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Programme Note

Composer's Note:

Volume was inspired both by the inventiveness of the musicians of Trinidad and by the badass playing of percussionists James Deitz and Joshua Quillen. Drumming was banned in Trinidad in the late 19th century, since it was used as a form of communication between slaves. Enslaved musicians were forced to improvise, using whatever materials they could find to construct instruments. Prototypes of the steel pan were made of biscuit tins, paint cans and oil drums, and bottles were struck with spoons to provide a high percussive accompaniment. Volume, a work scored for steel pan, vibraphone, and a junkyard array of other instruments, is a raucous work and joyful work, an homage to the steel pan tradition and the spirit of innovative music making.

- Missy Mazzoli