• Timpani

• Percussion 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  • Percussion required:

    • Percussion 1:

      • Marimba

      • Tambourine (shared w/ perc 2 & 5)

      • Glockenspiel (shared w/ perc 2)

      • Xylophone (shared w/ perc 2)

      • Cowbell

    • Percussion 2:

      • Vibraphone

      • Xylophone (shared w/ perc 1)

      • Rachet

      • Glockenspiel (shared w/ perc 1)

      • Tambourine (shared w/ perc 1, 3 & 5)

      • Tubular Bells (shared w/ perc 3)

      • Congas

    • Percussion 3:

      • Tubular Bells (shared w/ perc 2)

      • Snare Drum

      • Triangle

      • Large Tom

      • Tambourine (shared w/ perc 1, 2 & 5)

      • 7-piece drum set

    • Percussion 4:

      • Large Suspended Cymbal

      • Crash Cymbal

      • Shaker

      • 2 Woodblocks – high/low

      • Pair of spoons

      • Vibra Slap

      • Hi-Hat

      • Tam-tam (shared w/ perc 5)

      • Cuíca

      • Bass Drum (shared w/ perc 5)

    • Percussion 5:

      • Bass Drum (shared w/ perc 4)

      • Tambourine (shared w/ perc 1, 2 & 3)

      • Large Suspended Cymbal (shared w/ perc 4)

      • Chocalho Tam-tam (shared w/ Perc 4)

Klezmorim for wind ensemble has officially been premiered by the Northern Arizona University Wind Symphony as of April 26th, 2024. Klezmorim was such a crazy passion project that I pitched in April 2023 that I thought from the beginning would never go through. But… I think it was just crazy enough...

I have been extremely fortunate to have contributed many hours during the latter part of my undergraduate career to listening to, studying, and writing Klezmer music. Klezmer is a mischievous, thrilling, and flexible musical genre that aims to provide a soundscape of entertainment, resistance, and commemoration. Klezmorim is a wind ensemble piece like my affinity for klezmer in that it is malleable, accessible, and exciting. This piece was written to feature four soloists, Violin, Clarinet, French Horn, and Accordion, often the main components of a klezmer: a melodic, countermelodic, bass, and accompanying instrument.

Klezmorim is composed for a large wind ensemble, with a large percussion section, soloists, and the integration of bass saxophone to pay homage to the “John Philip Sousa” era of klezmer when klezmer consumers were learning more about the vaudeville and brass band sounds of the 1970s. This piece depicts my forever-continuing story with klezmer, reflecting my exposure, studying, and experimenting with this beautiful genre of music. The graphic score intro depicts the beginning stages of learning about klezmer and its eclectic history. Klezmer took over my musical interests, and I began to learn more about this complex yet pure musical genre. Presentation, exploration, and manipulation are the core themes of this piece. Like the history and common practice of klezmer, this piece quickly shifts styles and genera, giving the audience a taste of several settings where klezmer can exist.

I did some presenting on Klezmorim and talked about where I started, how I got there, and what the final result was. For this, I shared my abstract which I would like to share: "Concert band music is often limited in terms of its exposure, its use of improvisation, and its diversity in terms of the type of music performed. To address this, I composed a klezmer-style concert band piece to expose the musicians and audience to as many different musical concepts not often found in concert band music. The composition was written with the intent for every musician to not just be a player of an instrument, but to connect their knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music..."