April 10, 2019<\/p>\n
Northern Arizona University\u2019s School of Music<\/a> Percussion Ensemble concert presents a wide variety of contemporary music at 7:30 p.m. April 19 in Ardrey Memorial Auditorium.<\/p>\n Under the direction of music professor Steve Hemphill,<\/strong> the NAU Percussion Ensemble will be joined by two guest performers. University of Arizona doctoral candidate Michael Pratt will perform as marimba soloist on Jeffrey Dennis Smith\u2019s \u201cTiger Dance,\u201d a showcase of relentless rhythmic drive for percussion quintet. NAU alumna Alison Brightwell-Balot<\/strong> will return to campus to perform Brian Mason\u2019s \u201cRochambeaux\u201d with the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez High School Percussion Ensemble from Laveen.<\/p>\n \u201cFanfare for a New Audience,\u201d a brash 2009 quartet by David Skidmore, will open the concert and feature four kick drums, slabs of wood and multiple drums. \u201cSlap Shift\u201d by J. B. Smith will bring playful Afro-Cuban grooves to a dancing intensity, as played by six congeros<\/em> in synchronized conga drum rhythms. A unique orchestration of George Gershwin\u2019s \u201cAn American in Paris,\u201d utilizing five marimbas, xylophone, glockenspiel and orchestral percussion, should offer a throwback to a classical 1928 flavor. A brief drumming fantasy, Joseph Thompkins\u2019s \u201cBlue Burn,\u201d highlights a peculiar choreography of five bass drums (in table-style set-up), five caxixi (Brazilian basket shakers), three tamborins (a small Brazilian hand-held drum) and other assorted drums.<\/p>\n Three students will perform \u201cPrinciples of Calabash,\u201d written by Hemphill, introducing the rhythmic explorations of the Afro-Cuban shekere and African axatse, gourds covered with beaded netting. The concert will conclude with Emmanuel S\u00e9journ\u00e9\u2019s \u201cSosso-Bala,\u201d a theatrical octet commissioned by the Taiwanese Ju Percussion Group.<\/p>\n Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and NAU employees and free for NAU students and youth. Tickets can be purchased at the Central Ticket Office located in the University Union or on the CTO website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"