Optimal Damage - Stephen Karukas [DIGITAL]

Optimal Damage is an exciting percussion quartet for accessible instruments. Solo/duo opportunities take place over a groovy backbone, including wood block “snare breaks” and polyrhythmic illusions that create a fun challenge for both students and seasoned players.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 4
Series: N/A
Level: Intermediate | Duration: 5:00

Instrumentation
Player 1: Bongos, Medium Woodblock
Player 2: Small Cymbal, Low Woodblock
Player 3: Snare Drum, Kick Drum on Stand, Crash Cymbal
Player 4: 3 Toms, Hi-Hat

Program Notes
I wrote Optimal Damage for the percussion ensemble at Concord High School (Indiana). At the time, I had just graduated from college, and I decided to take a step back in time to pay homage to the kinds of music that first inspired me to become a percussionist when I was in high school.

Some things that came to mind were the snare breaks that I would play in the marching band show or hear from the prominent indoor drumlines of the time, as well as the groovy, unpitched percussion ensemble music I was exposed to. Inspired by this memory, Optimal Damage includes a groovy backbone over which solo/duo opportunities take place, including wood block “snare breaks” and polyrhythmic illusions that create a fun challenge for both students and seasoned players.

Optimal Damage was also written with accessibility in mind. The instrumentation is simple enough to be available to virtually any music program or freelance percussionist, and it is small enough to fit in a car.

– S.K.