NEW RELEASE: Adrift a Luminous Sky

This summer has been full of writing, teaching, traveling, and visiting with family and good friends. Living “on the road” gave me the opportunity to teach 4 weeks of band camps this year, as well as to pop in to visit the schools that I wrote for this fall.

One of the most rewarding pieces of the summer was being able to see my former students perform with various drum corps while in Indy for DCI Championships.

I also completed and published a new percussion ensemble piece, Adrift a Luminous Sky. This mallet quintet is written for 2 marimbas (both 4.3 octave), 2 vibraphones, and glockenspiel.

Adrift a Luminous Sky

A single motif guides the melodic and polyrhythmic development of a dreamlike musical journey. In this mallet quintet written by Mo Longo, Adrift a Luminous Sky unveils five independent parts which unite to create an orbital rendezvous of serene harmonic textures.

I started writing this piece in the spring during an improv session on the MalletSTATION. My wife and I were camping at Lake Bob Sandlin outside Mt Pleasant, TX, and there had been a series of bad storms making their way through daily. By the time the sky finally cleared up, it felt right to make some music.

I hit record and started playing. A simple motif emerged which then became the driving theme of the piece as I added layers and developed phrases. There wasn’t a specific theme that drove the development of the piece other than the motif itself, and I like that I can have my own interpretation while it’s left open ended for others to have their own listening journey. The piece was unnamed until after it was finished.

Toward the end of the writing process, I closed my eyes to listen back to a few phrases. In listening, I had visions of the night sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars and vast colors sweeping all around me. In sharing this with my former teacher and friend, Steve Rodgers, he suggested a handful of title ideas. Among them was “Adrift a Luminous Sky,” which was perfect.

While some sections might sound random, there are intentional patterns within each part. The parts are quite individualized, actually. I’ve labeled the piece as Medium difficulty, but keep in mind that the individual counting responsibilities within each part may add some extra challenges for certain ensembles.

I suggest that both Vibraphone players hold 4 mallets throughout the entire piece. The Glockenspiel part can be played with 2 mallets throughout, and both Marimba parts have suggested labels on when to use 2 or 4 mallets.

This fall, Adrift a Luminous Sky will be premiered by the Wright State University Percussion Studio, of which I am a proud alum.

The cover artwork was created by my talented former student, Montana Schwing.

Adrift a Luminous Sky is dedicated to the memory of my former student’s sweet parents, Heidi and Jeff Simons.

NEW RELEASE: Adrift a Luminous Sky

Adrift a Luminous Sky can be purchased through these online stores:

Comments ()