Over the years I have commissioned and premiered a number
of pieces. I have also written a few of my own. If you are
interested in any of them, contact me and I will try to
help you get in touch with the composer or publisher. I'll
be revising and reformatting this page over the next few
weeks. - BT July 25, 2007
Compositions by Scott Adams
Dastagh y Homyun for prepared piano and derabucca
This piece is how Scott and I got to know each other.
Scott's interest in Persian music influenced many of his
compositions. He needed a derabucca player for this piece.
It was lucky for me that Scott had very little choice. I
was the only percussionist at Eastman that played the
derabucca. It's a fantastic piece, but you'll have to
convince your piano tech to retune the entire instrument to
a Persian scale. Good luck with that!
Caravan Radio for solo marimba
Scott's original title for this piece was Big Bad Blake.
That was Scott's nickname for me. He soon shortened it to
just "Big Bad". I would often be walking through the halls
at Eastman when I would suddenly hear someone screaming at
the top of their lungs, "HEY, BIG BAD" (it was Scott). In
the end I told Scott that, while flattered, I didn't think
that I would really feel comfortable putting a piece called
Big Bad Blake on my programs, and that other marimbists
probably wouldn't either. We agreed on the new name. The
piece combines elements of Persian music with elements of
hip-hop. Despite its original "working title", it’s a great
piece. Warning! Caravan Radio is only five minutes long,
but it has at least 14 minutes worth of notes in it.
Compositions by David Durant
Bi-valent for oboe and marimba
This was the first real premiere I took part in. David
called me out of the blue and asked if I would be willing
to play his piece. It led to many other collaborations (see
below). He later revised it for flute and marimba.
Plateau for solo marimba
The first solo marimba piece I ever commissioned.
Manipulation for xyloblocks and marimba
A couple of years before I arrived, the University of
Alabama had purchased a set of xyloblocks for a few notes
in a wind ensemble piece. They had since been gathering
dust in a practice room. I felt sorry for them, so I asked
David to write a piece which would allow them to sing
again. He complied. He later reworked it for solo marimba,
but I'll always have a special place in my heart for the
xyloblocks.
Circle Turn for percussion and electronic sounds
This piece uses a large amount of percussion set up in (you
guessed it) a circle. If you want to play this piece,
you'll have to fly David in. The percussion part isn't
traditionally notated (David keeps it in his head). We had
many intense rehearsals leading up to the premiere in which
David taught me the solo part bit by bit.
Introduction and Allegro for flute and marimba
This is the last piece David wrote for me, and the first
piece written for the Imbaté flute and percussion duo
(although it would be quite a few years before we had that
name).
Compositions by Halim El-Dabh
I consider myself incredibly lucky to know Halim. He's an
amazing composer, pianist, and derabucca player. Originally
from Egypt, he first came to the United States in 1950. I
met him in 1994 when he agreed to take me on as a derabucca
student.
Big Tooth Aspen for flute and derabucca
Halim wrote this piece for my final graduate recital at
Kent State University. It is a beautiful piece which, like
most of Halim's music, lies somewhere between the twentieth
century and the time of the Pharaohs. He completed the
piece less than 18 hours before the start of my recital.
That made for a very late night of rehearsing and a very,
very intense premiere performance.
Secrets of the Sky and Earth for solo marimba
Halim was just beginning this work when I left Kent State
for Eastman. Soon after he became quite ill and the piece
vanished. He recovered from the illness and told me that he
thought he had finished the piece before he became sick,
but didn't know where the score was. To make a long story
short, I found it in the basement of his house. It is a
wonderful piece which I still play whenever I get the
chance.
Diversion for derabucca
Halim wrote this piece for one of my doctoral recitals at
Eastman. Like his earlier works for solo derabucca, he
explores all of the sonic possibilities of the instrument.
Intimacy for flute and marimba
Compositions by Thom Hasenpflug
Five Mornings
I met Thom Hasenpflug through my good friend Tom Burritt
and we were PASIC roommates for many years. He is a
creative composer with a unique voice and I am very excited
about this new work. Thom sent the following bit of
information about the piece.
