Ritmica No. 5 (1930)
Amadeo Roldán

It is fitting that this work begins our program. Composed in 1930, Ritmica No. 5 is considered to be the first extant work for percussion ensemble. Cuban composer Amadeo Roldan wrote a collection of six ritmicas that explore a multitude of Afro-Cuban-influenced settings. With the first four ritmicas composed for wind instruments and piano, it is number 5 and 6 that are exclusively written for percussion. Of these two, Ritmica No. 5 is the most frequently performed. It is composed in a symmetrical two-part form with the first half in the rhythms of a son (Cuban style of music and dance that combines Spanish and African influences), and the second half taken in a livelier montuno pattern – a musical term that refers to the syncopated piano pattern heard in Cuban music.

Coyote Builds North America (1990)
Mvt. V - “Always Coming Home”
John Luther Adams

This muscular and stark percussion quartet, full of polyrhythmic drumming and the subtle interplay of rotating rhythmic cycles, is drawn from the music-theater work Coyote Builds North America, a collaboration with writer Barry Lopez based on traditional Native American stories. The poem is taken from Coyote’s Bones and Indian Tales, by Jaime de Anguto.

Coyote, ululating on the hill,
Is it my fire that distresses you so?
Or the memories of long ago
when you were a man roaming the hills

Águas da Amazônia (1999)
Mvt. 2. Madeira River (arr. Peter Martin)
Mvt. 3. Xingu River (arr. Robert Dillon)
Philip Glass, arr. Third Coast Percussion

Águas da Amazônia, Sete ou oito peças para um balé (Portuguese for 'Waters of the Amazon, seven or eight pieces for a ballet') is a 1993–99 musical composition by the American contemporary classical composer Philip Glass. Its first recording was performed by the Brazilian instrumental group Uakti. Originally composed as a dance score for a ballet company of Belo Horizonte (Grupo Corpo), following the introduction between Uakti and Philip Glass by Paul Simon, it draws inspiration from the Amazon waters with tones of classical, new age, and jazz. Madeira River is initially a slower, calmer tributary that builds to a transcendent finish. Xingu River brings a more playful energy in its eddies and currents.

Van Gogh From Space (2015)
Steven Snowden

Steve Snowden’s colorful, strange, and evocative score for percussion trio is accompanied by this quote attributed to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: “In the style of Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night, massive congregations of greenish phytoplankton swirl in the dark water around Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. Phytoplankton are microscopic marine plants that form the first link in nearly all ocean food chains. Population explosions, or blooms, of phytoplankton, like the one shown here, occur when deep currents bring nutrients up to sunlit surface waters, fueling the growth and reproduction of these tiny plants.”

Aequilibrium (2017)
Mathew Campbell

From the composer: “Aequilibrium was a fluke. It started as an idea after Dr. Joe Moore III, Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Texas-Brownsville, and I were joking around about composing a piece for the TMEA Showcase concert in February 2015. I battled with a title for the piece for days because we felt it should be ritualistic and sacrificial. Instead, I realized that I needed to write a piece about balance in nature. The ideas of yin-and-yang and ebb-and-flow were what I wanted to write about. It took only two chords and one particular ascending pattern to figure out where the piece wanted to take me. Just like I do with most of my music, I improvised an entire ten minutes around this idea. After transcribing it, I focused on revealing the symmetry in phrases and vibe-and-take of colors and timbres. I figured the work very well symbolizes my love for symmetry and color, similarly to how I love rhythm and harmony.”

Katraterra (2006)
Jim Casella

A singular accent pattern, packaged in asymmetric 5/8 time, dominates the feel of this driving, aggressive work for nine percussionists. The inherent syncopations of this motivic foundation create an angular groove (and quite a challenge for the performers!). Contrasting voices are used to make bold, aggressive statements; accompanying answers are provided with concert toms, timpani, cowbells, woodblocks, cymbals, and an opera gong. The main melodic theme is carried by the vibraphone, and driven by the timpani and marimba accompaniment.

2024-25 OSU Percussion Ensemble

Taylor Arko - Music/Architectural Engineering
Kevin Bell - Music
Cris Castillo - Music Production
Aidan Dolan - General Engineering
Ryan Evangelho - Music Education and Performance
Lucas Gerlt - Ecological Engineering
William Gillette - Music/Psychology
John Gilman-Olson - Mechanical Engineering
Christian Hardy - Chemical Engineering
Seth Husband - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Carter Kastigar - Computer Science and Music
Colton Kohler - Music Performance
Alden Leback - Contemporary Music Industry
Augusta Peppers - Music
Caleb Polvogt - Mechanical Engineering
Cadence Schuerger - Music Education and Performance
Asa Steckmann - Computer Science
Parker Williams - Music Education and Performance

Oregon State University Music
College of Liberal Arts
School of Visual, Performing and Design Arts