TSB IV - Performances
Tarcísio Braga -- Tambor (Snare Drum Improvisation)
Tambor is an improvised snare drum work rooted in Brazilian and African hand drum traditions, transforming warm-up improvisations into a fluid compositional practice informed by field research and extended snare techniques. For The Space Between IV, the piece expands into a solo-with-tape version using processed field recordings from the Brazilian Amazon, exploring how environmental soundscapes and real-time improvisation shape emotional, cognitive, and immersive audience experiences.
Heartland Marimba Quartet -- Works for Marimba Quartet Enhanced by Comprehensive Composer LabFest Model
This performance highlights works developed through Heartland Marimba’s Composer Laboratory and Festival, a program founded in 2021 to provide intensive training in writing for marimba. The HM Quartet perform four LabFest works now published by HM Publications (Matthew Coley, Erika Malpass, Yuta Tanaka, and Ian Wiese) alongside Felix Mendelssohn’s Fugue V in F Minor, showcasing both new and canonical repertoire for marimba quartet.
Nick Costa -- 5 Macrocosms to Improve Your Playing
Nick Costa encourages drummers to shift focus from technical micro-skills to five performance-shaping macrocosms: breathing, posture, relaxation, self-compassion, and confidence. By addressing these foundational elements, players can reduce tension and stress, improve physical and cognitive function, and accelerate overall musical growth and confidence at the instrument.
Meagan Foster and Henry Wu -- Adaptations for Marimba Duo: Tailleferre and Southam
Percussionists have long adapted music written for other instruments. This performance presents two new marimba duo transcriptions of works by Germaine Tailleferre and Ann Southam, expanding the repertoire through adaptations of music originally written for harp and piano. The program highlights Tailleferre’s Perpetuum Mobile from Sonate pour harpe, reflecting her role as the sole female member of Les Six and Southam’s minimalist Glass Houses No. 8, shaped by influences from Steve Reich and Terry Riley, bringing the voices of two influential female composers into the percussion canon.
Cascade Percussion -- A Man With a Gun Lives Here
Cascade examines how chamber musicians communicate critical information non-verbally, through body language, gestures, and breath when responding to unexpected changes in performance. Using Steven Snowden’s A Man With a Gun Lives Here as a case study, it draws parallels between musicians’ cueing systems and the visual symbol codes used by unhoused communities during the Great Depression, highlighting how standardized, silent signals preserve continuity and shared understanding.
Jessie Guo -- One Study, One Summary
A performance of One Study One Summary by John Psathas, with a brief talk about the vertical junk percussion set-up.
Triolet: Kristie Ibrahim, Gina Ryan, and Victoria Sparks -- Tapestry of Sounds by Triolet
Continuing in the exploration of gesture in percussion performance, these two works by Triolet reflect the elements of their foundational mantra: community, fellowship, movement, music. This performance includes Thierry de Mey’s iconic Musique de tables (1987), The Flower Episode (J. Marino), and Mind Play and Never Never (Is)land (2009/2019).
Hoi Tong Keung -- One Dollar for One Turtle by Ehwa Hong
One Dollar for One Turtle is a three-movement vibraphone solo by Korean composer Ehwa Hong, commissioned as part of doctoral research exploring the integration of spoken Cantonese into percussion performance. Inspired by Cantonese tongue twisters, the work pairs linguistic features such as sliding tones and dense consonants with extended vibraphone techniques, aiming to create an expressive, accessible musical experience even for audiences unfamiliar with the language. Developed through close composer–performer collaboration, the piece merges sound, speech, and theatricality into a multisensory performance practice.
Duo Simuldos (Manuel López Tovar & Crystal Kim) -- Marcel Farago’s “Toccata-Prelude for Cello and Timpani”
Toccata-Prelude for Cello and Timpani, Op. 21-b by Marcel Farago, written for Philadelphia Orchestra colleagues Fred Hinger (timpani) and the composer himself (cello). A virtuosic, through-composed work marked by hocketing and timbral interplay, the piece remains unpublished and survives only in manuscript at the Curtis Institute of Music, underscoring the role of community and knowledge-sharing in bringing overlooked repertoire back to life.
Shawn Mativetsky -- Temporal Waves: Music for Tabla and Synthesizers Through the Lens of Nostalgia
Temporal Waves is a project by tabla player Shawn Mativetsky that places the tabla within a nostalgic electronic sound world shaped by analog synthesizers and tape manipulation. Drawing on retro-futurist aesthetics to explore themes of climate anxiety, technology, and hope, the music seeks a balance between organic and electronic sound, a relationship mirrored in the interaction between tabla and electronics. For The Space Between IV, excerpts from Water Temple and Data Cassette Sunrise (2022), from the 2024 self-titled album Temporal Waves, will be presented.
Nicholas Papador -- Djed (The Pillar) for Marimba Catalyst and Percussion Trio
This presentation explores Djed, a percussion work inspired by the Egyptian symbol of stability and renewal, in which the marimba functions as a “catalyst” generating friction-like energy through insistent harmonic motion rather than melodic display. The evolving ranges, textures, and climactic ascent narrate obstacles, release, and transcendence, culminating in a luminous yet searing sonic image, performed by Dr. Papador with colleagues from the Canadian Percussion Network.
Fish Yu -- The God of Cookery: Presenting Cantonese Food & Movie Through Percussion Ensemble
Fish Yu’s The God of Cookery is a 9-minute multimedia work for six percussionists, electronics, and video, inspired by the The God of Cookery and celebrating Hong Kong’s culinary culture through sound, image, and storytelling. Written during Yu’s residency with the University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble, the piece uses kitchen objects as instruments, blends Mandarin and Cantonese speech, and pairs nostalgic electronics with theatrical performance to create an immersive, cross-cultural experience.