Concerto Fantasy for Percussion and Orchestra
(1992)

Commissioned by:
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Instrumentation:
    solo percussion plays timpani, vibes and drum set, with 2222/4331/2perc/strings
    available in reduced brass instrumentation of 2210

Duration:
    through-composed, four sections, ca. 26:00

Comments and Reviews

... cause of great excitement... a percussionist's fantasy... a spectacular showcase for the timpani, vibraphone, and 9-piece "trap set"... the sound is big, brassy, and exciting... a sensuous, eerie vibraphone solo, joined by the orchestra for an intimate jazz club sound, full of tender schmaltz... a spectacular end... the premier performance was an exciting, rewarding experience...

Jim Lowe
Burlington Free Press

... [its four performances] met with overwhelmingly pleasing response from both musicians and audiences...

Joseph Giunta, Music Director
Des Moines Symphony Orchestra
Guest Conductor with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Program Notes

Performing musicians spend untold hours practicing their instruments, perfecting aspects of tone, articulation, dynamics, nuance -- all the subtleties which, when fused together, create the uniqueness of a player's sound. The percussionist practices no differently than any other musician, except there is one added dimension: the percussionist is capable of playing on more than one instrument at a time. It is therefore imperative that a percussionist practice polyrhythms -- i.e., the execution of one rhythm in one hand (or foot, as the case may be) while executing a different rhythm in the other, both rhythms distributed equally over the same amount of time. For example: playing three equal beats in one hand while playing two in the other (3:2); or playing four beats against three (4:3). For the percussionist, composite polyrhythmic formulae become ingrained in the subconscious through long, hard hours of concentrated, tedious practice, usually carried out in the isolation of a soundproofed practice room, a garage, or, depending on the tolerance of family and friends, somewhere in the next county.

Most simply put, a concerto is an orchestral composition that features a solo instrument; and a fantasy is whatever we might want it to be. Concerto Fantasy for Percussion and Orchestra features a lone timpanist honing down the subtleties and vulgarities of technique by practicing 7:4 -- seven equal beats played in the same time as four equal beats. The increasingly frenzied exploration of 7:4 reaches its saturation point, and the percussionist transcends into the ultimate fantasy: a practice session that quite suddenly transforms into a concerto for percussionist and orchestra in which the soloist gets out from behind the four timpani and plays other percussion instruments as well. And, as in all concerti, there are ample opportunities for the soloist to show off. This particular concerto features seven solo cadenzas.

Concerto Fantasy for Percussion and Orchestra unfolds as one continuous movement divided roughly into four sections. The second section is offered in memoriam Nelson Riddle, the great jazz arranger whose sensitively orchestrated arrangements backed up many of the great vocalists from the 40s through the 80s.

Concerto Fantasy for Percussion and Orchestra was composed for and is gratefully dedicated to percussionist and timpanist Bill Hanley, who once had the fantasy:

. . . .What if an orchestra sat behind ME for a change? And what if I got to play vibes and drums in addition to timpani? And what if the orchestra had to practice and play 7:4 the way I have to? And what if I got to play some jazz? And howzabout some be-bop? And cadenzas. . . . LOTS of cadenzas. . . .

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