by Brian Slawson
10-11 players
Instrumentation: Glockenspiel, Chimes, Xylophone, Vibraphone, 2 marimbas—(1) 4-octave, (1) low A, 2 timpani (26" & 29"), Drumset, Accessories (ratchet, whip crack, brake drum, temple/wood blocks, sleigh bells, ribbon crasher, vibraslap, bell tree)
In Santa’s Strut, Brian Slawson combines a funky drumset beat and blues-like melodies to form an easy level percussion ensemble piece that’s perfect for a holiday-themed concert requiring minimal rehearsal time.
After a brief introduction, the central section of the piece features the mallet instruments playing melodies based on a blues scale, which are contained in a 12-bar blues. These melodies are supported by a lot of fun, toy-like percussion accessories in the background such as sleigh bells, ratchet, temple blocks, vibraslap, and a whip crack. These are important musical concepts to introduce to young performers and Slawson does this in an accessible and fun way.
Santa’s Strut comes as a professionally printed and bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or for tablet viewing.
