A Piece for Fifty Drummers

Commissioned by Fusebox

Across cultural lines, percussion appears as the foundation of street music.  Music for parades and processionals needs to cut through the sounds of outdoor life, rhythm provides a cadence for marching, walking, or dancing, and prior to electronic amplification, pretty much nothing was louder than a bunch of drums.  In the Fusebox spirit of cross-media pollination, the five sections of this premiere piece will be inspired by different representations of parades and processionals: a painting brought to sonic life, a film score with the film removed, and more.  A dialogue between a core percussion ensemble of five virtuosic players and a fifty drummer orchestra demonstrating the power of many, drawn from bands, schools, and ensembles across Austin’s musical landscape.

The concert will conclude with a procession down Guadalupe to Ballet Austin!  We hope you join us