Commissioned by Bang on a Can, Arts Brookfield, & the River to River Festival.
World Premiere:
2009 Bang On A Can Marathon Concert
May 31, 2009
Winter Garden
New York, NY
Performed by The Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
West Coast Premiere:
2012 LA Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series
Gustavo Dudamel, Musical Director
May 8, 2012
Walt Disney Hall
Los Angeles, CA
Performed by the Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
Marked by rhythmic vitality, “Alloy” is scored for steel pans and a drum set consisting of found scrap metals. Inspired by an industrial ethos, “Alloy” explores unusual timbres and extended techniques to layer grooves on top of one another. The drum kit sounds are based on David Lang’s multi-percussion solo “Anvil Chorus,” while the machine-like steel pan timbres are produced with unique stick combinations: chopsticks, coiled hard-wire brushes, contrabass bows, and dowel rod bundles in addition to the typical rubber-tipped mallets. All of the steel pan players play a variety of scrap metals with a foot pedal, which include satellite dishes, trashcan tops, metal buckets, and unidentifiable metal objects that were found in old, abandoned warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens, NY. The goal with this percussive composition was to create a polyphonic wall of exotic metallic timbres, while maintaining an insistent rhythmic counterpoint associated with Trinidadian calypso music syncopations.
World Premiere:
2009 Bang On A Can Marathon Concert
May 31, 2009
Winter Garden
New York, NY
Performed by The Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
West Coast Premiere:
2012 LA Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series
Gustavo Dudamel, Musical Director
May 8, 2012
Walt Disney Hall
Los Angeles, CA
Performed by the Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
Marked by rhythmic vitality, “Alloy” is scored for steel pans and a drum set consisting of found scrap metals. Inspired by an industrial ethos, “Alloy” explores unusual timbres and extended techniques to layer grooves on top of one another. The drum kit sounds are based on David Lang’s multi-percussion solo “Anvil Chorus,” while the machine-like steel pan timbres are produced with unique stick combinations: chopsticks, coiled hard-wire brushes, contrabass bows, and dowel rod bundles in addition to the typical rubber-tipped mallets. All of the steel pan players play a variety of scrap metals with a foot pedal, which include satellite dishes, trashcan tops, metal buckets, and unidentifiable metal objects that were found in old, abandoned warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens, NY. The goal with this percussive composition was to create a polyphonic wall of exotic metallic timbres, while maintaining an insistent rhythmic counterpoint associated with Trinidadian calypso music syncopations.