Program Note:
Inspired by my time spent visiting China, Luogu reflects the importance of symbols in Chinese culture. Literally translated, luogu means “gongs and drums” however the Chinese use the term to refer to their entire percussion ensemble which of course can incorporate much more than simply “gongs and drums”. Here I have distilled my experience of symbols in China to one performer on one drum set, an instrument that is its own type of luogu.
Luogu was commissioned by Aaron Staebell and completed in 2014 receiving its premiere by Aaron on September 21 in Rochester, NY (video from the premiere below).
Instrumentation: drum set
Duration: 5 minutes
Date: 2014