket includes access to all Percussion Festival events. * Under 18s, full-time students, people over 60 and people who are registered disabled are eligible for our Festival of Percussion concessionary ticket rate. Concessions are only purchasable via the RCM Box Office by phone on 020 7591 4314 or in person (opening hours Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm).

RCM Box Office 020 7591 4314 | www.rcm.ac.uk/events