Beall-Glass Jungle (SP)-Solo P/4T/P

Glass Jungle is the first piece I wrote after moving to the upper-upper west side of Manhattan. The title refers to the plethora of skyscrapers and apartment buildings combined with the frenzy of New York City life. The majority was composed while staring out the window and listening to the sounds that my new neighborhood had to offer. Being in a highly Dominican area, I tried to catch the "spirit of the street" with many grooves from car stereos passing by to distant apartment stereos. Several instances reflect this, where the "feel" changes abruptly through the use of himiola and metric modulation. Besides standard percussion instruments, Glass Jungle calls for eight glass bottles (all with separate pitches, blown to create a melody), glass chimes, bamboo chimes, rain stick, and frogs (woodblocks with ridges). Being the first piece I've written without a single instrument in front of me proved to be the biggest challenge of the composition process. Glass Jungle was commissioned by Lonny Benoit for the 2008 PAS Southwest Louisiana Day of Percussion.

-Andrew Beall

Number of Players: 5
Difficulty: Grade 4+
Instrumentation:

Player I: Tam, Kick Drum, 2 Toms, Snare Drum, Timbale, Bongos, Triangle, China Cym, Crash Cym, Spiral Crash, Splash Cym

Player II: 4 Timpani, Vibraslap, Woodblock, Bongos, Agogo Bells, High Frog

Player III: Congas, 4 Toms, Medium Frog, Bamboo Chimes

Player IV:Low Frog, Bass Drum, Rainstick, Sus. Cym

Player IV: Hi-Hat, 5 Temple Blocks, Shekere, Nut Shell Shaker, Egg Shaker, Low Frog, Triangle, Glass Chimes

A multi-faceted performer and educator, Mr. Beall sustains balance between the Symphonic, Broadway, and Marching arenas. As a freelance percussionist, he has performed on Broadway in The Lion King and Les Miserables, as well as at Carnegie Hall with the Manhattan Pops Orchestra and the New England Symphonic Ensemble. Mr. Beall has appeared as a soloist around the world, including 14 recitals and 6 concerto performances. In 2001, he won the D.C.I. Solo Marimba Competition, D.C.I. Percussion Ensemble Competition, and the P.A.S.I.C. College Marimba Competition.