NEW RELEASE: Daredevil's Diary

Daredevil's Diary was commissioned by Andrew Richardson and the University of Oklahoma Percussion Studio. I completed the piece on January 1st, 2024 and it was subsequently performed by several members of the OU studio throughout the year.

Making this piece available to the public now brings back some thoughts I had while composing it:

The title of this duo was its finishing touch. The piece had the essence of intricacy, mystery and adventure, and it needed a name. After a day or two of devoting my entire creative mind to finding the perfect title, while bouncing several ideas off of other creative friends, the right one still hadn't come.

At this point, it was December 31st, 2023, and my wife and I were staying in San Diego at the time. We decided to take a break from work and walk a few blocks to the ocean to join other beachgoers in watching the final sunset of the year. Looking out into the horizon, we broke brief moments of silence in shouting out title ideas back and forth.

"Daredevil's Diary," she said. And with that, finishing out a year never felt so good!

I've labeled the difficulty of Daredevil's Diary as Medium-Advanced, to ideally be playable by "advanced college percussion majors." It is noted that the multi-percussion part in particular requires a high level of agility and precision, and that although the marimba player may feel the desire to increase speed at tempo changes, performing the piece at the written tempo markings will not only allow controlled playability across both instrument setups, but will also ensure that the grooves don't feel frantic but rather sit nicely in the pocket.

In the rubato section at m.158, the duo can feel free to stretch this section and take some sweet time for contemplation and reflection before the final tempo change leads us into the final phrase.

I'll finish out here with the Program Notes, which you'll find in the printed music. If you intend to program this piece, please feel free to reach out. I'd love to hear from you!

PROGRAM NOTES

Daredevil’s Diary. I believe this title can spark a literal image or story while also conveying a more general shared human experience that we can all relate to on some level, of taking a risk:

There’s the dawning of a new idea or possibility of adventure, one that gives us a pit in our stomach and butterflies all at once. Our heartbeat almost becomes audible. (m.1)
Feeling whimsical, we start to formulate a plan. (m.21)
This idea presents enough of a challenge that we must spend time measuring the risk and carefully calculating the scheme. It’s a mix of thoughts and emotions. (m.34)
We begin putting in the work and cautiously executing the plan. As we set out on the expedition, our motivation and drive increases. (m.67)
We step back to take it all in, contemplating what we’ve done so far to get to this point, how far we have yet to go, and the end goal to be achieved. (m.108)
Now that we’re on the trail of pursuit, the original idea takes on new meaning and our anticipation builds. (m.130)
We experience a final moment of pause and contemplation. (m.158)
This is it. We’ve put in the work, we’re ready, and now it’s time to take the leap. (m.178)

University of Oklahoma Percussion Studio Consortium Members

Andrew Richardson, organizer

Michal Brauhn Damm, Chiara Carpenter, Dillon Carpenter, Jace Harris, Ben Holmes, Derek Johnson, Josh McDowell, Brooke McIntosh, Tanner Mickle, Caleb Roybal, Grayson Rushing, Alex Price, Preston Smith, Eli Zaragoza

NEW RELEASE: Daredevil's Diary

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