Nechamkin-Artemis (SP)-Artemis (SP)-B/2V/Cro./4M/4T/P

The explorative Artemis illustrates scenes from nature using a familiar percussion palate with unique harmonies and organic grooves. Six keyboard performers and three percussionists portray a variety of moods and atmospheres woven together with grounded melodic themes.

Named after the Greek Goddess of wild animals, hunting, and vegetation, the work is organized into four distinct sections: Hunt, Garden, Life, and Earth. Each section portrays its namesake sonically:

HUNT

The nearly frantic rhythms and cyclical dynamics give a hair-raising reference to the realities of nature's food chain.

GARDEN

The audience is given a chance to relax, breathe, and reflect on natural occurring beauty and sustenance.

LIFE

Inspired by a sweeping landscape shot from the wildlife documentary Planet Earth, this section once again throws the audience into the intense, high stakes game of survival that wildlife endure to survive.

EARTH

This section takes a step back to give a holistic view by using the various themes and timbres to tie the piece together in an epochal summary.

The sections are connected with a repetitive, swelling call from the metallic keyboards and a larger-than-life, bombastic timpani solo. The metallic call expresses the cyclical passing of time, and the timpani suggests a grandiose connection from scene-to-scene.

Additional Information:

• Number of Players: 9
• Difficulty: Intermediate/advanced
• Instrumentation:
• Player 1: Vibraphone 1, crash cymbal
• Player 2: Vibraphone 2, sizzle cymbal
• Player 3: Marimba 1 (4.3 octave)
• Player 4: Marimba 2 (4.3 octave)
• Player 5: Marimba 3 (4.3 octave)
• Player 6: Marimba 4 (5 octave)
• Player 7: 4 Timpani, 2 woodblocks, cymbal stack, suspended cymbal
• Player 8: 4 Concert toms, China cymbal, crotales (2 octaves)
• Player 9: Concert bass drum, brake drum, ribbon crasher, temple blocks, glockenspiel