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Fabian Theory (Nigel Westlake)

An electronic delay system is employed throughout the piece, serving to reproduce the live signal 566 milliseconds
(about half a second ) after it has been played, thereby building a multi-marimba illusion & creating rhythmic
counterpoint against the live performance. The player is requested to play in tight synchronisation with the delayed
signal; by moving through a number of tempo changes, different rhythmic effects are achieved. The use of the delay
gives rise to the title, which is a reference to the great Roman dictator, Fabius Maximus who was victorious due to
the use of delay tactics in battle. Fabian Theory was commissioned by Synergy Percussion with financial assistance
from the music board of the Australia council.

Nigel Westlake's career in music has spanned more than 3 decades. His interest in composition dates from the late
1970's when he formed a classical/jazz-rock/world-music fusion band to play original music. During this time he
started to receive offers to compose for radio and circus. Commissions for TV and film soon followed. In 1983 he
furthered his studies of contemporary music in the Netherlands. From 1987 to 1992 he was a clarinettist with the
Australia Ensemble resident at the University of New South Wales. In 1992 he joined guitarist John Williams's
group 'Attacca' as a performer and composer for tours of the United Kingdom and Australia. Since then he has
given his primary attention to composition. His film credits include the feature films Miss Potter, Babe, Babe Pig
in the City, Children of the Revolution, A Little Bit of Soul, The Nugget and the IMAX films Antarctica, Imagine,
The Edge and Solarmax. His romantic score for Miss Potter won "Feature Film Score of the Year" & "Best
Soundtrack Album" at the 2007 APRA / AGSC Screen Music Awards. Westlake's work has been widely
performed and has earned numerous awards, including the Gold Medal at the New York International Radio
Festival and numerous APRA and Screen Composer Guild awards for his film and concert music. (Nigel Westlake)


KM (skell Msson)
KM means germ or embryo and the idea is roughly to start on something simple which then gradually grows and
takes on a new form, like a plant. The work is a continuation of my exploitation of the possibilities of the snare
drum as a solo instrument, using sounds and polyrhythms which I hadnt in the earlier pieces (PRM and
KONZERTSTCK). The piece has a metric pattern of 3/8, 7/8 & 11/8 which is repeated 32 times. With the aid of
brush and a practise pad as well as the instrument itself, one of my aims was to establish rhythms in various timbres
which would develop constantly new viewpoints by putting these into permutational combinations. Commissioned
and premiered by the Danish master percussionist Gert Mortensen, the piece was premiered in Fredericia, Denmark
in January 2002.
skell Msson (b. 1953) is amongst Icelands leading composers. He commenced his musical studies on the clarinet
in 1961 and later studied percussion at the Reykjavik College of Music and privately in London with James Blades.
From 1973-75 he worked as a composer and percussionist of the Ballet of the National Theatre in Iceland and in
1978-83 he was a producer at the Music Dept. of the Iceland State Radio, after which he has devoted his time
exclusively to composition. He was Secretary General of the Society of Icelandic Composers 1983-85, and President
of the Performing Rights Society (STEF) from 1989-99. Msson has worked in Copenhagen, Stockholm, London
and Paris, collaborating with such artists as Roger Woodward, Evelyn Glennie, Benny Sluchin, Gert Mortensen and
Christian Lindberg. In addition to concert music, he has composed music to numerous plays, films and TV
programs. (skell Msson)


Lux lucis in silva (Jamie Drake)

This piece was originally written for a solo performance with the Oakville Childrens Choir. The title (in Latin)
roughly translates to the light in the forest, and was inspired by a trip to Luxembourg in February 2009 a sort of
play-on-words. On the last day there I took the opportunity to record many amazing bell sounds from the citys
cathedrals, all of which seemed to be pitched roughly in D major/b minor. One of these recordings was made from
down in the beautiful Petrusse Valley, a forested mini-canyon which runs through the heart of Luxembourg City.
The work is based around these sounds and is largely textural and improvisatory in nature. Written mostly in a
metre of 7, other patterns are layered as polyrhythms on top, including various iterations of the Big Ben chime
pattern that is so prevalent in the worlds bell towers. The frame drum parts were also influenced by polyrhythmic
cycles and additive processes.


lead (Dave Hollinden)

lead is one half of a two-section work: Platinum, the other half, can be played before or after lead or not at all. I
began composing lead after having finished Platinum. I wanted it to provide a contrast to Platinum's rhythmic
vitality, so I asked myself what would happen if I wrote music without relying on rhythm and counting as my
primary devices. This led to a great deal of brooding and questioning, and resulted in music with an inert heaviness.
lead was commissioned by Sole Nero: Jessica Johnson, piano and Anthony Di Sanza, percussion.

Dave Hollinden has composed extensively for percussion, and his music is widely performed in the US and overseas.
He has a unique voice that speaks not only of his training in composition but also of his background in rock music
and his affinity for rhythm and number.
He has been the recipient of grants from Artist Trust, the Seattle Arts Commission, the National Foundation for
Advancement in the Arts, and the Artist Support Program of Jack Straw Productions. His Bachelors Degree in
Composition is from Indiana University, where he studied with Harvey Sollberger and Juan Orrego-Salas. He
received his Masters Degree in Composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Fred Lerdahl,
William Albright and Leslie Bassett.
He has received commissions from the Eclectic Trio and Crescent Duo (chamber quartet), Sole Nero - Tony
DiSanza and Jessica Johnson (duets for piano and percussion), Michael Burritt (marimba solo), Nick Petrella (multi-
percussion solo), Nachiko Maekana (multi-percussion solo), Central Washington University (percussion octet),
Midlothian High School (wind ensemble), and Victoria Memorial High School (percussion octet). His music
appears on recordings by the Base Four Percussion Quartet ([one]), Norman Weinberg (Quilt), Sole Nero (Musica
per Due), Joseph Gramley (American-De-Construction), the Ethos Percussion Group (Ethos), Michael Burritt
(Shadow Chasers), the Eclectic Trio and Crescent Duo (Woodwind Echoes), and Equilibrium/Michael Udow (Border
Crossing). The CD Slender Beams, created by Hollinden and percussionist Andrew Spencer, features live and studio
recordings of his music. (Dave Hollinden)

Monkey Chant (Glenn Kotche)
This is a loose retelling, through percussion, of the Monkey Armys battle from the Hindu epic Ramayana tale.
This version follows the narrative of this story, often attempting a lteral representation of certain parts such as some
character intereactions. At other timesliberties are taken, metaphorically representing events like the final battle
between Rama and Ravana. Specific sounds or voices from parts of the drum kit play the roles of the main
characters:
Rama The seventh incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu (protagonist)
Wires and friction stick on the prepared drum head and all of the drums in the final
section
Sita Ramas wife and the heroine
Friction stick on the prepared drumhead
Hanuman Monkey general and ally of Rama
Large pull springs on the prepared drumhead
Ravana Ten-headed king of the Rakshasas (demons) from Lanka (antagonist)
Small spring clusters on prepared drumhead
Indrajit Son of Ravana
Hihat when struck
Monkey Army Represented by drums (both the chanting ostinato and rhythmic melodies)
Heralded by The Chicago Tribune for his "unfailing taste, technique and discipline," Glenn Kotches eclectic
performances and original compositions have explored the creative use of rhythm and space through various
percussion projects the past 20 years. Born in 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, Glenn studied percussion under James
Campbell at the University of Kentucky. In 2007 the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts honored Kotche
as a distinguished alumnus for his international contributions to percussion composition and performance.
Following graduation, his various stints with groups and ensembles have resulted in participation on over 80 albums
to date, including three recorded solo works, entitled Introducing, Next, and Mobile (the last released on Nonesuch
Records).
Kotche has composed several commissioned pieces for esteemed music ensembles. In 2007, the Kronos Quartet
premiered Anomaly, a 25 minute, 7 movement piece at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Kotche has joined Kronos
for several performances of Anomaly, notably at Carnegie Hall and the Ravinia Festival in Chicago (both in 2008).
Bang on a Can All-Stars commissioned Kotche to write, Snap, which debuted at the University of North Carolina
in Chapel Hill in April 2008 and was featured during the re-opening of Lincoln Center's Alice Tulley Hall. His
latest composition Double Fantasy, commissioned by and performed with Eighth Blackbird saw it's premiere at the
Harris Theatre in Chicago.
In the midst of composing for his solo efforts, Kotche joined the rock band, Wilco in 2001. Since joining as
drummer/percussionist, Wilco's accomplishments include the gold-selling album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the
Grammy-winning A Ghost Is Born, the live double record Kicking Television, and most recently "Wilco (the
album)", which debuted at #4 on the Billboard album charts. He also records and performs as one half of
experimental jazz duo On Fillmore. Their album "Sleeps with Fishes" (Drag City, 2003 and Columbia Music
Entertainment, 2007), landed them at the prestigious 2005 Percussion Pan Festival in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador,
Brazil. In November 2009, they released "Extended Vacation", their latest full-length recording and first on the
Dead Oceans label. On Fillmore has collaborated with the Brazilian trio, Moreno Veloso+2, at the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago and scored director JT Petty's films cult films S&MAN and Blood Red Earth. Kotche
is also one third of the trio - with Jim ORourke and Jeff Tweedy - that records and performs under the name Loose
Fur.
Kotche has written for Percussive Notes Magazine, the official publication of the Percussive Arts Society, published a
series of articles entitled "DIY Percussion in Modern Drummer magazine, and contributed to the books Wilco
Book (Picturebox Inc. 2004) and the Drum and Percussion Cookbook (Meredith Music Publications 2008). (Glenn
Kotche)

