Heartland Marimba Quartet Performs AGAPE   MPUC March 2017 by award-winning composer Sabrina Pena Young. HMQ provides a dynamic public image for the HMF organization by focusing on high caliber performances of contemporary works by American composers. It is a year-round performing group made up of accomplished marimba specialists. Its regular engagements include a tour in the fall semester, a tour in the spring semester, and a residency during the HMF Academy. The ensemble, with the diverse and broad experience of its performers, serves as the primary artist teachers/mentors to the students of the annual HMF Academy. http://www.heartlandmarimbafestival.com/quartet/ Sabrina Pena Young @dalatindiva Enjoy this Video? Then check out Composer Boot Camp 101: 50 Exercises for Educators, Students and Music Professionals https://www.amazon.com/Composer-Boot-Camp-101-Professionals/dp/1530441064  Composer Boot Camp is a series of 50 exercises for educators ...

Heartland Marimba Quartet Interview Sabrina Pena Young READ THE FULL MUSIC INTERVIEW HERE:  http://www.heartlandmarimbafestival.com/blog-newsletter/2017/3/5/blog-sabrina-pena-young Here at HMF we are committed to building a large community that surrounds and supports the classical marimba arts. To extend our appreciation, we are doing a question and answer with the artists in a blog series. First on the list is Sabrina Pena Young, a member of New York Women Composers, Inc. (NYWC). NYWC recently awarded HMF the 2016 NYWC Seed Money Grant.  We thought that Sabrina would be a great person to do our first blog with because of her unique personality and expansive background in music.  Read below to get a glimpse into her world. Short Bio: As a young girl Sabrina became interested in performing in all sorts of groups ranging from orchestras to rock bands. As she continued her education at the University of South Florida , she decided to take another path. “S...

HMQ is Matthew Coley, Abby Fisher (first call sub), Michael J. Jones, Joe Millea, and Andrew Veit. Contact HMF soon to book a concert with HMQ. 2017 repertoire: Fôr Marimbas – Alex Orfaly Agapé – Sabrina Pena Young Momentia/Minutia – Scott Blasco Fluidity – Steven Simpson Fantasy – Kevin Romanski New York Triptych – Gordon Stout Marimba Quartet – Michael Burritt Tanc Szervusz – Alex Orfaly

Heartland Marimba Quartet at DMSC ! 08 Mar 19:30 - 21:00 Des Moines Social Club, 900 Mulberry St The Heartland Marimba Quartet, a subsidiary of the Heartland Marimba Festival organization, officially launches in 2017. An exciting and incendiary initiative of HMF, HMQ is an ensemble of four dynamic solo performers that will premier this collaboration with a tour throughout Iowa and Minnesota . It was very important for HMQ to present to the world by doing their first tour in the heart of the heartland where HMF has been growing since 2014. The ensemble will tour the nation regularly in the spring and fall and will be in residence as the artist faculty each summer at the Heartland Marimba Festival Academy at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point . HMQ officially launches with its first concert in the Culinary Loft of the Des Moines Social Club! Doors open for the party at 6pm. Food served and included in admission price. CONCERT BEGINS AT 7:30pm. There will be a cash bar...

Working on a composition and figuring out some ideas on my Malletkat. Enjoy!

Percussion 101: Percussion Families When most people ask what I play, I say "Percussion". They usually look at me with a questioning look, and a "Oh, that's nice". Then I say, "I play the drums." The lightbulb hits. "Oh, you are a DRUMMER!" Percussion is more than Animal banging on a set of toms. It is more than "More COWBELL!" and it is definitely more than that little monkey that plays the cymbals. There are several different groups of percussion instruments. Since percussion instruments essentially include anything you hit or shake to make noise (including noisemakers like bird whistles, car brake drums, radios, and the kitchen sink), being able to include every instrument seems like a daunting task.  Generally musicians group percussion into pitched and non-pitched percussion. Here are some basic pitched Percussion Instruments:  Pitched Metals : Bells, Crotales, Vibraphone, Chimes Pitched Wood : Marimba, Xylophone Pitched Drum...

Nearly every piece that comes a Percussionist 's way will consist of the following: A run-of-the-mill SNARE DRUM part A BASS DRUM part which plays monotonously on beats 1 and 3 A MALLET part (usually bells --ouch--- or xylophone) which mimics the woodwinds And a TIMPANI part which copies the tubas or basses Oh, and let's not forget the CYMBAL part, which consists of enthralling cymbal rolls and exciting CRASHES!!!! Now, not much can be done for those currently de-composers who had to write for this instrumentation. After all, if the reigning monarch or local cathedral had a set of kettle drums, a military drum, and a couple of metal plates, that was what you had to go with. Writing for the army? Ditto. The Church your patron? Just try incorporating hand drums. Heretics, for sure. BUT...this IS the Third Millennium. And PERCUSSION has come to mean pretty much anything, yep ANYTHING, you can hit, beat, scrape, blow, whistle, bow, shake, roll, kick, turn on, p...