Astrand-Norrsken (The Nordic Light) (SP)-2V/Cro./2M

On a cold January night in 1990 while in the town of Piteå in Northern Sweden, I was inspired by an extraordinary aurora borealis. I looked at this phenomenon in awe, as it appeared like a flaming wall against the clear, starry sky. The music was originally composed for Trio Extempore (Lennart Simonsson keyboards, Bengt Ernryd trumpet, Anders Åstrand mallets), and rearranged for Global Percussion Network in 2001.

Number of Players: 5
Difficulty: Grade 5
Instrumentation:

Player I: Crotales

Player II: Vibraphone 1

Player III: Vibraphone 2

Player IV: Marimba 1

Player V: Marimba 2

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.