Forged in Rhythm (Perc Ens 11)

Forged in Rhythm is a driving work for large percussion ensemble that seeks to capture dual rhythms of the past—the power of industry and the solace of nature—that together shaped the spirit of the Mahoning Valley, one of America's great steel-producing regions.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 11
Level: Medium Easy | Duration: 2:00

Instrumentation
Score (8.5"x11" spiral bound)
Player 1: Bells, High Tom (w/ hard bell mallets)
Player 2: Xylophone 1* (w/ polyball mallets), Snare Drum (w/ SD sticks)
Player 3: Xylophone 2* (polyball mallets), High Brake Drum (SD sticks)
Player 4: Vibraphone, Medium Tom (both w/ medium cord mallets)
Player 5: Chimes, Metal Trash Can (both w/ chime mallets)
Player 6: Marimba 1* (4-octave), Low Tom (both w/ medium yard mallets)
Player 7: Marimba 2*# (4.3-octave), Metal Trash Can (both played w/ medium yarn mallets)
Player 8: Timpani (2 drums)
Player 9: China Cymbal, Ride Cymbal, Sizzle Cymbal (cymbal with a chain of paperclips draped on top), Low Brake Drum, Metal or Plastic Trash Can (all played w/ SD sticks)
Player 10: Tam-Tam (w/ SD sticks, triangle beater, or optional bow), Hi-Hat & Floor Tom (played w/ SD sticks)
Player 11: Bass Drum (muffled), Ribbon Crasher, Triangle (w/ BD mallet, SD sticks, triangle beater)

*The Xylophone and Marimba parts are designed to be performed on one instrument, respectively.

#An optional Marimba 2 part notated in treble clef is provided.

Program Notes
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mahoning Valley in Ohio rose as one of America’s great steel-producing regions. Major companies such as Youngstown Sheet and Tube—founded in 1900 and later the largest corporation in Ohio—along with Republic Steel and U.S. Steel, transformed the valley into a manufacturing powerhouse. The mills ran day and night, their towering smokestacks and glowing furnaces defining the skyline and fueling an industrial boom that shaped daily life for generations.

Thousands of residents, including members of my own family, labored in the mills, producing the steel that built our nation and defended it in times of war. Yet alongside this world of heat and clamor, Mill Creek Park—Ohio’s first metropolitan park—offered a peaceful counterpoint, with its natural beauty and quiet standing in stark contrast to the roar of blast furnaces and the thundering of the rolling mills.

Forged in Rhythm seeks to capture these dual rhythms of the past—the power of industry and the solace of nature—that together shaped the spirit of the Mahoning Valley.