The goal of the SCINTILLATIONS project is simple. We aim to make the percussion and greater musical community more inclusive and accessible for young musicians by providing a creative space for historically underrepresented peoples with the same goals. Our goal is to perform a program across Texas and the Eastern Coast of the US that showcases music written by individuals of diverse racial, gender, and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds, that also bridges the gap between popular and contemporary/orchestral music. In pursuit of this goal, Blacktop Percussion has organized a consortium for SCINTILLATIONS, a 10-15 minute percussion quartet inspired by hip-hop and rock music, written by composer Sebastian Zhang.
SCINTILLATIONS is an advanced, contemporary, and unique percussion quartet that resembles qualities of many popular styles of music in the 21st century, with a distinct approach unique to Sebastian Zhang. Described as a “dream-like reinterpretation of radioactive particles and processes as songs and conversations,” the work is scored for Chinese opera hand cymbals, prepared snare drums, and as many cool-sounding metal objects that both Blacktop and Sebastian can find. The piece promises a fascinating soundscape colored by vibraphone and tuned pipes, alongside laughing harmonies and dense polyrhythms. It'll be full of hisses and howls from aluminum foil and other prepared instruments, but still filled with the electric melodies and energetic rock-band-energy that drives Sebastian's musical language. It's about the wonders of radioactivity, in various beautiful forms—nuclear fusion at the hearts of stars, cosmic background radiation, and spinthariscopic toys.
Check out more about the piece here on Sebastian's website, as well as this short preview.
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