Rhythmic Ceremonial Ritual

Zachary Cairns

7 Players

Instrumentation: 7 Tambourines

With its mix of various playing styles and ensemble interaction, this entertaining piece for seven antiphonal tambourines would be a welcome addition to any percussion ensemble concert!

Orchestral tambourine playing involves a wide array of unique playing techniques, from the knee-fist playing in the “Trepak” movement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, to the thumb rolls of the “Gypsy Dance” of Bizet’s Carmen, and everything in between. The concept behind Rhythmic Ceremonial Ritual was to compose a piece for a tambourine ensemble in which each player could work on these different techniques in a fun, entertaining setting.