David T. Little - Three Sams (2006)
I have always wanted to write etudes, but it just never quite felt right. For a composer to write etudes, to me, they must have a personal relationship to the instrument for which they are writing. Standing outside of the piano-playing composer tradition as I do, it felt wrong to write etudes for that instrument, even though it tends to be the standard.

It has been a wonderful experience, therefore, to be afforded this opportunity to write percussion etudes for Sam Solomon. In part, because Sam in an amazing musician and a good friend, but also, having played percussion for many years, it felt right for me to write etudes for this collection of instruments.

I. (---)-I-Am. A perpetual motion figure in the vibraphone is redistributed among the other instruments on the left side of the set-up. Pitches of the melody are replaced with their non-pitched equivalent - i.e. the cowbell, sounding an F replaces an F on the vibraphone. Similar substitutions in the crotales create a melodic line derived entirely from the original perpetual motion material, essentially creating a melody and an accompaniment.

II. Son of (---) is about a rhythm. The title, I am sorry to say, is a pun. A "son" is a type of clave rhythm. In full disclosure, I must admit that the clave used in this movement is not actually a son, but rather a Bossa Nova Clave. Sorry about that for those clave purists out there. At any rate, the musical material is meant to suggest two conflicting personalities, eventually leading to a straight-jacket dance party. If you hear a dog talking to you during this movement, seek help.

III. Wicked Uncle (---) - named after a bearded military recruiter we all know well - deals with very subtle coordination, as the performer is asked to navigate a complex rhythmic field treating each mallet of a four-mallet configuration as an independent limb, including the feet. Basically, Sam becomes an octopus; a redheaded octopus with glasses. It might also be interesting to note that the octopus was a common symbol used in anti-imperialist agit-prop from the early and mid-20th century. That octopus didn't generally wear glasses, however.
-DTL

Composer/Performer David T. Little is actively committed to music of dramatic intensity and direct expression. A composer of great diversity, Little's music seeks to combine elements of social- engagement and theater with his experience as a rock drummer and his training as a classical composer. These elements found synergy in Little's recent large-scale theater work, Soldier Songs, which was commissioned and premiered by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in 2006. The recipient of numerous awards and commissions, Little holds a degree in percussion performance from Susquehanna University and degrees in composition from the University of Michigan and Princeton University, where he is currently a doctoral candidate. He has been a composition fellow at both the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Aspen Music Festival, where he was awarded the Jacob Druckman Prize for his work Screamer! - the west-coast premiere of which was given by Marin Alsop at the 2005 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Little is the founder, artistic director and drummer for the rock band / ensemble Newspeak, which seeks to explore the relationship between social-engagement and music through energetic concerts in diverse venues, and is a co-founder and co-director of Free Speech Zone Productions. For more information, please see www.davidtlittle.com