Interstellar (Marimba Quartet)

Interstellar’s opening motif was inspired one summer evening while gazing up at the night sky in a rural area, free of any light pollution. The shimmery upper-octave trade-offs emulate the stars gradually popping into view as the sun sets each night. This motif became the basis for the piece, appearing several times in different variations throughout. The middle section takes a less grounded approach, instead imagining astronauts marveling at the wonders of space after pushing out of orbit. The piece, as a whole, has an ethereal, floating feeling with consonant harmonies that are incessantly interrupted by odd time signatures.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration:

Instrumentation
Marimba 1 [5-octave]
Marimba 2 [4.3-octave]
Marimba 3 [4.3-octave]
Marimba 4 [5-octave]

Program Notes
Interstellar’s opening motif was inspired one summer evening while gazing up at the night sky in a rural area, free of any light pollution. The shimmery upper-octave trade-offs emulate the stars gradually popping into view as the sun sets each night. This motif became the basis for the piece, appearing several times in different variations throughout. The middle section takes a less grounded approach, instead imagining astronauts marveling at the wonders of space after pushing out of orbit. The piece, as a whole, has an ethereal, floating feeling with consonant harmonies that are incessantly interrupted by odd time signatures.