Stout-Desperate Attitudes (SP)-B/V/Cro./Steel Dr./X/4M/4T/P OS

Desperate Attitudes by Gordon Stout is a difficult work of about 13 minutes in length for large a percussion ensemble of 11 players (one 5.0 oct. mba. required). All percussion instruments are traditional, except for one player on lead steel drum, one player on djembe, and one player with eight tunable tom toms (or roto toms). This piece was commissioned by Michael Burritt and the Northwestern University percussion ensemble, and was premiered in May of 1998, Michael Burritt directing.

The original musical ideas for the composition were created the day after the death of Princess Diana. The title refers to attitudes which cause many negative and unnecessary things to happen. There seems to be a great appetite for these kinds of things in our society today. The music bears no resemblance to the original ideas that I composed on that dark day. Instead, as the music progressed, it took on a more happy, vital, and dance like spirit .


Number of Players: 11
Difficulty: Grade 5
Instrumentation:
Player I: Bells, Steel Drum
Player II: Xylo, Crotales
Player III: Vibes
Player IV: Marimba I
Player V: Marimba 2
Player VI: Marimba 3
Player VII: Marimba 4
Player VIII: Djembe
Player IX: 8 toms, Log Drums
Player X: 3 Snare Drums
Player XI: Tympani, Small Sus. CYm



GORDON STOUT (b.1952) is currently Professor of Percussion at the School of Music, Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y. A composer as well as percussionist who specializes on marimba, he has studied composition with Joseph Schwantner, Samuel Adler and Warren Benson, and percussion with James Salmon and John Beck.As a composer-recitalist he has premiered a number of his original compositions and works by other contemporary composers. Many of his compositions for marimba are published, and have already become standard repertoire for marimbists world-wide. His recordings are devoted not only to his own music, but also that of the general standard repertoire by important American composers.