Crosswalk

Crosswalk was written for the Center Grove High School Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Mr. Josh Torres. The make-up of the score consists of fairly standard "western" percussion instruments commonly found in the average high school's percussion inventory. Each player has a pitched instrument and four non-pitched surfaces. Though the piece is not intentionally programmatic, the title does imply somewhat of an unusual gait to the overall rhythmic structure of the music. This is realized in the very first few measures with the short repeated phrases beginning and ending across the barline and seldom finding beat one. Walking implies forward motion, and the lack of downbeat arrivals give the music that constant leaning and falling forward into the next phrase. The tempo markings further illustrate this crooked promenade idea by using a walking reference (e.g. "moderate pace," or "nervous jog") along with the metronomic marking. Crosswalk was premiered at the 2010 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.