DESCRIPTION:
Performed by: James Madison University Percussion Ensemble
Under the direction of Bill Rice

ABOUT THE PIECE:
The Succubus: A demon of the night who masquerades as a seductive woman beguiling men in their sleep. The movement begins by expressing that curious state between wakefulness and sleep. The succubus then enters via the piano, and the percussion keyboards play her siren song. The man is drawn into the seduction, but the ecstasy becomes hampered by the man's confusion over reality vs. fantasy. The movement ends with wondering ... was it real?

The Poltergeist: A malevolent spirit whose haunting are characterized by loud noises, strange lights, rapping sounds, and moving objects. The movement depicts various episodes of such a haunting, from the somewhat tentative, to the evil and terrifying.

Spirits for Percussion Ensemble & Piano was written for the James Madison University Percussion Ensemble. The commission was made possible by the Friends of Music and by alumni of the JMU percussion studio.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
David J. Long is Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he teaches courses in Theory, Skill Development, Composition, Orchestration, and History of Jazz, as well as chairing the department of music.

His compositions are regularly performed primarily by college/university groups and public schools across the country as well as performances in Canada, France, Switzerland, and Germany

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
BILL RICE directs the Percussion Studies and University Percussion Ensemble programs. He has recently served as an adjudicator of keyboard competitions at the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. Mr. Rice is a clinician/endorser for Vic Firth, Inc. and the Zildjian Cymbal Company, and a member of the Board of Directors for the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.

LORI PIITZ enjoys a performance career that includes solo, four-hand and chamber music. She has performed in numerous festivals and venues, including the Festival of the Sound in Canada, the Schubert Club in Minneapolis, Lincoln Center and Steinway Hall in New York City, and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany. Ms. Piitz received her doctorate from Indiana University where she studied with Menahem Pressler.