(b. 1959)
Sebastian Currier was born in Pennsylvania, US in 1959. Along with his brother Nathan, Currier comes from a family of gifted musicians and composers. He studied composition at the Julliard School and Manhattan School of Music, receiving degrees from both institutions. His work Microsymph has famously been described as a “30-minute symphony compressed into 10 minutes”. The premiere of his work Remix was performed by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2005 during an entire evening of his compositions. In 1992, Sebastian Currier completed the orchestration of Stephen Albert’s Symphony No 2 following his tragic and untimely death in December of that year. The 2nd symphony along with that of the 1st was released on the Naxos label and subsequently won a Pulitzer Prize. Anne-Sophie Mutter has been a champion of Currier’s work recording Aftersong which was dedicated to her. Mutter also premiered his work Time Machines in 2011 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Sebastian Currier was appointed Artist in Residence in 2013 at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.
Sebastian Currier Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Bodymusic
No Timpani + 2 percussion
Vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, snare drum, tom tom, brake drum, suspended cymbal, high suspended cymbal, hi hats, Bb7 crotale, gong, guiro, cowbell, woodblock, tambourine, ratchet, triangle, police whistle, flexatone
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Divisions
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) vibraphone, suspended cymbal, flexatone, triangle, brake drum, 2) anvil, xylophone, triangle, hi hat, marimba, tambourine, snare drum, brake drum, 3) orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal, high suspended cymbal, tambourine, anvil, brake drum, snare drum, guiro, whistle, glockenspiel
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Flex
Timpani + 3 percussion
Vibraphone, high suspended cymbal, medium suspended cymbal, tambourine hi hat, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, 2 octave crotales, triangle, castanets, anvil, brake drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, woodblock, guiro, whistle, tom tom
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Night Mass
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone, xylophone, 2 octaves crotales, glockenspiel, high suspended cymbal, low suspended cymbal, gong, cowbell, tambourine, woodblock, brake drum, guiro
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Nightmaze
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone, glockenspiel, snare drum, brake drums x 2, suspended cymbal x 2, hi hat, 2 octaves crotales, cowbell, tambourine
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Piano Concerto
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Vibraphone, marimba, suspended cymbal, hi hat, brake drum, claves, guiro, cowbell, 2 woodblocks, bamboo wind chimes, tambourine
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Quanta
No Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
1) vibraphone, xylophone, brake drum, high suspended cymbal, medium suspended cymbal, hi hat, triangle, claves, anvil, woodblock, high woodblock
2) glockenspiel, xylophone, snare drum, hi hat, medium suspended cymbal, triangle, high woodblock, tambourine 2 octaves crotales, anvil, guiro
Celeste
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Re-Formation
Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
1) vibraphone, snare drum, 2 octaves crotales, suspended cymbal, tambourine, triangle, orchestral bass drum
2) tambourine, tam tam, brake drum, snare drum, ratchet, suspended cymbal, triangle, glockenspiel, guiro, anvil, flexatone, high woodblock, 2 octave crotales, hi hat, vibraphone
Celeste
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Sleepers and Dreamers
No Timpani + 2 percussion
1) vibraphone, glockenspiel, snare drum, medium suspended cymbal, low tom tom, 4 triangles (low, medium low, medium high, high), brake drum, orchestral bass drum, guiro, bell tree, tambourine, cow bell, hi hat
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Time Machines
No Timpani + 2 percussion
1) vibraphone, snare drum, high suspended cymbal, medium suspended cymbal, crotales B4, D5, Eb5, G5, Ab5, B5, bass bow, triangle, tambourine, guiro
2) glockenspiel, vibraphone, snare drum, 2 brake drums, medium suspended cymbal, low suspended cymbal, hi hat, crotales C#4, E4, F4, F#4, Ab4, A4, B4, E5, bass bow, triangle, cowbell, tambourine, guiro, claves, maracas, whip
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Time's Hand
Timpani + 2 percussion
1) xylophone, vibraphone, 2 octaves crotales, suspended cymbal x 2, tambourine, claves, temple blocks, snare drum, tam tam, orchestral bass drum
2) glockenspiel, marimba, tubular bells, suspended cymbal x 2, tambourine, tom toms x 3, orchestral bass drum
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Traces
No Timpani + 2 percussion + celeste
1) vibraphone, snare drum, hi hat, castanets, guiro, medium suspended cymbal, brake drum - celeste
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Vocalissimus
No Timpani + 1 percussion
Glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, tubular bells, 2 octaves crotales, suspended cymbal x 3, tom toms x 4, snare drum, temple blocks, glass chimes, triangle, tambourine, claves, orchestral bass drum
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