percussive notes 66 septeMBer 2012 M arimbist and composer Michael Burritt will be performing with colleagues and former students in his showcase concert this year—his eighth featured performance at PASIC. With previous teaching positions at Kent State University and Northwestern University, Bur- ritt now holds the highly coveted position of Professor of Percussion at the Eastman School of Music. I caught up with him to talk about his upcoming performance in Austin. Nathan Daughtrey: How do you feel you have evolved as an artist/performer/composer since your first PASIC showcase concert twenty years ago? Michael Burritt: Besides the grey hair, I have probably changed as an artist quite a bit. In terms of composition, I have had more opportunities to write for a variety of mixed instrumental ensembles with and without percussion. is has changed how I think as a composer, pushing me to write more intuitively. I moved from thinking predominantly as a percussionist to think- ing more about musical ideas at the base level. I believe you can always hear a certain rhythmic energy in my music, and you know it’s me, but in a different wardrobe. So I think it’s changed my writing in a sig- nificant way and for the better. As a performer, I know I listen to myself and to others in a different way. I’d like to think a more mature ear has developed. It’s hard to point to one thing that molds you, but I will say that having the opportunity to perform with many fantastic artists and ensembles over these twenty years has been a big part of it. My dear friend and gifted pianist Alan Chow, Professor at North- western University, has taught me a lifetime of music from our collaborations. Just lis- tening to his musicianship has challenged me to think about color and line at a much deeper level. Playing with others pushes you to hear your instrument differently, and I believe you grow by leaps and bounds each time you do it. ND: How will this year’s performance differ from your previous showcases? MB: I am sharing the stage with several of my great friends and colleagues as well as Something Old, Something New… An Interview with Michael Burritt By Nathan Daughtrey several of my former students. It’s so much more fun than being up there alone. I love to play solo, but I think another way I have changed is my passion and love for cham- ber performance. ND: Who can we expect to see sharing the stage with you? MB: e focus of my writing in the past decade has been in the chamber music idiom; therefore, I have programmed three works to reflect this output. e first, “Out of the Blue” for piano and marimba, will be performed with Alan Chow, for whom the piece is also dedicated. “OOTB” was commissioned for the 2008 World Ma- rimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany. Chien-Kwan Lin, Professor of Saxophone at Eastman, will join me in premiering “Stealing Silence” for soprano sax and marimba. Chien-Kwan is someone I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with and an incredibly dynamic performer. For the first time ever I will perform with my cousin, former student, and great friend omas Burritt. To say that I am proud of Tom would be an understate- ment. Together we will give the PASIC premiere of the marimba duo “Into the Air” by Ivan Trevino. Ivan is a former student of mine who has written some terrific music for percussion as well as string and mixed instrumental ensembles. (Ivan’s marimba quartet “Bloom” won first prize in last year’s PAS Composition Competition.) e program will close with “Rounders” for per- cussion trio and solo marimba, which was commissioned by the 2009 Paris Interna- tional Marimba Competition. I am thrilled to have three of my recent graduates from Eastman performing with me. Sean Con- nors, Amy Garapic, and Chris Jones were all at Eastman when I wrote “Rounders” and have played it with me many times. ND: Is it rewarding to perform alongside former students, whose careers you’ve helped to shape? MB: Any time I have the opportunity to perform with my students it’s a very special and particularly rewarding experience. As a teacher you share so much life with your students. From celebrating achievements they never thought possible to counseling them through difficult times. When we perform together there is a special con- nection and shared appreciation for one another that is quite profound. I’ll never forget premiering my piece “Shadow Chas- ers” in Atlanta at PASIC ’94 with four of my students: Tom Burritt, Blake Tyson, Rob Ferguson, and Pete Reimer. is was one of my all-time favorite musical experi- ences and one we still regale together. ND: Aside from featuring primarily chamber music, is there a common thread or theme that runs through your concert? MB: ere is an old saying: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Someone once told me that was a good paradigm for programming a concert. I can more or less bend that idea to work in this case. “Rounders” isn’t neces- sarily old, but it has been around for a while MICHAEL BURRITT . Keyboard Showcase Concert . Friday 2:00 P.M.