Program Notes
ASO Percussionists in Recital
Musicians
Phil Hanson, Matthew Kocmieroski, Gunnar Folsom, percussion
Program
Gentle Latitudes for marimba - Composed by Jeff Morris
Tarantelle, for solo timpani - Composed by Fred Hinger
“With A Mazy Motion” from Trilogy: Three Movements for Solo Vibraphone - Composed by Tim Huesgen
Conversation, for marimba - Composed by Akira Miyoshi
Tender Talk
So Nice it was Repeatedly
A Lingering Chagrin
Again the Hazy Answer
A Lame Excuse to End It
The Love of L’Histoire - Composed by Charles DeLancey for multi-percussion
Program Notes
Tarantelle is from a collection of eight timpani studies written by Fred D. Hinger in 1967. Historically a Tarantella is a traditional lively Italian dance. Over time it has been formalized in classical literature as a movement of a larger work or a stand alone piece. This piece is written for four drums. The lowest (largest) and the highest (smallest) pitches are stationary octave (f) naturals. These notes are placed on drums that have chain tuning mechanisms. These drums have sprockets connected by a bicycle chain around the whole circumference of the drum which facilitate the tuning of the drums by two tuning handles. The real action of the work is with the "pedals" located on the two middle sized drums that are operated by the feet and legs. These big muscles must function "like the left hand of a violinist" to change the pitches of the drums in a quick and clean manner without preparation as the result of closely listening to the changing pitches, developing a feel for how far to move the pedals and agility in the lower body while playing the drum heads with your hands and arms as normal.
Gentle Latitudes, parts I, II, and III was written for marimba solo in 1982 by Seattle composer Jeff Morris and was premiered by Matthew Kocmieroski, who has since performed it numerous times. He also premiered the 1985 quartet version of the piece in 1997 with Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet. This version was performed on an Auburn Symphony Chamber Series concert in 2010. All three movements are written in pentatonic mode, a 5 note scale conforming to the black keys of the piano.
Conversation, a five-movement suite for marimba solo was written in 1962 by Japanese composer Akira Miyoshi and was a groundbreaking early work for the instrument. A large body of compositions for the marimba followed by numerous Japanese composers inspiring a school of playing based in Japan and also the refinement and improvement of available instruments in both quality and range. This has now traveled far and wide and the instrument is taking its deserved place in the modern and new music circles of the classical music tradition.
Musician Bio’s
Phil Hanson is the founding timpanist of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and has been with them for 31 years. He is the founding timpanist with Auburn Symphony under Stewart Kershaw. In a long career he has performed with the Seattle Symphony and Opera, and the Tacoma Symphony, Opera and Ballet. He has also performed for more than a decade with the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra in southern Oregon. In addition, he has a long list of freelance work to his credit.
Matthew Kocmieroski is currently Principal percussionist of the Auburn Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and has also performed with the Seattle Opera, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as diverse popular acts such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, David Byrne, Perry Como and “Mr” Fred Rogers.
In chamber music, he served as artistic director and percussionist of the New Performance Group, was a longtime member of the Composers and Improvisers Orchestra and is a founding member of Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet. He often appeared with the Seattle Chamber Players, and at festivals including the Seattle Chamber Music Society Festival, the Washington Square Music Festival, and Internationally at the Bergen, Moscow Autumn, and Warsaw Autumn festivals and has a long association with Cornish College of the Arts, and the Seattle Youth Symphony.
One of his greatest satisfactions is his work with numerous composers including John Luther Adams, John Cage, George Crumb, Lou Harrison, Alan Hovhaness, and Toru Takemitsu. He may be heard on many recordings of solo, chamber, and orchestral music as well as Major and Independent motion picture, television, and video game soundtracks.
Gunnar Folsom is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most in-demand percussionists, whose performing engagements include symphonic percussion, musical theater, recording sessions for film and television, chamber music and jazz. He is a member of Auburn Symphony and Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and performs frequently with the Seattle and Vancouver Symphonies. He has performed in concert with Patti Austin, David Benoit, Sheena Easton, Marvin Hamlisch, James Ingrahm, Al Jarreau, Melissa Manchester, Queensrÿche, Doc Severinsen, the Smothers Brothers, and Allen Toussaint. An avid chamber musician, Gunnar has performed with The Tallis Scholars, Pokrovsky Ensemble, and the Chamber Music Society at Merkin Hall, NY. He is a founding member of Pacific Rims, a percussion quartet based in Seattle. Gunnar is on the faculty of the Marrowstone Music Festival and formerly taught at the New England Music Camp in Sydney, Maine. He lives in Bellingham, WA.