Contact: Maridith Geuder
Bob Damm of music education (left) leads members of the university's Percussion Ensemble rehearsing with a variety of unusual instruments.
A Nov. 3 concert at Mississippi State will feature the university's Percussion Ensemble performing with faculty, student and guest artists.
The free 7:30 p.m. event in McComas Hall theater is sponsored by the music education department and led by associate professor Robert J. Damm.
The program includes a wide musical variety, representing a range of countries, styles and instruments.
Chad Austin of Forest, a senior music education major, will solo on xylophone in a sonata. Ensemble pieces will include "Japanese Impressions," "Junk Funk," "Vamos A Ecuador" for marimbas, and "Rock Trap" for body percussion. A piece titled "Canticle No. 1" will employ several unusual instruments, including a thunder sheet, flower pots, glass bowls, and elephant bells.
"Especially suited for the McComas Hall location will be the performance of 'Battle Stations II,' an antiphonal work intended to be performed in the round with percussionists 'stationed' in the four corners of the hall," Damm said.
David Moore of Rosedale joins the group as guest artist on an instrument he calls a "schizoid zither." "These ornamental soundboards are musical instruments he sells as works of art at galleries and art shows throughout the United States," Damm explained.
The concert concludes with a medley of folk music arranged by Damm and featuring local musicians Richard Brown, G.W. Kelly, Rebecca Kelly, Vladamir Alarcon, and Mark Crowson.
For more information, telephone the music education department at (662) 325-3070.