Classical Marimba League
Encyclopedia
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
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The music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al repertoire for the marimba in the classical concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
venue is quite young and sparse. Compared to the hundreds of years worth of repertoire written for standard orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l instruments, the CML's efforts are focused on expanding the classical repertoire for the marimba as well as helping to advance the careers of talented composers
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
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International Composition Competition
As an organization for new music, each year, the CML holds an International Composition Competition. The competition is organized by a committee of prominent musicians, professors and artists with a juryJury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
of notable soloists, music professors and prior Competition winners. Currently, up to five prizes are awarded, one in each style category (Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
, Classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
, Impressionism
Impressionist music
Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
& Contemporary
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
). Each year, the Instrumentations for the different style categories change.
The awards include commercial sheet music publication, and premier performances of the winning compositions performed at conservatory venues around the globe. There are currently 14 participating Music Conservatories internationally that help present the premier performances of the winning works. The jury presents the awards each April after a month of deliberation.
2007 Composition Winners
- Baroque - Joe Hills, from Fort Collins, CO (Dueling Marimbas for Marimba Duo)
- Classical - George Kontogeorgos, from Athens, Greece (Miniatures for Marimba & String Quartet)
- Romantic - Pius Cheung, from Boston, MA (Three Preludes for Solo Marimba)
- Impressionism - Nils Rohwer & Jens Schliecker, from Melsdorf, Germany (Morning-Clouds for Marimba and Piano)
- Tonal Contemporary - No 1st Prize was awarded
2008 Composition Winners
- Baroque – No 1st Prize was awarded
- Classical – Leander Kaiser, from Germany (Minotaurus 4.3 for Marimba Solo)
- Romantic – Kit Mills, from Oak Harbor, WA (Three European Folksongs for Marimba Group - 1 marimba, 6 hands)
- Impressionism – Chin-Cheng Lin, from Taiwan (Flyology for Marimba & Piano)
- Tonal 21st Century – Casey Cangelosi, from Houston, TX (Two Characters for Marimba Solo)
Marimba Artist Competition
As an organization also promoting marimba performers, each year, the CML holds an International Marimba Artist Competition. Currently, three top prizes are awarded.The awards include: Invitations to perform at notable percussion festivals; Live recordings during the Champions Concert; as well as new marimba works commissioned by the CML specifically for the winners. The first prize winner is also awarded a private recording session during the festival. The 2008 winners were selected from applicants hailing from 9 different countries.
2008 Marimba Artist Winners
- 1st Prize - WeiChen Lin (Taiwan)
- 2nd Prize - Hiromi Shigeno (Japan)
- 3rd Prize (tie) - Arkadiusz Kątny (Poland) & Chin-Cheng Lin (Taiwan) shared third prize.