Percussion Ensemble Concert Report

On November 15, 205 at 2pm I was able to see the Rutgers Percussion Ensemble. I was very interested in this show, because I have never been able to see a group of only percussionists perform in the same space. The first piece they did was called Ionisation, which was written in 1929. There were thirteen musicians on stage playing various instruments. This song began with a rolling unpitched sound coming from four snare drums with the claves. This idea was an interesting start, because it caught the audience’s attention to really listen to what was going to happen next. Then the song, went into a lighter more atmospheric section, where there were many crescendos and decrescendos. The instruments in the piece included the chimes, maracas, timpani,

It was Drumming, parts 1 and 2 by Steve Reich. The piece began with bongo drums on stage with four musicians around it. Two musicians started with a basic rhythm. This rhythm was in a twelve count phrase and the original phrase was the motive of the piece. Then other musicians would add in or leave during the middle of the original phrase, which created phasing. When the phasing occurred there were intervals created and sometimes chords. This made it very difficult to see who was playing what. The sound was all pitched and created deep layers in the music. As the musicians were playing it almost started to feel like it was all fake because of the layers and timing. It seemed impossible to have so many rhythms happening at the same time. In the second part there were three marimbas and two female voices. It started with an accumulation of notes over a span of time, then adding in other musicians to create an accumulation. When the vocals came in they did the same thing. One performer sang a few notes in a melodic way then the next singer came in and repeated the phrase. I really respected all of the musicians because they had to be focused on what they were doing and be aware of what was happening around them, which can be very