Beall, Andrew: Seven to Queens for Solo Timpani

Product no.: 034-448
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Seven to Queens for Solo Timpani - 6 Min.; 4 timpani; advanced

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Commissioned by James Lormand, Seven to Queens was my first solo composition for classical percussion. In writing, I’ve always implored melody first, then in no particular order: rhythm, harmony, but of more importance, a consideration for the musicians on stage and the audience in the house: connection and collaboration. Chamber and orchestral writing always suits me best: one instrument connecting with another, bouncing ideas off each other, supporting each other, conversing, building the arc of the piece together as one unit. Therefore, writing just a solo seemed daunting. How can I keep this interesting for five minutes? Thanks to Mr. Lormand, the challenge grew twofold: not only did he request a solo, but he requested a solo for 4 kettledrums. So I drew from my classical influences, drew from my own compositions, drew from 3-mallet marimba technique, focused everything I could, and locked myself into a studio with four timpani for three intensive days (I’m being melodramatic). But the end result is Seven to Queens. As in all my compositions, I want the audience and player to take a journey – in this case, they take an unpredictable journey riding a New York City subway (the "7" train) from Manhattan to Queens, to the studio where I composed the work. Seven to Queens works well as a performance piece and an audition piece.

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