Kevin Keith performs Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by Ryan Elvert with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lawrence Golan!
-----------------------------
MALLETS:
Robert van Sice Signature Series
vicfirth.com/robert-van-sice/
-----------------------------
ABOUT THE PIECE
Ryan Elvert’s “Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra” is a compact, potent composition filled with plentiful tension and release, this piece represents the artist at his most vulnerable: each movement seems to represent an individual episode of the overcoming of adversity. The first movement, centered around B-minor and full of cadenza flourishes, brings forth an image of an oncoming storm, similar to being caught in a hurricane or earthquake. The energy dissipates into the second movement, centered around A-flat minor, turning from the inner storm to the outward loneliness of a night in a forest, surrounded only by a treeless landscape. With the sparse marimba texture, one can feel the black of night and hear the soft moonlight. The third movement, finally landing in the key of F-sharp minor, culminates the full circle nature of the piece. The exertion of the first and second movements finds its reprieve in a flurry of arpeggiated broken chords in the marimba and overlapping syncopations in the orchestra.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
Ryan Elvert (b. 1994) is a composer and a percussionist based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a graduate of Central Michigan University where he earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Theory/Composition. While at CMU, Ryan studied percussion with Andrew Spencer and studied composition with Scott Harding, Jay Batzner, José-Luis Maúrtua, and David Gillingham. His sources of inspiration originate from classical literature, human emotion, and the aesthetic of nature. Ryan’s works for percussion have been premiered by the Central Michigan University Percussion Ensemble, RELA Percussion, re:creat duo, and the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. In 2016, his composition Waters of Oblivion - for fixed media and percussion was accepted to Electronic Music Midwest. The music of Ryan Elvert is available for purchase through his website and C Alan Publications.
ABOUT THE PERFORMER:
Kevin Keith is a freelance musician and educator based in Denver, Colorado. A strong advocate for new music and progressive music education, he enjoys spending his time in various teaching and performing opportunities in and around the Denver metropolitan area. He also actively teaches and performs in Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan.
As a performer, Kevin Keith is an active performer in chamber, orchestral and solo percussion. He has performed with the Colorado Symphony, Denver Philharmonic, Aurora Symphony, Boulder Symphony, Broomfield Symphony, Mason Symphony, Great Lakes Chamber and Lansing Symphony Orchestras as a percussionist and timpanist. He has been a featured member of the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra and ChosenVale Seminar Percussion Ensemble.
As a soloist, he has performed as a featured solo artist at events such as the McCormick Marimba Festival in Tampa, Florida and Electronic Music Midwest in Chicago, Illinois. He has also been a featured soloist with the Michigan State University Percussion Ensemble, Central Michigan University Symphony Orchestra, Lamont Percussion Ensemble, Lamont Symphony Orchestra and the Aurora Symphony Orchestra. He is an advocate of new works for percussion and electronics, having premiered or commissioned works by composers such as Ryan Elvert, Justin Rito, Ivan Trevino, Wally Gunn and Alejandro Viñao. As a chamber artist, Kevin currently works with Phoenix-based artist Ben Yats in commissioning new music in percussion in the mountain region of the United States. He has also performed as a guest percussionist with world-renowned percussion artists Sandbox Percussion and arx duo.
Kevin’s instructing duties include the Director of Percussion position at Chatfield Senior High School in Littleton, Colorado. His students have received superior ranks in Solo & Ensemble and Honors Band competitions, as well as placing into music institutes or summer events such as the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Michigan State University Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, Jefferson County (CO) Honors Band and Legends Drum and Bugle Corps.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University, a Master of Music Performance from Michigan State University, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.
Kevin is proudly published through Heartland Marimba Festival Publications.
18 апр 2018
