Aequilibrium

With spiraling melodic passages and unique color combinations between instruments, Aequilibrium is sure to entrance audiences and performers alike.

Program Notes

Aequilibrium was a fluke. It started as an idea after Dr. Joe Moore III, Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Texas-Brownsville, and I were joking around about composing a piece for the TMEA Showcase concert in February 2015. I battled with a title for the piece for days because we felt it should be ritualistic and sacrificial. Instead, I realized that I needed to write a piece about balance in nature. The ideas of yin-and-yang and ebb-and-flow were what I wanted to write about. It took only two chords and one particular ascending pattern to figure out where the piece wanted to take me. Just like I do with most of my music, I improvised an entire ten minutes around this idea. After transcribing it, I focused on revealing the symmetry in phrases and give-and-take of colors and timbres. I figured the work very well symbolizes my love for symmetry and color, similarly to how I love rhythm and harmony.

Grade Level: 3
Number of Players: 5
Duration: 5:00
Type: Quintet

Listen to Recordings

Instrumentation

Glockenspiel/Crotales (1-octave)
Vibraphone 1
Vibraphone 2/Tuned Metal Pipes (G, A, D, G, A)
Marimba 1 (4.3-octave)
Marimba 2 (5-octave)