Marimba: Exploring Expression

A PASIC 2014 Article

I’ll never forget walking the hallways of PASIC several years ago with Vida Chenoweth. If you are a percussionist/marimbist and unfamiliar with Vida Chenoweth, then I suggest that you run to your computer and Google Ms. Chenoweth now. She is credited with being the first ‘professional concert marimbist’ who raised the respect of the marimba equal to that of the violin and piano. In addition to these accomplishments, Vida was also an accomplished ethnomusicologist and linguist. I met Vida years ago through PAS and have always enjoyed our talks.

Anyway, we were walking to a clinic session of a popular marimba artist at PASIC. We arrived at the session and had to find a seat in the very back of the room. The hall was packed! As we were sitting down, Vida asked me, “Mark, what music will we be hearing at this session?” I told her that this artist had decided to present new transcriptions for solo marimba. These transcriptions were classical compositions written for other instruments and then adapted for the marimba. Vida quickly responded, “Are you kidding me? We’ve been there before. Let’s get out of here!” I agreed and we left to find a cup of tea.

During Vida’s marimba career most of the marimba solos available were classical transcriptions by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc. There were very few original marimba compositions during this time. At that PASIC, Vida and I were only interested in hearing new music for the marimba, music that was designed to explore the expressive and engaging qualities of the instrument. Even if beautifully performed, the concept of a concert of only classical transcriptions seemed out-­dated and, well, non-innovative.

Imagine a time when marimba literature will be so accepted that performers decide to transcribe and arrange it for the piano or violin! Can you hear the violinist ask, ”Hmmm, how should we interpret that dead stroke?” Seriously, with artists like Vida and the multitude of performers that followed her, the classical marimba art form has grown in the past 50 years due to many remarkable marimbists commissioning new works and celebrated composers finding new voices for the marimba.

So if we are going to explore expression on the marimba through technique and new compositions, we will need to look at the recent activities of world-class marimbists and composers who promote the marimba through their music. It is important to have ‘icons’ in the marimba world like Vida Chenoweth. These artists push the boundaries of our art in emotional, expressive and, yes sometimes, technical aspects. We can agree or disagree with their artistic choices, but in the end these contemporary artists give our art direction and growth. It is important that we do not all take the same path. Rather, we should have an open mind and heart when exploring new music to see how this music expresses our culture, personalities and educational needs. In the end, it is the combination of all these artists, composers, educators, students and performers that create positive energy for the marimba and the need for more expressive literature.

It is my honor and privilege to have been invited to present a marimba clinic at PASIC 2014. One of my goals for this session is to offer ‘real information’ that those in attendance can take back home and put to use. I am in the process now of compiling a list of new compositions for solo marimba recommended by leading marimbists, composers and educators. There is so much activity in the marimba world now that it can be difficult to know about all of the recent works available. So this list will serve as an excellent resource for the near future. For those of you that cannot attend PASIC, I will make this clinic handout available on my web page, markfordmusic.com, after PASIC.

In addition to the list of new works above, my PASIC clinic will touch on tone production and expressive qualities needed to interpret musical phrasing. I will also perform some of my new works for marimba at this session including Moon Chasers, Infinite Energy and Morning Light. I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis! Mark Ford is the coordinator of percussion activities at The University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and a Past–President of the Percussive Arts Society. He is a marimba specialist and the Artistic Director for the Polish Percussion Competition in Opole, Poland.

New Music For Marimba PASIC 2014

Prepared by Mark Ford