Music for Percussion Ensemble. This is a list. To purchase, go to “Music for Sale”. If it isn't there, go to mostlymarimba.com. Thanks!
Squish It! is dedicated to Michael Burritt and the Eastman School of Music percussion ensemble. The work was started many years ago, but left unfinished until September of 2025 when Professor Burritt said he would like to program a composition of mine this spring (2026).It is for six marimbas, and requires a kind of drum corps like precision from the ensemble. I knew that I could write pretty much anything for the amazing ESM percussion studio students, and they would manage is successfully. It is in a dramatic style, with lots of contrast texturally and dynamically, in a quick vivo setting. There are a couple of quotes from other compositions of mine, for those who are familiar enough with my music.The title refers to “Panic Pete” the squish it toy, where you squish its belly and the eyes, ears, and mouth pop out in a strange way, much like the music of this composition.
Sarah's Dance (2020). Written for Sarah Tenney, commissioned by the 42md Annual Seminar On Contemporary Music For The Young and the Rivers School Conservatory, and for her Marimba Magic Ensemble. The first commission I did for Sarah and Rivers was a work for marimba solo and chamber orchestra, Rivers of Wood, which was premiered by one of her students.. This time I composed a work for percussion ensemble, Sarah’s Dance. Each part was written for a specific instrument from amongst the available inventory of percussion instruments, and also for a specific student currently involved in her group. The music for Sarah’s Dance is essentially melodic and singing in nature, alternating with more rhythmic sections, very much in a conversational setting, creating a counterpoint of both melody and rhythm. It is a “dance”, because what Sarah and her students do is always an amazing job of bringing music and joy to life through music. The music might be seen as a kind of overture of better things to come in the middle of difficult times in our world. Available from Full Circle Publications soon! Write me at gstout@ithaca.edu if interested. Thanks.
Emerald Romp (2017). A romping and exciting work for this trio combination consisting of vibraphone, marimba, and drum set. It is a difficult work, with rhythmic difficulties, technical challenges, which requires a high level of ensemble skill. I am nonetheless very fond of this music, and hope you will all check it out after listening and watching the premiere by the great percussionists at Northwestern University (coached by She-e Wu and Gordon Stout).
Prolific Platitudes (2016). For percussion quartet. Instrumentation: xylophone, two marimbas (4.0 and 5.0), and drum set. A fun piece, written for the graduate percussion quartet at Ithaca College, and premiered in 2016. This piece has a kind of happy, funky kind of groove, mixed in with a little bit of minimalism. Very playable by any college or advanced high school group. Available from Full Circle Publications.
Look Forward With Your Feet (2016). Written for and premiered at PASIC 2016 for the Univerisity of Texas at Austin group. Andrew Sickmeier, marimba. Tom Burritt, director. Excellent work to feature an advanced marimbist with a small percussion group. Instrumentation: 3 cymbals, Venezuelan maracas, bongos, high drum, and low drum. Not a hastle to set up or go on the road with. Received lots of positive comments at PASIC.