Just Ordinary (2019)

for solo percussion

In the midst of a stressful period, a listen to the world around me helped create this piece. I based Just Ordinary on the sounds I heard and catalogued on a typical day – doors opening and closing, cars and busses driving by, chatter, insects, wind, and birdsong – and reinvented them into a percussive world for a solo performer. The piece mixes these sounds which were taken from morning to night, and layered them on top of one another, leaving some sections quiet and gentle, while others are lively and full of color. I gave the performer the freedom to select the instruments based on loose descriptions of a desired sound (e.g., wood, resonant and non-resonant metals), thus giving them the freedom to design their personal interpretation of the world around them. This piece provides an opportunity to reflect on the environment in which we live, to notice how we view the world through different lenses, and to appreciate the things in life that we think are Just Ordinary. 


This piece was composed for and was premiered by close friend, Jonathan Sotelo.

Just Ordinary placed third place in Media Press’ 2021 Solo Percussion Composition Competition, and is thus anticipating a video performance by Joseph van Hassel and is currently published with Media Press Music.

Review of Just Ordinary featured in the December 2021 edition of Percussive Notes:

This multi-percussion solo allows the performer to choose the instruments and put their own interpretation to the tempo and rhythm. The performer is encouraged to choose sounds that reflect “their personal interpretation of the world around them...the environment in which we live.”  

The piece is often ambient and spacious, but with the potential to contain rhythmic drive and more obvious thematic motifs if the performer chooses. The notated music is not challenging, but it requires a great deal of thought, finesse, and sensitivity from the performer. This is not a piece that could be sight-read; the performer shares the role of the composer in bringing “Just Ordinary” to its final iteration.  

Though the score contains only two pages, the piece is over 6 minutes long, making it a not insignificant part of a recital. Because of the open nature of the instrumentation, this piece is highly accessible to any percussion inventory that contains a xylophone and a low drum. The setup can be large or small, and each performance will be unique and personalized to the performer.  

“Just Ordinary” is a nicely structured and well-notated piece that sets out a clear framework and expectations for the performer to flex his or her creativity and make something unique and beautiful. This would be an excellent choice for an undergraduate recital where the performer wants to explore sound choices.  

—Marilyn K. Clark Silva  

Performed by Jonathan Sotelo (percussion) on August 29th, 2020 at the UMBC Linehan Concert Hall.

 

Performances:

  • April 27, 2022 - Moore Hall at University of North Carolina-Pembroke in Pembroke, NC

    • Performer: Joseph van Hassel, percussion

  • April 16, 2021 - Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall at University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Catonsville, MD

    • Performer: Jonathan Sotelo, percussion

  • September 26, 2020 - Zoom through University of Maryland, College Park

    • Performer: Jonathan Sotelo, percussion

  • May 10, 2020 - Zoom through University of Maryland, Baltimore County (premiere)

    • Performer: Jonathan Sotelo, percussion