• 2 Flutes (both double Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Bb Clarinets, 2 Bassoons
• 4 F Horns, 2 C Trumpets, 3 Trombones (3=Bass Trombone), Tuba
• Timpani + 3 Percussion
  • Percussion 1: Xylophone, Crotales (upper octave), Triangle, Bass Drum
  • Percussion 2: Marimba 1 (not shared), Whip, Tam-tam
  • Percussion 3: Vibraphone, Marimba 2 (not shared), Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals
• Piano
• Percussion Quartet Soloists
• Strings

• 2 Flutes (both double Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Bb Clarinets, 2 Bassoons
• 2 F Horns, 2 C Trumpets, 1 Trombone
• Piano
• Percussion Quartet Soloists
• Strings

• Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Bassoon, Soprano Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone
• F Horn, C Trumpet, Trombone
• Piano
• Percussion Quartet Soloists
• Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass

I have tremendous respect for renewable energy initiatives and their commitment to creating a new, better reality for us all. Re(new)al is a percussion quartet concerto similarly devoted to breathing new life into traditional ideas. The soloists perform not only on standard instruments like snare drum and vibraphone, but also on “found” objects such as crystal glasses and reusable compressed air cans. Even familiar instruments are transformed: a vibraphone prepared with aluminum foil recreates the crackle of electronic sounds, and a single snare drum is shared by all four players. Conceived in close collaboration with the incomparable ensemble Sandbox Percussion, the work is an exploration of reinvention—of finding new energy in unlikely places.

Cooperation is another central theme. The four soloists always play in hocket, dividing single musical ideas so intricate that the music can only function through their synergy and equal dedication. They share instruments, trade impossibly fast drum set patterns, and, at the very opening, toast crystal glasses together. A toast is never made alone, and this gesture became my way of celebrating collective effort.

Structured in three continuous movements, the concerto reflects the forces of hydro, wind, and solar power. The hydro movement transforms ringing glasses into hand bells as the orchestra engulfs the quartet in sound. The wind movement turns the soloists into blades of a turbine, propelling 1990s-inspired drum and bass rhythms. The final solar movement evokes a radiant sunrise, with metallic percussion shimmering like sunlight. The piece’s opening also adapts material from one of my earlier works, Water, Wine, Brandy, Brine, as a meta-gesture of renewal, of harnessing the potential of older ideas to create something new.

The original version of Re(new)al was commissioned in 2017 for Sandbox Percussion and the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire. A full orchestral version, premiered in 2018 by Maestro David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony and later revised in 2021, marked the piece’s second life. It has since become one of my most enduring works, with five different settings for orchestras and wind ensembles of varying sizes. I am deeply grateful to David Alan Miller, Sandbox Percussion, and the Albany Symphony for their role in bringing this work to life.