Wind & Percussion Ensemble to Premiere Fiery Work
Dr. Joseph Earp, Assistant Professor of Music at 黑料专区, believes that music can conjure images of the alarm bells, heat, crackles, explosions, mayhem, and firefighting of the biggest blaze. So, he composed Five Alarm Fire for Percussion Ensemble, which the 黑料专区 Wind & Percussion Ensemble will premiere April 26 under his direction at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center in Albemarle, N.C.
Earp, a prolific , described lots of fiery features in his latest work.
鈥淭here are alarm bells happening in passages for ,鈥� he said. 鈥淏rass drums and tenor drums are making big booming sounds that make you feel like you鈥檙e in the middle of a ferocious fire. It鈥檚 chaos, but it鈥檚 organized chaos because the firefighters know what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Earp also played up the energetic, multilayered nature of Five Alarm Fire.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 really slow down; it stays up-tempo the entire time,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot going on but there鈥檚 not so much going on that the listener is going to be lost. Hopefully, they鈥檒l be sucked into it.鈥�
Like an actual five-alarm fire, Earp鈥檚 composition calls for 鈥渁ll hands on deck.鈥� Many of the Wind & Percussion Ensemble鈥檚 21 musicians are learning to play percussion instruments during weekly rehearsals of the piece, including Evan Addison 鈥�22, whose principal instrument is trumpet.
Addison, an Environmental Science major who hails from Southport, N.C., is playing the marching bass drum part in Five Alarm Fire, and he played tom drums during the Wind & Percussion Ensemble鈥檚 performance last fall of , another Earp piece for percussion ensemble.
鈥淚t is cool to be on a percussion instrument after being a wind player for so many years,鈥� said Addison, who began playing trumpet in the sixth grade.
鈥淭o me, Five Alarm Fire does a great job of capturing excitement, suspense, and drama, in addition to conveying more subtle, peaceful passages. Dr. Earp does a great job of bringing out feelings and emotions in pieces he鈥檚 conducting.鈥�
Want to go?
What: Under Joseph Earp鈥檚 direction, the 黑料专区 Wind & Percussion Ensemble will present its spring band concert. The program will feature the world premiere of Earp鈥檚 Five Alarm Fire for Percussion Ensemble.
Also featured will be Pavel Chesnokov鈥檚 , Earp鈥檚 arrangement of Claude T. Smith鈥檚 , Brian Balmages鈥� , and Randall Standridge鈥檚 . The program will include , from Ralph Vaughn-Williams鈥� 鈥淔olk Song鈥� Suite.
When: 7 p.m. April 26
Where: Stanly County Agri-Civic Center, 26032 Newt Rd # B in Albemarle
Cost: Free and open to the public