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Decisions was commissioned by Kieko Kotoku for a tour in Japan. It was premiered in Tokyo in June of 2004. "I wanted the marimba and the percussion instruments to blend so it feels ike one instrument. The result of that idea is a set-up with one mallet instrument, kick drum, woodblock, cowbell and a crasher. This set-up is what I use in the beginning and at the end of the piece, the middle section starts with an ostinato snare drum backing up the two other players who has a conversation and that ends up in a minimalistic mallet selection. In this part, two of the players have a short cadenza each that leads into a calm and meditative groove. This meditative part features the third player with some nice colors on the marimba. A wake-up call with a Drum'n Base oriented drumset transfer into the end of the piece, a recapitulation of the beginning."
Number of Players: 18
Difficulty: Grade 5
Instrumentation:
Player I: Marimba, Small Crasher, Small Woodblock, Small Cowbell, Cr. Cym, 4 Toms. Pedal Bass Drum
Player II: Vibe Med. Crasher, Medium Woodblock, Medium Cowbell, Mediuum Cr. Cym, Zildjian Re-Mix, China Sizzle, Piccolo Sn. Drum, 4 Toms, Pedal Bass Drum.
Player III: Marimba, Large Crasher, Large Woodblock, Large Cowbell, Large Cr. Cym, Low Pitch Military Drum, Pedal Bass Drum.
Anders Astrand regularly performs recitals and gives clinics throughout the US and Europe, both as a soloist and together with his percussion ensemble Global Percussion Network. Anders Åstrand has several times performed at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention). In his compositions, Åstrand focuses on improvisation as an essential feature for soloists as well as the ensemble. In addition to mallet music, Åstrand has been commissioned to composes for brass quintets, saxophone quartet, choirs, and big band.
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