Dancing Lights

I chose John Adams to take inspiration from, having a driving pulse and combining instruments to imitate bell-like percussive envelopes. Composers like John Adams increased the popularity of percussion, especially mallet percussion, opting for clarity instead of the fuzzy smoothness of the romantic era. In this piece, there are 'points' that stick out with a short attack with a long release, forming repeating motifs which develop over time.

I also took light inspiration from Christos Hatzis' "Quantum Transitions" for percussion trio which I heard performed in January 2023. By deceiving the audience into feeling the music on offbeats, what looks simple on the page sounds syncopated and energetic.

In my imagination, the movement of these 'points' and the feeling of rhythmic instability amid the cloudy atmosphere create the visual image of flickering moving lights that pierce through the fog.