Solo percussion performance stretches boundaries of recital series

                             Teun Fetz

LA GRANDE, Oregon – The next Faculty Recital Series performance at Eastern Oregon University will feature Teun Fetz, assistant professor of music, on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in McKenzie Theatre.

 

Drawing from a repertoire that is both technically and musically challenging, Fetz will perform what may be the first solo percussion concert in the history of EOU. It is also his first recital as a faculty member.

 

“I chose most of the repertoire because of the variety of differing styles they present,” Fetz said. “Also, I can connect with the music in each movement or piece in some way. It stretches my flexibility and versatility.”

 

Preparing for the concert has also stretched Fetz’s physical flexibility. The musician suffers from severe tendinitis in his right forearm and the daily practice has been painful.

 

“Percussion playing is very physical and the tendinitis is a bit disabling in terms of endurance, strength and flexibility,” Fetz said. “But it’s an injury that I just have to deal with and ‘play through.’”

 

And ‘play through’ he will, performing on four major instruments: orchestral snare drum, four timpani, marimba and a multiple percussion set-up that includes nine different instruments. The program includes works by composers Alfred Fissinger, Neal Fluegel, Matthias Schmitt, Bruce Hamilton, William Cahn, Alan Keown and Elliott Carter.

 

Yet another unusual aspect of Fetz’s recital are the timpani compositions by Hamilton and Carter he chose to perform. The movements utilize three beating areas of the drum. Each beating area produces a distinctly different sound.

 

“Timpani playing is usually confined to the normal beating spot, about three-inches in from the rim. In these movements the composer specifies where to place specific notes for each stroke – either dead center, in the normal beating area, or on the very edge of the rim,” Fetz said. “And it is even rarer for two different composers to write along the same lines.”

 

The concert is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted at the door to help support the EOU music department.

 

EOU Home   |   University Advancement