February 20
120 from Kembang Suling
Gareth Farr

New Zealand composer and percussionist, Gareth Farr, was born on this day in 1968. At the age of twenty, Farr had the poignant experience of hearing a live gamelan orchestra, and the Indonesian gamelan rapidly became the hallmark of his compositional output. Kembang Suling, a three-movement work for flute and marimba, is Farr’s most popular composition to date. He writes about the opening movement, “On the magical island of Bali, flowing gamelan melodies intertwine with the sound of the ‘ruling’ (Balinese bamboo flute) to form rich colourful tapestries. The marimba and flute start out as one, their sounds indistinguishable. Bit by bit the flute asserts its independence, straying further and further from the marimba melody. An argument ensues— but all is resolved at the climax.”

Performed by Nave Graham (BM – USC’11), flute and David Abraham, percussion