AN ECONOMY OF MEANS (2016)
FOR PREPARED VIBRAPHONE
30 minutes
Program Notes
An Economy of Means is a kind of companion piece to my trio An Index of Possibility. In Index I used a wide range of materials—glass, metal, wood, ceramic, drums, toys, found objects—to create a large form that moved between distinctive worlds within a broad sonic palette. With An Economy of Means I’ve done the opposite, deliberately using one instrument, the vibraphone, and forcing myself to make the most out of limited resources. With a few simple preparations—tin foil, a manilla folder—and judicious usage of the vibraphone’s natural properties, I tried to build something vast and varied, as broad and ambitious as the trio but in a narrower, more focused context. Set in six movements, the nearly thirty minute piece doesn’t have a specific narrative. Even so, I think there is always a sense of motion, of drifting from space to space, with little dramas unfolding along the way.
An Economy of Means was commissioned by Doug Perkins and a consortium of Alumni of The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale Percussion Seminar, including: Matthew Bimstein, Robby Bowen, Aaron Butler, Heather Church, Sean Harvey, Brandon Ilaw, David Irving, Niek Kleinjan, Aaron Levy, Michael Mazzullo, Ian McCollum, Taylor Mosher-Davis, Stephen Seymour, Melanie Voytovich, Amy Garapic, Ben Fraley, Evan Laybourn, David Abraham, Peter Ferry, Jeff Stern, Dustin Patrick, Kyle Flens, Pedro Carneiro, Adam Lion, Tyler Tolles, Doug Perkins, Michael Hardin, Makayla Phillips, Scott Strickland, Matthew Duvall, Rose Martin, Danielle Moreau, Nick Bolchoz, Neil Rao, Cameron Leach, Garett Mendelow, Shelly Purdy, James Deluca, Jake Harpster, and Glenn Kotche. It was Premiered July 8, 2016 by Amy Garapic at the Chosen Vale Percussion Seminar, Enfield, NH.
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Recent Performances
November 13, 2023 Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Australia. Connor Dinneen.
November 10, 2023 PASIC, Indianapolis, IN. Hannah Weaver.
October 18, 2023 Farmington Center for the Arts, Farmington, ME. Lynn Vartan.
October 10, 2023 University of North Texas, Denton, TX. Jacob Fullinwider.
July 28, 2023 Auditorio Lozano Simonelli, Bogotá, Columbia. Eduardo Caicedo.
April 21, 2023 Auditorio Lozano Simonelli, Bogotá, Columbia. Eduardo Caicedo.
March 18, 2023 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, WI. Olivia Sletteland.
December 17, 2022 The Apsley, New York, NY. Oliver Xu.
December 10, 2022 Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Hannah Newsome.
July 28-30, 2022 MASS North Adams, MA. Doug Perkins.