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Performance Highlights

 

Highlights from Orphic’s performance at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

Works include Muse of Fire by Alexis Alrich, DisArchitecture by Dave Hall, Quartet for Four Snare Drums by Kevin Bobo, Celestial Dance by Stefan Cwik, Toccata by Prokofiev, and Boom by Terry Longshore & Brett Reed.

Quartet for Four Snare Drums

Orphic performs Kevin Bobo's "Quartet for Four Snare Drums" at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

A wonderful showpiece, Quartet for Four Snare Drums infuses elements of marching snare drumming into the concert paradigm, allowing the members of Orphic to showcase their unique, unified background in drum corps in a recital context.

Muse of Fire: Mvt III - Inferno

Orphic performs Alexis Alrich's "Muse of Fire" at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

Composed by Alexis Alrich in 2015, Muse of Fire is one of our most popular pieces. Alrich was living in Beijing and Hong Kong at the time of its writing, and was clearly influenced by the music of the region. The pentatonic scale can be heard throughout, although it is not the only way that melody is derived in the work.

Musée

Orphic performs Kevin Bobo's "Musée" at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

Kevin Bobo’s “Musée” is a programmatic work based on the composer’s trip to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The piece is presented in a series of vignettes which take the listener on a sonic journey through the museum. Impressionist influences such as Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, and Satie can be heard throughout.

Toccata

Orphic performs Samuel Chan's arrangement of "Toccata" by Sergei Prokofiev at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

This is a marimba duo arrangement of a standard solo piano showpiece, featuring huge leaps, quick interval changes, and challenging choreography, with some edits made for playability. Performed by Michael Downing and Cameron Leach.

Boom

Orphic performs "Boom" at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on April 18, 2019, as part of the group's 2019 Pacific Northwest Tour.

Boom is a fun, entertaining, and virtuosic multi-percussion duet with nods to some of percussion’s greatest composers, namely Steve Reich and Iannis Xenakis. Rhythmic cells weave in and out of alignment, converging at important points and breaking apart for moments of creative improvisation. Performed by Stuart Langsam and Sean Clark.

Relics: Dances for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra

Shortly after its premiere, Relics was nominated by the San Francisco Classical Voice as “Best New Music Performance” of 2018. The piece, composed in 2017, was originally written for Orphic Percussion and the Sequoia Brass Quintet. Cwik later orchestrated the brass parts and expanded the percussion score to the version which is recorded here, featuring Orphic as soloists with Symphony Parnassus.