McKayla Phillips
percussion
assisted by:
Chris Dial, percussion
Chris Eaton, percussion
Larry Pugh, percussion
James Schultz, percussion
Daniel Williams, percussion
Junior Recital
Saturday, April 18, 2015
1:30 pm
Recital Hall, Music Building
Program
Wart Hog #3 (1996) Austin Wrinkle
(b. 1971)
Larry Pugh, percussion
James Schultz, percussion
Daniel Williams, percussion
Forsythian Spring (1997) Christopher Norton
(b. 1962)
Canaries (1949) Elliot Carter
From Eight Pieces for Four Timpani (one player) (1908-2012)
Electric Counterpoint (1987) Steve Reich
II. Slow (b. 1936)
III. Fast arr. McKayla Phillips
Intermission
Octobot (2009) Andrea Mazzariello
(b. 1978)
Chris Eaton, percussion
Larry Pugh, percussion
Daniel Williams, percussion
Catching Shadows (2013) Ivan Trevino
(b. 1983)
Chris Dial, percussion
Daniel Williams, percussion
Rebonds B (1987) Iannis Xenakis
(1922-2001)
McKayla Phillips is a student of Dr. Eric Willie
________
In partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the
Bachelor of Music in Performance and
Bachelor of Music in Music Education
Program Notes
Wart Hog #3 (1996)
The instrumentation for Wart Hog #3 is open. The piece can be played on anything that can
produce these basic tones: high, low, open, closed. Drums, wood, metal, cookware, and even the
voice are some of the possible instrumentations.
The syllables notated are called boles, which means literally “word.” Boles are onomatopoetic
representations of the sounds produced by drums. “Ta” us a high sound commonly achieved
by striking the edge of a drum. “Din” is a bass sound. “Kat” is a closed sound.
Wart Hog #3 was selected to be recorded at Village Recording Studio in Santa Monica, CA
and included on the California Institute of the Arts' promotional CD "CalArts; Essencia
Performance and Composition 1997.” (Wrinkle)
Forsythian Spring (1997)
Forsythian Spring was inspired by the vibrant color of the yellow-leafed shrubs visible
outside the composer's studio during the creation of this piece in March 1997. It reflects the
buoyant character of Norton's elder daughter, Emily, to whom the piece is dedicated. The piece
presents and develops two themes in its opening section, is followed by a substantial chorale
based on these themes, and then concludes with a significantly shortened reprise. (Norton)
Canaries (1949) From Eight Pieces for Four Timpani (one player)
Canaries, dedicated to Raymond DesRoches, is from Elliot Carter’s Eight Pieces for Four
Timpani (one player). Carter wrote the pieces as a study in metric modulation. They are
a collection rather than a suite, as Carter suggested, “no more than four are to ever be
played as a suite in public.” The pieces make heavy use of extended techniques, such
as varying playing areas on the drum, glissandi, playing with the backs of mallets,
and sympathetic resonance. Carter writes the following concerning Canaries: (Phillips)
VII. Canaries (1949/1966) – Raymond DesRoches – A dance of the XVI and XVII centuries,
ancestor of the gigue, supposedly imported from the “wild men” of the Canary Islands; in 6/8
time with dotted rhythms-here fragmented and developed. (Carter)
Electric Counterpoint (1987)
Electric Counterpoint was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave
Festival for guitarist Pat Metheny. It was composed during the summer of 1987. It is the third
in a series of pieces (first Vermont Counterpoint in 1982 for flutist Ransom Wilson followed
by New York Counterpoint in 1985 for clarinetist Richard Stolzman) all dealing with a soloist
playing against a pre-recorded tape of themselves. In Electric Counterpoint the soloist pre-records
as many as 10 guitars and 2 electric bass parts and then plays the final 11th guitar
part live against the tape.
The second movement cuts the tempo in half, changes key and introduces a new theme, which
is then slowly built up in nine guitars in canon. Once again two other guitars and bass supply
harmony while the soloist brings out melodic patterns that result from the overall
contrapuntal web.
The third movement returns to the original tempo and key and introduces a new pattern in
triple meter. After building up a four guitar canon two bass guitars enter suddenly to further
stress the triple meter. The soloist then introduces a new series of strummed chords that are
then built up in three guitar canon. When these are complete the soloist returns to melodic
patterns that result from the overall counterpoint when suddenly the basses begin to change
both key and meter back and forth between E minor and C minor and between 3/2 and 12/8 so
that one hears first 3 groups of 4 eighth notes and then 4 groups of 3 eighth notes. These
rhythmic and tonal changes speed up more and more rapidly until at the end the basses slowly
fade out and the ambiguities are finally resolved in 12/8 and E minor. (Reich)
Octobot (2009)
Octobot assembles four stripped-down drum kits, the players passing rhythmic figures
around them to create composite grooves that recede as new ones, based on metric
modulations, emerge. The piece moves through tightly-wound, familiar beats as well as more
chaotic sections where two of them overlap. Each kit should be as distinct from the others as
possible, maximizing the hocketing effects in particular and the sonic palette in general.
(Mazzariello)
Catching Shadows (2013)
Catching Shadows was originally conceived as a marimba duo, and was commissioned by
Michael Burritt.
Michael Burritt and I have become good friends and collaborators over the years, and on a
recent road trip to a gig he said, “I’m in charge of the tunes!” Honestly, I didn’t know what to
expect! He plugged in his iPod, and the first thing to play: Radiohead, then Dave Matthews,
then Earth Wind and Fire. That’s when I discovered something cool about Mike: he’s as much
rock musician as classical musician. It just so happens he plays marimba. Sometimes I feel the
same way. With Catching Shadows I thought about our road trip and decided to write a rock
tune inspired by Mike’s playlist. (Trevino)
Rebonds B (1987)
Rebonds is in two parts, a and b. The order of play is not fixed: either ab or ba, without a break.
The metronomic indications are approximate. Part a only uses skins: two bongos, three tom-toms,
two bass drums. Part b uses two bongos, one tumba, one tom-tom, bass drums, and a set
of five wood blocks. The tuning of the skins and the wood blocks should extend over a very
wide range. (Xenakis)
Rebonds has become one of the classic contemporary works for solo percussionist. In
Conversations with Iannis Xenakis, Xenakis states that he intends all of his pieces “to be
played as written, at the written tempos, with all the written notes”. This encourages
performers to try any and all approaches to the score in an effort to realize what is
notated, despite the fact that some sections of this music lie on the edge of technical
possibility. One of the delights in working on this piece lies in attempting to be true to
the score through experimentation with instrument, stick and mallet choice, setup
configuration and score interpretation, knowing that each person who performs
Rebonds will approach these things differently. (Louise Devenish)
