StarDancer
General Info
Year of Composed: 2020
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Series: The IGNITE Series
Duration: 00:03:00
Difficulty: Elementary
Commissioner: Hawaii Youth Percussion Ensemble, Caden Hong
Cost: $32.00
Instrumentation
Player 1: Glockenspiel
Player 2: Xylophone
Player 3: Marimba 1
Player 4: Marimba 2
Player 5: 3 Timpani
Player 6: Triangle & Snare Drum
Player 7: Suspended Cymbal & 2 Concert Tom-toms
Player 8: Concert Bass Drum & Shaker & Tambourine
Program Notes
StarDancer is dedicated to & inspired by my 3-year-old daughter, Penelope, as she has started expressing greater interest in the moon and the stars. Nothing gets her out of bed faster in the early morning than asking if she wants to go look at the stars before the sun comes up. She also has a great affinity for dancing to anything that moves her. This usually means there are drums & hand-clapping involved. From the opening measures of the piece, sparkling sounds permeate the ensemble with high glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, and suspended cymbal. As it evolves, the piece alternates between light-hearted, spinning dances and more raucous, foot-stomping dances. I just kept asking myself, “What would Penelope like to hear?”
Performance Notes
The piece may be performed with as few as 5 players (Glockenspiel & Xylophone & the 3 Percussion parts). If you add a 6th player, add Timpani first. If you have even more players, add Marimba 2, then Marimba 1, and then you can experiment with doubling the Glockenspiel and Xylophone with Vibraphone and Marimba, respectively. Additionally, the three percussion parts are written so they are each playable by one person or they may be split into two players each.
Recent Performance
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Vibraphone Solo
Encantada
No One is Alone
Penelope
The Place Where Lost Things Go
Marimba Solo
Burned
Mountain Paths
The Giving Tree Variations
Multiple Percussion Solo
Mallet Ensemble
- Immortal Dream - Mallet Septet
- Spun - Mallet Octet
- A Yuletide Celebration
- Azul
Small Ensemble
- Almost Beyond
- Blaze - Percussion Septet
- Black Rainbow - Percussion Octet
- Ellipsis - Percussion Octet
- Fever Dream - Percussion Quartet
- Fidget - Percussion Octet
- Lost Souls - Percussion Quintet
- Mercury Rising - Percussion Septet
- Power Struggle - Percussion Octet
- StarDancer - Percussion Octet
- Sunward/Onward - Percussion Nonet
Medium Ensemble
- Adaptation - Percussion (11)
- Chasing Infinity- Percussion Ensemble (13)
- Edge of the World - Percussion Ensemble (10)
- Firefly (Nathan Daughtrey) - Percussion Ensemble (12)
- Jötenheim - Percussion (13)
- Legacies - Percussion Ensemble (10)
- Limerick Daydream - Percussion Ensemble (10)
- Luminescence - Percussion Ensemble (12)
- The Cry - Percussion Ensemble (12)
- The Dreamers of Dreams - Percussion Ensemble (12)
- Till the Stars Come Down - Percussion Ensemble (10)
- Topsy Turvy - Percussion Ensemble (12)
- What Lies Within - Percussion Ensemble (10)
Large Ensemble
- DrakenVuur - Percussion Ensemble 20+
- Luna, Luna - Percussion (15)
- The Heroes Around Us - Percussion (16)
Flexible Ensemble
Aftershock
Drums of Moria
Fallen Stars
Prism Schism
Sea of Tranquility (Full Percussion Ensemble Version)
Percussion Concerto
- Concerto for Vibraphone & Percussion Ensemble
- Halcyon Days
- Irish Washerwoman
- The Foggy Dew
- Water Spirits
Percussion Ensemble with Other Instrument
As Above, So Below - Percussion Ensemble (12) with Piano
Be That of the Wind - Percussion Octet with Wind Quintet
Bounce - Percussion Ensemble (12) with Solo Trumpet
Coming Home - Percussion Quintet with Solo Euphonium
Spitfire II - Percussion Nonet with Solo Euphonium
Twitch - Percussion Ensemble (11) with Solo Clarinet
The Wexford Carol - Percussion Nonet with Solo Soprano Saxophone