Alternate Currents (Ann Southam)
Commissioned by percussionist Beverley Johnston and recorded on her album of the same name, Alternate Currents
is a sonic exploration of ringing sounds of various durations, of repeated yet altered cycles, and of metallic
textures. The work is written for vibraphone, crotales, two tuned gongs, Chinese opera gong, tam-tam and tuned
temple bowl. (Jamie Drake)
Ann Southam was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937 but has lived most of her life in Toronto. After completing
musical studies at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music in the early 1960's, Ann Southam
began a teaching and composing career which has included a long and productive association with modern dance.
As well as creating music for some of Canada's major modern dance companies and choreographers including The
Toronto Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman, Dancemakers, Patricia Beatty, Christopher House and Rachel Browne,
she has been an instructor in electronic music at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and has also
participated in many "composer-in-the-classroom" programs in elementary and high schools. While a great deal of
her work has been electroacoustic music on tape, she has in recent years become increasingly interested in music for
acoustic instruments. She has composed concert music for a variety of acoustic instruments and instrumental
ensembles, working with such artists and ensembles as Eve Egoyan, Christina Petrowska Quilico and Arraymusic.
Ann Southam's work has been commissioned through the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the
CBC, and has been performed in Canada, Europe and the U.S. She is a member of the Canadian Music Centre, the
Canadian League of Composers and a founding member of the Association of Canadian Women Composers. She
was the recipient of the Friends of Canadian Music Award in 2001. (Ann Southam)

Departures (Emmanuel Sjourn)
Departures was written in 2005 and premiered by Nancy Zeltsman and Ria Ideta in Boston of the same year.
Written for two five-octave marimbas, it encompasses all the stylistic tendencies for which Sjourn is well known:
accessible (yet not-quite-always-tonal) harmonies, a catchy groove, interesting solo lines, a feeling of improvisation
and a certain dramatic flair. Comprised of two main sections, the slower beginning leads into an infectious groove
and even conjures up a feeling of flamenco in the soli sections. (Jamie Drake)
Fascinated by the relations between music and other performing arts, Emmaneul Sjourn started composing stage
music as early as 1984. He has written pieces for the Thtre des Drapiers, the Wallgraben Theater ( Germany), the
MAL/TJP Company, with which he won the prize for Best Stage Music at the Festival dAvignon off in 1985 for
the show La Lgende Des Sicles, inspired by Victor Hugos work. In 1988, on the occasion of the Bimillenium of the
City of Strasbourg, he composed the music for Les Envahisseurs for the Ballet du Rhin. He also collaborated to
musical pieces for France-Culture and for TV channels, including ARD, ZDF and ARTE. Acclaimed by members
of the percussion community, his works have been played by Bob Van Sice, Nancy Zeltsman, Marta Klimasara,
Katarzyna Mycka, Jean Geoffroy, the Amsterdam Percussion Group, Drumming (Portugal). His passion for the
stage has led him to write and compose Plante Claviers for the Percussions Claviers de Lyons, a piece
commissioned for the Festival Gramme, directed by Nicolas Ramond. This wild and unusual show has been
performed over 120 times between 1998 and 2001. His Concerto for Vibra and Strings Orchestra composed in
1999, was created by the Orchestre dAuvergne and performed later by the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the
Orchestre de la Garde Rpublicaine, the Kalisz Orchestra, The Kozsalin Philharmonic (Poland) and the
Novosibirsk Orchestra ( Russia). Eager to bring together improvised, contemporary and popular music, he wrote
Famim in 2001, for the famous jazz pianist Michael Borstslap and the Amsterdam Percussion Group.
In 2002, he composed a Concerto for Three Percussionnists and Harmony (a commission from Adim for the Harmonie
of Hricourt), which has since then been performed by the Orchestra of La Coruna ( Spain) and the Rundfunk
Blasorchester Leipzig. Always fond of blending various genres, he composed the music for the fireworks for the
National Celebration of Luxembourg in 2002. On a request from American percussionists Gary Cook and John
Pennington, he wrote Book of Gemmes, a piece for mixed choir and two percussionists, created on November 20th
2003 in Louisville, USA. (Emmanuel Sjourn)