Chris Kapica – Bass Quest IX, The Thunderstick Chronicles

Bass Quest IX: The Thunderstick Chronicles was written in 2012 for the Line C3 Percussion Group with the composer as bass soloist. The title is a play on the 1980s computer game, Space Quest, a playful sci-fi adventure game series with names like “Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon.” In Space Quest, a janitor named Roger Wilco travels the galaxy in search of “truth, justice, and really clean floors.” In Bass Quest, the four percussionists travel across the stage, from the stage wings to four corner setups to a central drumline and back again in their own search for truth, justice, and really tight grooves.

—Sam Solomon