Inorganic Nomenclature by Joshua Albert was written for a 3.0 Octave Vibraphone and Resonant Metal placed above the flat Db and Eb of the Vibraphone with a towel. The piece was inspired by a trip to the lake on a friends boat that had a loud clanging noise creating a solid groove over the music we were listening to. The piece is both challenging and a crowd pleaser.
XY Recommends this piece for Advanced High School- Graduate School Level Players
Duration: >~4:00
Wonderful Beautiful University Sexuality by Jay Beard is a Solo marimba work for a 5.0 octave marimba.
XYPublications recommends this work for Medium Advanced-Advanced Percussionists
A Broken Vase for Solo Marimba was written as a short but thought provoking marimba solo. This solo is absolutely perfect for Marimba players looking for a short piece to put on their recital that sounds like nothing else on the program.
XY Recommends this piece for Collegiate Students
Duration: ~2:00
"Never Let Me Go" Jay Livingston/Ray Evans Arr. Chiu is a fantastic look at advanced voicing and orchestrations for a standard pop chart.
XY Recommends this piece for any percussionist competent in four mallet playing.
Duration ~ 2:30
"Serengeti" is the second movement in the larger three movement duet for two percussionists THREE LANDSCAPES by Joshua Albert.
Played separately as a full work, Serengeti presents an attempt to emulate the mood and serenity of the African plains. Solo 5.0 Octave Marimba is the main focus along with percussion accompaniment both written to the part as well as room for improvisation.
XY Publications recommends any movement from Three Landscapes for an advanced marimba player and percussionist.
Duration ~ 6:00 Three Landscapes Duration ~ 17:00
"Game Over" by Antonio Gaggiano is a short and flashy solo for concert snare drum. Utilizing many different sounds and extended techniques, it explores the players ability to think outside of just the rhythms on the page.
XY Recommends this work for Advanced High School to University level students.
Duration: ~3:30
Memento was written by Calvin Chiu for Hong Kong Percussionist Sophia Woo
The piece, “Memento” for Vibraphone and 5.0 Octave Marimba, is inspired by the movie bearing the same name. The main character in the movie, Leonard, suffers from a rare form of memory loss; in order to find the person who murdered his wife, he uses a delicate system of tattoos and Polaroid photographs to retain information which he is unable to recall. I was particularly fascinated by the idea of retrieving information from the past by utilizing these small “motifs”, which almost serves as the sparks or reflection along his path of vengeance. Throughout this piece, the audience will hear an obsessive appearance of the “motif”, serving as flashback to the buried, unbearable memories of the past.
XYPublication recommends this piece for Young College to Graduate Level Percussionists
"Absolute Two" for Marimba Duet by Joshua Albert, was written in 2018 for DeuXY Percussion Duo. Minimalistic style and a focus on rhythmic precision and interest sets this piece apart from your average mallet duet.
XY recommends this piece for Advanced High School-Professional level playing
Duration: ~4:00
Absolute Zero- Duet for Two Marimbas by Joshua Albert, is an ethereal and contemplative duet that works well in the middle of recitals. Performers execute their ability to play together and hocket notes across from each other. A digital copy will be sent to you via e-mail.
XY Classifies this work as Medium-Hard left best for Intermediate to Expert level percussionists.
Absolute Zero- Duet for Two Marimbas by Joshua Albert, is an ethereal and contemplative duet that works well in the middle of recitals. Performers execute their ability to play together and hocket notes across from each other. A full hard copy score and parts will be sent to you.
XY Classifies this work as Medium-Hard left best for Intermediate to Expert level percussionists.
Both Characters No. 1 and No. 2 are for Piano and 3.0 Octave Vibraphone. Perfect for playing together or separately, both Characters are thoughtful and contemplative works acting as great practice for the performer and an interesting piece for the audience.
XY recommends this set of pieces for College to Professional performers.
Europa was written and premiered in 2014 by the Stetson University Percussion Ensemble. Europa explores the various sounds and extended techniques to create an incredibly spacious and ethereal mood. Uses of bowed instruments, scraped cymbals and tams, and an explosive optional organ part make this piece a must have for a refreshing ensemble piece.
Instrumentation: 5.0 Marimba, 3.0 Vibraphone, Bass Drum, Tam-Tam, Cymbals, Crotales, Piano, Optional Organ, and Pitched Gongs (Metals)
XYPublications recommends this for High School to University Ensembles
"Panoramic Signals" by Joshua Albert, was written in 2013 for the New Music Concert at Stetson University. This piece has four players sharing one 5.0 Octave Marimba and Two Optional Mallet Instruments. This piece focuses rhythms and creating new sounds on the mallet instruments while retaining a tonal and digestable piece for every audience.
Instrumentation: 5.0 Octave Marimba, Two 3.0 Octave Keyboard Instruments (Xylophone Recommended)
XY recommends this piece for High School-Collegiate Level Percussionists.
Written for the instrumentation from "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff, Hirsch's work allows percussionists to have an ensemble piece to play using very accessible percussion equipment. The work is a suite written for five very short and to the point movements.
XY recommends this work for Advanced High Schools to University level students.
Duration: ~6:00-8:00
Concerto for Solo Tenor Drum by Neil Paterson, is a three movement work for a flashy tenor drum soloist and three percussionists utilizing common percussion instruments. This work is a fantastic addition to any recital or percussion ensemble concert.
XY recommends this work for Advanced High School to Graduate School level players.
Duration: ~6:00
"Resonance10" by Joshua Albert is an exploratory work for a single 5.0 Octave Marimba and single Vibraphone. Inspired heavily by Steve Reich and Phillip Glass, Resonance10 aims to provide a beautiful, full featured, pseudo minimalist work, that can fit on a couple of instruments that most programs have. That is to say there is no harm in playing the piece on more than one marimba. The vibraphone player acts as a conductor while six players share sections behind and in front of the marimba. The work is easy enough to put together in a short time and perform in any environment. The "10" in the title refers to the harmonic series in which a marimba is tuned to, utilized in the piece to maximize the resonance of the instrument.
XY Recommends this piece for High School to College level percussionists.
Duration: ~6:00
"Prelude Op. 3 No. 2" written by Sergei Rachmaninoff and arranged by Joshua Albert for Mallet Octet. This arrangement was created for University of Central Florida in an effort to create an arrangement hard enough for graduates, undergraduates, and young students to be challenged all at once.
Instrumentation: Six Marimba (At least two 5.0 octaves), Vibraphone, Chimes/Glock.
XY Publications recommends this piece for Highly Advanced High School to Graduate level ensembles.
Duration ~5:00
"Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy arranged by Joshua Albert for Mallet Quintet.
This very accessible arrangement for three 4.3 oct marimbas and two 3.0 octave vibraphones works as a fantastic piece for high school or college students looking to broaden their musical phrasing and voicing abilities. One of the best features of this quintet is the ability to double parts for large ensembles, as well as omit a part to make the piece a quartet.
XY Publishing recommends this work for High School to Undergraduate level students.
Duration ~ 5:00