Kelly Gill performing marimba concerto with the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra

Kelly Grill will be performing Emmanuel Sejourne’s Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra on Sunday November 17, 2024 with the Watzata Symphony Orchestra at 3:00pm at the Eisenhower Community Center 1001 Highway 7, Hopkins, MN 55305.

The performance will be part of a concert entitled “Star-Crossed Lovers” and will also feature Wagner’s “Prelude to Die Meistersinger”, and Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2”.

The event is free and no tickets are required. Donations gratefully accepted. Come out to support the marimba!

New Marimba Music Survey 2014 published by Mark Ford

Mark Ford has asked 150 marimbists to list 1 to 4 marimba solos that were published in the last 10 years that represent the “new wave” of marimba literature. The results of that survey are at:

http://www.markfordmusic.com/new-marimba-music-survey/

What I found really telling about this list is that I only knew about 1/2 of the solos. Our generation of marimbists will probably be remembered more for how we furthered the repretoire instead of our playing but I am sure that topic is up for debate. Thanks Mark for putting this together and enjoy the list!

(updated 4/19/2015 – updated link to survey)

International Percussion Competition Luxembourg February 2015

The International Percussion Competition Luxembourg will occur February 14-22, 2015. For more information head over to their Facebook page, and the IPCL 2015 flyer.

The event features a quartet competition so look for 3 other percussionists and start practicing! The registration deadline is October 1, 2014. Keep visiting their page for more up to date information as the deadline arrives.

2014 Southern California International Marimba Competition

The 2014 Southern California International Marimba Competition will be held from May 30-June 1st, 2014. The application process is to submit an audio recording via DropBox by March 1, 2014 which is a pretty innovative and easy way to apply.

This year Gordon Stout will be a guest jury member. The other jury members include Naoko Takada, Lynn Vartan, and Nick Terry.

The collegiate category does not require you to be in a college music program. There is also a duo category. It is open to all marimbists, so get practicing and apply! For more information head over to the SCIMC website.

 

Blake Tyson’s “Firefish – The Music of Blake Tyson” Kickstarter project

Blake Tyson is doing a Kickstarter project to help fund his new CD “Firefish – The Music of Blake Tyson“. I have always been a fan of Blake’s compositions and am very happy to be a backer of this Kickstarter project for his new CD. You have 28 more days to donate and he is only 22% funded on this project so far. Please share the word and donate to this project!

Makoto Nakura’s Wood and Forest Album Released

Makoto Nakura’s Wood and Forest Album has been released. Head over to the following places to purchase this album filled with marimba and vibraphone music:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wood-Forest-Makoto-Nakura/dp/B0086VZ852

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wood-and-forest/id568395763

CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/makotonakura2

My personal favorite is the Duo for Viola and Vibraphone. This three movement work really blends the beauty of the vibraphone and the viola. Both instruments are played in a very relaxing style that invokes visions of a sitting by the fire in a northern woods cabin. This was also the first recording of the world’s largest vibraphone. I don’t have the details on how large it is exactly but I will try and find out.

It was great to see this entire project fully funded on Kickstarter. For more information and the latest news visit the Kickstarter page.