Hello, percussion friends. I hope life is great for you. Halloween was fun here in Austin. My parents dressed up like the Flintstones:
Who is going to PASIC this year? I will be there. I hope you will be there too! If you go, check out some of these things:
2300 DEGREES. I composed a new marimba duo. It’s called 2300 Degrees. It’s the most challenging marimba duo I’ve ever written, and was commissioned by Annie Stevens and Andrea Venet of Escape Ten percussion duo. It’s seriously hard. You have to do stuff like this while playing the right notes and rhythms.
Escape Ten will perform the piece at PASIC as part of their showcase concert on Thursday, November 10th at 2pm. Annie and Andrea are really talented musicians and sweet souls. I think you will enjoy their show. Here’s a video preview via the inter webs:
Sheet music for 2300 Degrees will be available at PASIC at the Steve Weiss and Lone Star Percussion booths. If you can’t make PASIC but still want to pick up the music, you can purchase a PDF here. I will personally email the piece to you on or before Wednesday, November 9th, before my flight to PASIC 🙂
Music will also be available for some of my previously unreleased pieces, like:
SPUR for solo snare drum + audio track.
I wrote Spur with Jacques Delécluse in mind. His snare drum etudes are some of my favorite pieces ever written. They are so thoughtful and nuanced. I wanted to compose a piece through a similar lens. The piece was commissioned by a consortium led by Korry Friend, who plays the piece beautifully:
Pick up a copy of Spur at PASIC, or purchase a PDF here.
THIS IS LIKE JAZZ! is a duo for contrabass flute and marimba (with spoken word by the marimba player). I composed the piece for Terry Longshore and Tessa Brinckman of Caballito Negro. The piece is storytelling set to music, detailing my experience working with young musicians in Turkmenistan, who improvised music for the first time in their lives. The end of the piece details my favorite memory from the trip. After a masterclass on improv, a teenage cellist raised his hand, and in broken english, said one word: “Improvisation”… They wanted to try it again:
Judging PASIC Chamber Percussion Ensemble Competition. I am a judge this year. I am very intimidating. No mess ups… I’m just kidding! Have fun up there. But, try for no mess ups.
And now, for some non-PASIC stuff…
STRIVE TO BE HAPPY T-SHIRT?!
I’m thinking about releasing a t-shirt.
Weird, or not weird? Some of the proceeds would go to a local music program supporting underserved youth in Austin. Not weird then, right? Plus, it’s designed by my good friend and artist, Mike Turzanski. Weird again! (in a completely good way). If you are interested in a t-shirt, send me a message so I can put you on “the list”.
THE MICHAEL BURRITT STAGE HUG
This happened!
IN CONCLUSION. Let me know if you have programmed some of my music this semester. It’s nice to keep track of these things, and honestly, nice to hear from you. See you at PASIC!
With Love,
Ivan