Bend (Marimba Quartet)

No matter what stands in your way, to overcome you must be willing to bend, but never break. Bend is a marimba quartet that explores a variety of styles and syncopations while never requiring the use of 4-mallets.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4
Series: N/A
Level: Intermediate | Duration: 5:10

Instrumentation
Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)

Marimba 1: 4-octave*, 1 pair soft yarn mallets, 1 pair medium-hard mallets
Marimba 2: 4-octave, 1 pair soft yarn mallets, 1 pair medium-hard mallets
Marimba 3: 4-octave, 1 pair soft yarn mallets, 1 pair medium-hard mallets
Marimba 4: 5-octave*, 1 pair soft yarn mallets, 1 pair medium-hard mallets

*Players 1 & 4 may share one 5-octave marimba.

Program Notes
In everyday life, we face trials that we must overcome. However big or small, everyone has reached a point in their lives where they were given the option to either overcome a barrier in their way or simply give up. This piece encapsulates the process of working through these obstacles. The hopefulness when beginning, the inevitable “wall” and internal struggles, and the feeling of coming out the other side stronger. No matter what stands in your way, to overcome you must be willing to bend, but never break.

Bend was commissioned by Joseph Cohn and the Garland High School Percussion Ensemble in 2023 and premiered in April, 2024.