Alborada del Gracioso, by Maurice Ravel

Performed by arx duo Garrett Arney and Mari Yoshinaga For more on arx duo: http://vicfirth.com/artists/arxduo.php ABOUT THE PIECE: Ravel composed Alborada del gracioso as a piano piece in 1905 and orchestrated it in 1918. The first performance of the orchestral version was given in Paris on May 17, 1919. The score calls for three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and english horn, two clarinets, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, crotales, triangle, tambourine, castanets, side drum, cymbals, bass drum, xylophone, two harps, and strings. Performance time is approximately seven minutes. The Safri Duo's arrangement of Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso is considered by some to be a milestone in percussion performance. This fantastic arrangement for marimba duet is a great study in classical literature as applied to percussion (particularly the marimba). ABOUT THE PERFORMERS: arx duo is an electrifying new percussion duo featuring young artists Mari Yoshinaga and Garrett Arney. Their passion and excitement for the developing genre of percussion chamber music is palpable every time they take the stage. Born from a deep-seated respect for the score, their performances are powered by a strong symbiotic musical vision, and colored with a unique creativity. Their desire to forge new connections and artistic pathways - or "arcs" - within the genre, expanding the opportunities for percussion performance, forms the inspiration for the name "arx duo". With a repertoire ranging from established masters to todays newest compositional voices, arx duo has worked closely with composers such as Alejandro Vinao, James Wood, and Gaudeamus Prize winner Ted Hearne. Always seeking opportunities to bring percussion to a wide variety of audiences, the group has recently collaborated with pianists Boris Berman and Lisa Moore. The duo is the latest in the legacy of spectacular percussive chamber musicians coming from the Yale School of Music's percussion studio directed by Robert van Sice. arx duo performed at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in addition to performances and outreaches along the east coast. arx duo will debut in Japan this December, and will be the ensemble in residence at the Lake George Music Festival in New York.