"Five Mornings is a duet for flute and marimba. Each
morning is a musical image of a different time / situation
for each weekday. Take the weekend off, you're going to
need it to recover after learning this piece! The work was
conceived way back in 1997, and I batted a few germ ideas
around (found by the way in Tuesday and Wednesday) for
several years before really beginning to compose seriously
in the summer of 2000. Still, it took a couple of years,
and is now completed as of September, 2002."
Imbaté premiered the piece in the fall of 2003.
Compositions by Steve Makela
I met Steve when we both joined the faculty of the
University of Central Arkansas. We immediately started
working together on not one, but two compositions
simultaneously. Steve is a talented composer and a great
person. He's now teaching at Concordia College.
Celeration for solo marimba
One of the first two pieces Steve wrote for me. While it
was originally intended to be only moderately difficult, we
both got a little out of control. Its tricky, but worth it.
Bucca for solo derabucca and computer
This piece uses real-time manipulation of the derabucca
sounds as well as preprogrammed events. Steve worked hard
on this one and the results were great (and a real crowd
pleaser).
Arrythmia for marimba/percussion and percussion quartet
Premiered at the University of Kansas in the fall of 2002
Compositions by Carol Matthews
Snow Walker for flute and marimba
I met Carol Matthews when I showed up in Idaho a few years
ago. She was very interested in writing for flute and
percussion and my wife and I were very interested in having
a new piece for our duo. Snow Walker was the result. The
inspiration of the piece is the mythology of the Inuit
people and the structure of snow crystals.
Compositions by Blake Tyson
I first started taking composition seriously as an
undergraduate at the University of Alabama. I studied a
little with the composer Fred Goosen and wrote a number of
pieces. For a few years after that I didn't compose
anything. I started composing again after I arrived at
Eastman.
Anubis for solo marimba
While I was teaching at New Mexico State University, one of
my students asked me to write a piece. Eric Rangel wanted a
brief work to perform at the Percussion Arts Society
Marching Individuals competition. One day I was improvising
in the percussion studio using an "Egyptian" scale. Eric
liked the sound of it, so I used that as a starting point.
Anubis for solo marimba and percussion ensemble
A version for four percussionists and marimba. Essentially
the same material with an added introduction and an
expanded middle section.
for Halim solo timpani
A slow somber piece. I began writing a piece for Halim's
75th birthday and a few minutes later heard the news that
Toru Takemitsu had died. After that, it was difficult to
write a celebratory piece. While originally for timpani, I
like to imagine this piece performed on large, resonant
bells. The original title was 'the trees are quiet" (see
below)
the trees are quiet for oboe and vibraphone
When oboist Jeanne Belfy asked me to compose a piece for us
to play together, I thought I would take the opportunity to
rework the original piece I wrote in memory of Toru
Takemitsu. While I was happy with the piece as a timpani
solo, I didn't feel it was the best memory piece. I
retitled the timpani piece for Halim, since that was my
original intention, and took its title for the new work.
the trees are quiet combines echoes of a Takemitsu guitar
piece I was studying during the time he died, Equinox, with
some of my own musical language dating back to my high
school days. In the piece I try to find a musical
expression for the unusual feeling of loss that is felt
when someone you admire, but do not personally know, passes
away.
Fabric of Time for solo oboe, viola, and percussion
This work was inspired by Idaho artist Melody Eisler's
sculpture, Fabric of Time. The piece was written for oboist
Jeanne Belfy and the oboe is the predominant instrument in
the composition. The viola is largely used as a drone
instrument, but does have a brief solo as well as a duet
with the oboe. The percussion consists of bells and
triangles hung within the structure of the sculpture, and a
gong. The sculpture was used for the premiere performance,
but it is not absolutely necessary to perform the piece.
Vertical River for marimba and vibraphone
I wrote this piece on a commission from John Parks. The
piece is a reflection of the great times that John and I
had a few years ago rafting down the Boise River. John and
I premiered it at Florida State University in the Fall of
2003. We have recorded it for John's CD, Dusk: Percussion
Music from the Heartland. It will be released in the fall
of 2004.