Duration c. 21 minutes Comissioned by Fromm Music Foundation, Harvard University Premiered by Mantra Percussion, October 1, 2022, as part of Concert:Nova's Fiday-Palooza concert
Electric Guitar was composed for New York-based percussion ensemble Mantra Percussion, who long ago planted the idea in my mind to compose a piece wherein the members of the group played electric guitars as percussion instruments. The ensemble for Electric Guitar is divided up into two symmetrical trios consisting of electric guitars and basses, each with its own tuning, laid flat and played with chopsticks (in a manner similar to playing a hammered dulcimer), and instruments commonly associated with a traditional drum-set that are dispersed amongst the ensemble.
Electric Guitar consists of two movements, the first consisting of three sections: I. Dulcimer, II. Surge, and III. Dulcimer II (reprise). The second and final slow movement (IV. Pavane), is marked “in memoriam,” and is dedicated to the memory of Louis Andriessen and George Crumb, two significant creative guiding lights who passed away within a year of each other during the composing of this work.
Electric Guitar was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation.