Bergamo-Interactions for Vibes and Percussion-V/P

Interactions was composed in 1963 and commissioned by Paul Price. The stereo setup with the vibraphone prominently in the center will give a visual and aural representation of the idea of the solo vibe and its interactions with the rest of the percussion ensemble. Bergamo uses a vast array of compositional techniques to feature the vibraphone in subtle ways. Duration 8 min.

Number of Players: 7
Difficulty: Grade 6
Instrumentation:

Player I: Glockenspiel 1

Player II: Celeste, 2 Anvils, High Pitched Gong

Player III: Marimba, Xylophone

Player IV: Vibraphone

Player V: 3 Triangles

Player VI: Chimes, 2 Suspended Tambourines, Low Pitched Gong

Player VII: Glockenspiel 2

From his early days as a drummer in New Jersey, John Bergamo has never lost his desire to expand his interest in percussion. In 1959 John attended the Lenox School of Jazz in Lenox Mass. next door to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony. Under a scholarship, John studied drumset with Max Roach; had Percy Heath and Kenny Dorham as jazz band instructors; studied history and theory with Gunther Schuller, Marshall Stearns and George Russell; and was classmates with Ornette Coleman, and Don Cherry. In 1962 John earned an M.M. degree from Manhattan School of Music, followed by three summers in Tanglewood and time in New York City as a freelance musician.