Once. Upon. A. Time., by Susan Kander

Once. Upon. A Time., by Susan Kander
Performed by Sandbox Percussion
www.sandboxperc...
Video/Audio: Four/Ten Media
fourtenmedia.net
Composition: Susan Kander
susankander.net/
Publisher: www.subitomusic...
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MALLETS USED:
M5
M25
M27
M140
M141
Terry Gibbs M 33
Terry Gibbs M32
Terry Gibbs M31
Van Sice M113
Van Sice M115
Tom Gauger TG7
Peter Erskine (SPE)
GEN2
GEN7
T5 Wood
TG06
TG07
Chime Hammer [CH]
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ABOUT THE PIECE:
Once. Upon. A Time. for percussion sextet (2017) by Susan Kander
I. Once.II. Upon.
III. A Time.
A large piece for a large space. Six players are arranged in Stations containing multiple instruments spread out around the playing space. The work is very performative in nature, and requires players to move around the space.
I. Once. starts with a single bowed vibraphone note that hangs in the air. Throughout the movement, each player strikes one thing one time before another player must hit something one time. Starting with slow isolated sounds coming from random stations, longer gestures, both pitched and rhythmic, are realized by continuously dividing the beat, and building and changing players within the sextet - always one note/strike per person.
II. Upon reduces to four the number of players, gathers them in the center of the space using a range of shakers/maracas to very quietly and sparely riff on the rhythm of the word “upon.”
III. A Time. is a joyous, driving rhythm romp: two excursions interrupt the unison theme requiring most of the players to take up hand-held instruments and boogey, cakewalk-style, across the playing space to a different station where they take up the driving theme again. The piece that opened with a single vaporous A from the vib ends (on A) with a long, suspenseful accelerando/crescendo to the max and beyond.
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ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
“...a composer of vivid imagination and skill,” (Fanfare) “... Lovely and evanescent...” (San Francisco Chronicle) “...raptly serene...eloquent, impersonal and...wrenchingly powerful.” (Gramophone)Susan Kander’s music has been heard across the United States and in Europe, China, Australia and South Africa. Commissioners include Opera Minnesota, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Columbus Opera, National Symphony Orchestra, Southampton Chamber Music Festival, the Copland Fund/Boosey and Hawkes, the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, Columbia Foundation and a variety of soloists and ensembles. She is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony. Her chamber music has been recorded on the MSR, Navonna and Loose Cans labels. Her publisher is Subito Music Corp. She received her BA in Music from Harvard University in 1979, then side-stepped into 15 years as a playwright before coming home to music. After a twenty-year career, she decided to blow things up, earning an MM in Composition in 2017 at Purchase Conservatory where she studied with Du Yun and Huang Ruo.
More info at www.susankander...
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ABOUT SANDBOX PERCUSSION:
Lauded by The Washington Post as “revitalizing the world of contemporary music” with “jawdropping virtuosity,” Sandbox Percussion has established themselves as a leading proponent in this generation of contemporary percussion chamber music. Brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. Through compelling collaborations with composers and performers, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum and Terry Sweeney seek to engage a wider audience for classical music.
More info at www.sandboxperc...

[@mattiademonti2857]

great quintet!

[@johntrent7662]

nifty.