Tuesday June 28, 2022
The 1st Annual Dove Marimba Competition
at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
Event hosted by the DMV Percussion Academy.
Winner will receive a free 4.3 octave Concert Grand Marimba and free Vic Firth Mallets donated by Dove Drum Rental.
Eligibility requires that you are a High School Student who hasn't graduated before 2022.
Must be 18 years of age or younger.
Must also be a resident of MD, DE, VA, or PA.
Candidates will be required to perform their choice of either Jonathan Leshnoff's "Marimba Steps" or Zev Malina's "A Lone Star Postcard". These are both world premier works for solo Marimba Commissioned for the Dove Marimba Competetion.
A catchy, fun, new solo marimba piece available in 4.3-octave and 5-octave marimba versions (both versions included). Vetted by several marimba pedagogues and professors, this is ideal repertoire for high school and college juries, recitals and encores. Five minutes in length, it opens with a grooving melody line, a lush, slow second movement in rolls and a Finale with a homage to J.S. Bach.
Marimba Steps (2021)
Jonathan Leshnoff
(b. 1973)
6 minutes
Grammy-nominated composer Jonathan Leshnoff is renowned for his music's striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes. Ranked among the most performed living composers by American orchestras in recent seasons, the Baltimore-based composer’s works have been performed by over a hundred orchestras worldwide. He has received recent commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. His works have been premiered by classical music’s most celebrated artists, including Gil Shaham, Johannes Moser, Manuel Barrueco, Noah Bendix- Bagely, Ricardo Morales, and Joyce Yang. Seven all-Leshnoff albums are commercially recorded. Leshnoff is a Professor of Music at Towson University.
Jonathan Leshnoff and Barry Dove have been colleagues and friends for many years. When Dove started making his own brand of marimbas in 2020, he commissioned Leshnoff for a solo marimba work specifically written for younger players. The result was Marimba Steps, written for the inaugural Dove Marimba Competition. It is a six-minute work that is both spunky and pedagogical. The 4.3-octave marimba version was vetted by several marimba pedagogues to facilitate its practicality for younger players. A 5-octave version is also available.
Marimba Steps is in three movements. The first movement grooves to a syncopated beat in a single line. The second movement is a slow ascent of lush and harmonically rich rolls. “Loure,” the final movement, references Bach both in style and quotation.