ATLANTA — The Georgia State School of Music, the Perimeter College Fine Arts Department and Community Music Centers of Atlanta (CMC) are uniting for “re: Percussions,” a student-led collaborative concert at Georgia State featuring the world premiere of a new work for found percussion and wind ensemble.
Led by third-year music education major Emily Bridges, the concert showcases innovative musical expression and strengthens connections across campuses and the Atlanta community. The performance will take place Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m. in the Marvin Cole Auditorium on Perimeter College’s Clarkston Campus.
The centerpiece of the program is the world premiere of “Groove Patrol No. 1: Sweep the Beat” by GSU alumnus Marcus Moore (B.M. ‘19), written for children’s percussion ensemble and wind ensemble. Structured like a concerto for a group instead of a soloist, the work features found percussion instruments, body percussion and parts cowritten by Bridges and Moore. Bridges commissioned the piece after struggling to find repertoire that allowed younger musicians to perform alongside experienced players as equal, creative partners.
“My goals in commissioning this work are to make contemporary music more accessible to younger ensembles and to create opportunities for more experienced ensembles to collaborate with younger students,” Bridges said. “The energy and creativity younger musicians bring to a performance setting are inspiring, and I wanted to capture that in a piece that truly puts them at the center of the action.”
Moore noted the project has deep personal meaning.
“This piece was inspired by conversations I was having with Emily about music education and early childhood,” he said. “Emily is a phenomenal young professional, and I first met her when she was in sixth-grade band at Hopewell Middle School. She studied in my clarinet studio for six years before coming to Georgia State, and I continue to mentor her now as she takes on leadership projects like this.”
For the composition, Moore is recontextualizing material from the fourth movement of his ballet, “Beige: An Afro Ballet,” originally written with percussion as the featured section.
“My process for writing this piece came as a means to address environmental clean-up practices,” Moore explained. “A major component is the children’s percussion ensemble, using found percussion items that can be recycled from their homes. The goal is to make this music approachable for children to play alongside more experienced musicians.”
Bridges, who has been teaching at CMC for more than a year, leads a percussion ensemble of elementary students and will bring about 10 performers to the concert.
“I’ve loved teaching elementary music far more than I thought I would,” she said. “This project is especially meaningful because I get to work the piece into my curriculum for the year and bring my students to perform in such a collaborative setting.”
“re: Percussions” will also include other works that incorporate found percussion, with performances by chamber groups and a combined wind ensemble of about 30 musicians from the Georgia State Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Perimeter College Wind Ensemble. The program will highlight additional repertoire performed by students from all three participating units.
“Emily Bridges is an exceptional student with great vision and resilience,” said Georgia State Director of Bands Robert J. Ambrose. “I am honored to help her realize this important and meaningful collaboration connecting the Georgia State School of Music, the Perimeter College Fine Arts Department and the Community Music Centers of Atlanta.”