02/08/2025
Very pleased with the review of my new grade III percussion ensemble INTO THE MIDDLE published by Row-Loff Productions...review by Josh Armstrong done for Percussive Notes Magazine, Volume 63, No.1, Feb 2025. Those with younger players will love this piece for your program! Review follows...
Instrumentation (6 players): bells / vibraphone / 4.3 octave marimba / 3 suspended cymbals / 2 jam blocks / mounted tambourine / 2 China cymbals / wind chimes / timbales / claves / headed tambourine / vibraslap / bongos / snare drum / tam-tam / 2 splash cymbals / 4 toms / sleigh-bells / bass drum / hi-hat / cowbell / deep snare drum.
"This new ensemble work features a variety of percussion instruments. The piece contains fairly simple rhythms amongst the ensemble allowing ease of playing for younger ensembles. Players 2, 3, and 4 are the main melodic voices featuring interplay between their parts. In the beginning the interplay is between snare drum and toms, then it moves between jam blocks and hand claps. The third section is a short keyboard interlude, and the piece concludes with a return to the original material.
This work features instruments and techniques that might be new to younger students, including vibraslap, splash cymbals, timbales, and China cymbal, along with such techniques as playing the cymbal on the bell and playing the cowbell with the tip and shoulder of the stick. Every player is responsible for multiple instruments, which will open the discussion of efficient setups, and proper ways to change mallets - something all percussionists need to learn. It will force the players to think ahead to what instruments will be used next.
Edward Freytag has given us a great piece for younger ensembles. It allows for discussion on technique for a variety of instruments, and it helps teach the students how to move around a multiple setup. Although not specifically stated, if some instruments are not available, substitutions could be made, such as woodblocks for the jam blocks or toms for the timbales. This work would go well on a middle school percussion concert, and it is sure to please as it showcases a wide range of percussion capabilities." - Josh Armstrong
Thank you, Josh Armstrong, for your positive comments. Directors...this can be a great one for your younger groups to introduce them to more advanced percussion ensemble concepts without having to navigate very difficult passages. Get yours at www.rowloff.com or other retail and online venues. Enjoy...!!
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