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Percussion
Ensembles
Contemporary Percussion Ensemble
The percussion ensemble is a relatively recent development in the field of music. The first purely percussion music was written in the 1920s, and since 1980 this medium has gained tremendous recognition throughout the country. The Contemporary Percussion Ensemble in the ASU Herberger Institute School of Music strives to increase performer and audience awareness of the contributions to the literature by major composers, such as Edgard Varese, Lou Harrison, John Cage and Christopher Rouse, as well as new literature.
J. B. Smith, director of percussion studies, and Faculty Associate Simone Mancuso direct the group. In past years the ensemble toured Russia and Poland and performed at the 1991, 2002 and 2006 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. The group recently commissioned and premiered Wendy Mae Chambers’ Mandala in FunK, Anthony Braxton’s Composition No. 174 for Percussion Ensemble and Constructed Environment (CD recording available from Leo Records) and Mary Ellen Childs’ Crash.
Most members are music majors, but non-majors are welcome to join the ensemble. Selected literature is based on the ensemble members' abilities and experience.
| Contemporary Percussion Ensemble [mp3] | Size | Time |
| Jennifer Higdon, Splendid Wood for 6 players on 3 marimbas | 4 MB | 9:21 |
| Brett William Dietz, Masvikiro for 8 percussionists | 4.5 MB | 6:34 |
| Yan Maresz, Festin for 12 percussionists | 4.8 MB | 4:16 |
| Andrea Clearfield, Mallet Madness for 4 marimbas | 7.4 MB | 4:45 |