Wahlund-Four Sketches for Sam (SP)-M/Tenor Pan

Four Sketches for Sam by Ben Wahlund was the 3rd place winner of the PAS Composition Contest in 2006. This duet for tenor pan and five octave marimba is written to echo the warm, childlike nature of the composer's black lab/springer spaniel mix and their experiences together. Four Sketches for Sam uses modified applications of counterpoint, thematic textural interplay between the marimba and double tenor/tenor steel pans, and accessibility through consistent grooves and diatonicism to achieve that end. This piece is composed to move past the norm of a songo/montuno-based style of duet writing for pan and marimba. The four movements are titled Little Yellow Flowers, A Good Day, Silhouette, and Dream Fields.