percussion and live audio media - 8 min.
Program Notes:
To grapple is to engage in a struggle for dominance, often in a physical manner, with someone or something. Grāpple is also the brand name of a suspiciously tasty, grape-flavored apple, obviously the result of some kind of unnatural, mad-science experimentation. The word is a perfect encapsulation of this piece. The percussionist must struggle for dominance over both a glockenspiel and a drum-kit, creating an unnatural synthesis of the two instruments. Furthermore, the percussionist’s sound is processed with live electronics, using a variety of techniques to hybridize both the different instruments and the different sections of the piece.
Performance History
World Premiere: October 24, 2011
Conrad Prebys Experimental Theatre, University of California, San Diego
Dustin Donahue, percussion
Recording
Score