Refract
Refract, a multimedia performance showcasing the unique colors that percussion repertoire has to offer. Using light as a symbolic device of timbre, 3DP takes you through our repertoire of sounds with works by Peacocke, Keck, Wallin, Curlee and Lee. Refract features atmospheric, natural music to theatrical timbres, to interlocking rhythms, to percussion from around the world. With Refract, 3DP pays homage to the recent classics and forges a new path to create standards in our own time.
This project is supported in part by The Institute for Music Leadership at the Eastman School of Music with funding support by the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research and the Catherine Filene Shouse Arts Leadership Special Opportunity Grant.
We would love your feedback!
3 Do
(2023)
Arranged by YoungKyoung Lee (b. 1993)
"3 Do" is a percussion trio inspired by the lively rhythms of Korean drumming, known as Samulnori. In Korean, "Do" signifies regions, each with its distinct rhythmic style. This piece, titled "3 Do," blends rhythms from three different regions seamlessly.
Crafted as a homage to the rich heritage of Samulnori, "3 Do" embarks on a rhythmic journey celebrating Korean culture and percussion music. Despite the challenges of transcribing oral traditions into Western notation and sourcing suitable instruments, the trio invites listeners to experience the essence of Korean drumming. Through intricate rhythms and expressive performances, "3 Do" pays tribute to the legacy of this vibrant art form, offering a contemporary interpretation accessible to all.
- YoungKyoung Lee
The lights for 3 Do are five Korean traditional colors (Black, White, Yellow, Blue, Red) selected by arranger, YoungKyoung Lee.
Rain Tree
(1981)
By Torū Takemitsu (1930-1996)
It has been named the “rain tree”; for its abundant foliage continues to let fall rain drops collected from last night’s shower until well after the following midday. Its hundreds of thousands of tiny leaves – finger-like – store up moisture while other trees dry up at once. What an ingenious tree, isn't it?
- Quoted from “Atama no ii, Ame no Ki”, a novel by Kenzaburo Oé
For Rain Tree we selected the colors, white, yellow, and a green accent. The white and light yellow are meant to emphasize the pure and bright timbres of the vibraphone and crotales especially in moments where the texture is rather sparse and may even evoke sparkling. The green represents the “hundreds of thousands of tiny leaves” and nature in general. Perhaps the wooden natural sound of the marimbas blends well with the green light.
Evanescence
(2023/Trio Version 2024)
Scratch
(1991)
Scratch by Norwegian composer, Rolf Wallin, is a beautiful and horrifying exploration of several characters through the medium of amplified balloon. Because there is no written score for this work, the performer must schedule a coaching session with Wallin which I did over Zoom in 2019. While the piece was originally conceived as a solo work, the internationally acclaimed percussion ensemble, Kroumata, released a trio version in 2013. This trio version has been emulated by other ensembles including SISU Percussion Ensemble in 2021. As if amplified balloon was not interesting enough, 3D Percussion has modified the piece to include spotlights and divided the characters among the three performers for dramatic effect. Can you guess what each of the characters are?
- Emma Gierszal
By Rolf Wallin (b. 1957)
Scratch is represented by the juxtaposition of red light and darkness. Red is not just the striking color of the balloon chosen by the composer, but it is also a color of passion, surprise, and intensity. It is a bit obnoxious at times, but could also be the color of love. This red light against the absence of light represents the shocking and sometimes silly timbres of the balloon as well as the absence of this sound.
By Austin Keck (b. 2000)
Evanescence (2023), for percussion quartet, is composed for the trio 3D Percussion in collaboration with Austin Keck. The piece follows a narrative arc that is evanescent in nature, both in its form and musical motifs. The idea of music slowly disappearing and dissipating into nothing has always fascinated me, and it is the main inspiration for this piece. Another inspiration of mine is the idea that music evokes physical imagery, whether that be an abstract or something tangible. The ideas I present are developed only to be quickly faded out of the texture before moving on to the next idea. All of these motifs presented stem from a single idea that is manipulated and morphed into something new, almost unrecognizable from its original form. As you listen to the piece, my goal is that the audience is taken on an experience that is linear in form, but memorable for the emotion and feeling it evokes rather than the thematic or motivic material. In the end, there is a return of the opening but only to fade quickly into oblivion and be forgotten forever. My hope is that this music and quality of being fleeting or vanishing quickly is evocative and creates an image in the listener’s head, whether it be the beauty of nature, or something more ethereal and other-worldly.
- Austin Keck
The colors for Evanescence, shades of blue and purple, are taken directly from the score art created by the composer, Austin Keck. These colors that can, in a way, blend into each other match the aesthetic of Evanescence which features motives that blend into each other
Still it Grows
(2024)
By Matthew Curlee (b. 1976)
Most of my music for the last decade has been somehow inspired by natural processes, whether in fundamental physics or cosmology, in the corporeal world around us, or in the ways that we interface with that natural world. I’m always trying (with some sense of futility) to capture a feeling of organic development, like a tree growing or a rain cloud materializing. Sometimes I’m attempting to musically model some of the physical reasons that those things happen the way that they do. However, I’ve been searching for that effect for so long that it shows up – to whatever degree I’m able to achieve it – even when I’m not thinking about it. Still It Grows was mostly done, without a title, and I asked my partner what it sounded like to her. She said it reminded her of the first-tentative, eventually exuberant arrival of Spring, so it acquired this Spring-like title. But Spring can also be a metaphor for a lot of things that develop in messy, chaotic, but beautiful ways. For me, it also represents the growth that goes on behind the scenes for all of us, maybe especially when we’re not really thinking about it…intuitive acquisition is a process that, in some ways, looks a lot like any other system in nature: evolving through time guided by simple, local principles, but producing highly structured, even creative results
-Matthew Curlee
For Still it Grows, we have selected shades of green, yellow, and blue, vibrant colors to represent the season of spring and the general idea of growth. These shades are bright and organic and encompass both earth and water.