3 Pieces on 2 Instruments for 1 Player

This work explores the combination of vibraphone and marimba as a single, integrated performance setup, allowing one performer to assume melodic, harmonic, and bass functions simultaneously.

The three pieces are conceived specifically for this hybrid configuration, each emphasizing a different relationship between the two instruments. Rather than merging their sound worlds, the music highlights their contrasting qualities — resonance and sustain on the vibraphone, weight and articulation on the marimba — and exploits the physical space between them as a compositional parameter.

Improvisation plays a central role in the formal design of the collection. Two of the three pieces include improvisational sections; fully notated example improvisations are provided in the appendix as an option for performers who prefer a fixed version.

The notation reflects this balance: precise where necessary, open where musical flexibility is essential. The collection is intended both as a concert work and as an exploration of extended performance practice, offering a distinctive approach to solo mallet playing that is idiomatic, challenging, and musically direct.