Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the 2026 OMEA Conference, where the Licking Heights Middle School Wind Ensemble percussionists premiered my new piece, Echoes of the Red Planet. It was commissioned by percussion director, Shane Mathews,...
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Echoes of the Red Planet
On Sale
$36.00
$36.00
PHYSICAL COPIES available HERE
- # of Players: 9
- Level: Medium-Easy
- Duration: 4:00
- Instrumentation:
- Player 1 - Timpani [4 drums]
- Player 2 - Concert Bass Drum, Finger Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal
- Player 3 - Concert Snare, Chimes
- Player 4 - Concert Toms, Crotales [1 octave]
- Player 5 - Suspended Cymbal, Splash Cymbal, Brake Drum, Triangle [shared with P6]
- Player 6 - Glockenspiel, Triangle [shared with P5]
- Player 7 - Vibraphone
- Player 8 - Marimba [4.3 octave shared with P9], Sizzle Cymbal
- Player 9 - Marimba [4.3 octave shared with P8], Windchimes
- Release Date: 2026
Echoes of the Red Planet is a dynamic percussion ensemble work inspired by the mysterious forces of space and the shifting patterns of sound and motion. It features driving rhythms and layered soundscapes, inviting performers and listeners alike into its vibrant, interstellar world.
The piece opens and closes with explosive energy, framing a drifting, ethereal middle section filled with nuance and texture. Varying time signatures create a sense of instability and forward motion, mirroring gravity’s distorted pull.
Drawing on cosmic imagery and modern harmonic colors, Echoes of the Red Planet invites listeners to imagine forces that are steady yet fragmented, heavy yet weightless, familiar yet mysterious.
Echoes of the Red Planet was commissioned by Shane Mathews and the Licking Heights Middle School Percussion Ensemble for their performance at the 2026 OMEA Conference in Columbus, OH.