Throughline

by Matthew Kilby

Medium-Advanced Concert Percussion

11-14 Players

Instrumentation:

• Crotales (high and low octave)
• Glockenspiel
• Chimes
• 2 Vibraphones
• 2 Marimbas* — (1) 4-octave (1) 5-octave (opt. low F)
• 4 timpani (32”, 29”, 26”, 23”)
• Drumset
• Piano (or synthesizer)
• Bass guitar or bass synth (optional)
• Drums & accessories — 4 concert toms, triangle, mark tree, shaker, bell tree, cabasa
• Cymbals & gongs — suspended cymbal, sizzle cymbal, tam-tam
• Implements — 2 bows

*Marimba parts may be doubled with two more 4-octave marimbas.

Throughline by Matthew Kilby is a medium-advanced percussion ensemble for 11–14 players with a simple musical thread at its core that is continually transformed and rebuilt through changing meters, tonalities, and textures.

The piece moves from an intimate, unsettled opening into increasingly active layers of interlocking material. Strong rhythmic independence and a steady internal pulse are essential as simultaneous groupings unfold across the ensemble, while individual parts designed to be idiomatic and repetitive give performers recognizable material to anchor the more complex ensemble interactions.

A broad palette of keyboard and accessory percussion adds color throughout, including bowed and muted sounds, dead strokes, and chimes struck with a xylophone mallet. The scoring is also adaptable to the needs of the ensemble. The marimba parts may each be doubled after the opening, the bass guitar or bass synth is optional, and a synthesizer may substitute for the preferred acoustic piano.

This piece ships as a fully bound score. Individual parts come exclusively in PDF format.