Fandango 13 for 6 Percussionist - 6 Min.; advanced

Instrumentation: 

Player 1 - Marimba, Bell Tree, Medium Suspended Cymbal, 2 Medium Toms
Player 2 - Marimba, Bongos. Xylophone
Player 3 - Marimba, Darabuka
Player 4 - Bass Marimba, 2 Large Toms, Crotales
Player 5 - Vibraphone, Concert Bass Drum
Player 6 -  Vibraphone, Djembe 

The percussion sextet Fandango 13 is a re-working of an earlier piece for keyboard percussion quartet and from a larger work commissioned by the West Point Academy titled Four Points West. I had thought for sometime that expanding the instrumentation to include several additional keyboards, hand drums and tom toms would make for a more dynamic piece and could then stand alone outside the context  of its original place within a three-movement work.

I think of Fandango 13 as a virtuosic burst of energy from beginning to end. It was premiered by the Eastman Percussion Ensemble at PASIC 2013 and dedicated to those players who brought it to life so brilliantly, Brant Blackard, Chris Jones, Sarah Gartin, Connor Stevens, Sam Um and Andrea Venet. 

-MJB

Watch the Eastman Percussion Ensemble perform Michael Burritt's Fandango 13.