John Serry consortium for new marimba solo

Ms. Ji Hye Jung is organizing a consortium to commission composer John Serry to compose a new marimba solo. This solo will be approximately 10 minutes in length and will be of “medium” difficulty. John Serry is famous for many compositions but his marimba compositions include “Night Rhapsody” and “West Side Suite”.

If you are interested in participating in this consortium financially, you may contact me directly and I can put you in contact with Ms. Jung. My email address is marimba (at) jeffsass.com.

Ms. Jung has a performance of “Night Rhapsody” available on YouTube below.

Classical Marimba League announces 2010 International Marimba Artists Competition

The Classical Marimba League has announced their 2010 International Marimba Artists Competition. The competition will feature the set piece “Short Stories mvmt 2” by Bruce Broughton. This piece requires marimba and piano accompaniment. It has multiple movements, but only movement 2 is required. Participants should also prepare 2-3 other marimba solos that “display different musical styles” and “demonstrate your strongest musical attributes”.

The application is available online as well as the music for the set piece which you can buy at Steve Weiss Music. Submissions need to be made on DVD (not just audio CD) and need to include the $40 application fee. The deadline for submission is February 1, 2010. If you would like to listen to the movements of Short Stories, C. Alan Publications has samples on their web site.

I am thrilled that the winner’s of this competition will perform at the University of Minnesota in a showcase concert. It was a real treat to see this last year and I will definitely make the trip in April 2010.