Memory's Lens

by Clayton Stroup

6 players

Instrumentation: 

2 vibraphones

Drums — bongos, 4 concert toms, mounted kick drum (shared), snare drum 

Cymbals & gongs — 4 cup chimes*, 2 suspended cymbals (shared)

Accessories — brake drum, castanets, sleigh bells, tambourine, 3 woodblocks (high to low)

*can substitute Zil-bels, cymbal bells, or finger cymbals

Memory's Lens by Clayton Stroup is an interpretive percussion sextet based on the way one feels when remembering their earliest childhood. Throughout the work, feelings of nostalgia, familiarity, and fleeting memories are formed through the use of various metallic and percussive voices. The metallic voices, vibraphones and cup chimes, emulate wind chimes at Stroup’s grandparents’ house. The drums and percussive parts are representative of the “ordered chaos of how memories are formed and change subtly over the years.” While not overly complex in terms of technical skill, this piece provides performers with a great canvas to learn and explore the relationship between interrelated parts and musical nuance.

Memory’s Lens ships as a printed, professionally bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for printing or tablet viewing.