BEMIDJI — Percussion often plays a supporting role at concerts. Unless there’s something like a cymbal crash, they rarely get the spotlight. The upcoming Bemidji State University Percussion Ensemble puts percussion players center stage.
The concert is at 7:32 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4 at Bangsberg Hall’s Main Theater.
Percussion is more than snares and bass drums. It includes marimbas, xylophones, vibraphones, concert bells, chimes, timpani, big kettle drums and even piano. The piano is technically a percussion instrument because it uses hammers to hit strings.
All these instruments will be featured at the ensemble concert and will also include something called a MalletKAT: an electronic keyboard that can make hundreds of different sounds. It will be used as an electric bass for this concert.
The ensemble consists of nine BSU students, but only three are percussion majors. The others are majoring in English, business and nursing. The ensemble features a core group of players who have been playing together for four years, encouraging others to join. They can’t perform without other majors playing with them.
We play way more notes in percussion ensemble than we would in like a concert band situation and I think that's again a draw for those students is they want that challenge.Eric Sundeen
Adjunct professor Eric Sundeen told Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show that students across many majors join simply because they want to play music.
They plan to open the concert with a piece in 5/4 time. It is an unusual choice, but as Sundeen says, "Why not?" Following will be a piece by Gordon Peters called Swords of Moda-Ling, then a drum piece called Tap Click and then Lynn Glasscock’s Factions. Ivan Trevino’s piece called PUNX follows and they'll wrap things up with a piece by Béla Fleck called Stomping Grounds.
The group practices 6-8 p.m. every Wednesday. Usually, they have 14 rehearsals before the concert. Each student has a key to the room of percussion instruments if they want to practice on their own.
“I’m very proud of them as an instructor that I walk in there and... everybody has a signed-out practice time that they can get in on those instruments,” Sundeen said.
How they determine who will play which instrument is done early in the rehearsal process. During warm-ups, Sundeen identifies each person’s strengths and then places them with an instrument that will challenge them or introduce them to something new.
The percussion ensemble isn’t the only concert in Bangsberg this time of year. There are frequent concerts and recitals until the end of the semester, and Sundeen describes the vibe with one word: “Busy.”
“Everybody's really excited to be there. It's a really wonderful sense of community there right now," Sundeen said. "Everybody knows how much work goes into it all, so we all kind of support each other."
Sundeen said there are a few things he factors when grading the ensemble, including attendance and effort. He says it’s rarely an issue, because students who participate are excited and genuinely want to be there.
“I think a lot of us just love to play music. A lot of us are drawn to the hard work that it takes, the effort that it takes to go into it and the satisfaction you get from a good performance,” Sundeen said.
He also appreciates the chance for percussionists to be in the spotlight.
“We play way more notes in percussion ensemble than we would in like a concert band situation, and I think that's again a draw for those students: they want that challenge," Sundeen said. "It's fun for us because it is our time to shine.”
Tickets for the performance are available through the BSU ticketing system website and at the door for $10.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
