Performances
Premiere: Oberlin Percussion Group, Mike Rosen, Director, Waetjen Hall, Cleveland State University on April 9, 2007
Program Note
Ghost Temple is a one movement work composed in response to the call for scores from the Cleveland Composers Guild for a Collegiate Percussion Project. The concept for the piece however, was hatched two years before, in Shanghai, China, while sitting in a bar atop a 51-story building listening to a live combo playing, of all things, Motown! Gazing down at the traditional Chinese temple complex Yu Yuan Garden through a thick night-time haze, I saw the lights that were strung along the eaves suddenly go dark. In my mind this became a metaphor for a cultural climate in which few young Chinese today care at all about their own traditions, preferring instead to be seen in chic Western style settings, such as the club where I sat. In this work, the dichotomy between the vibes and drum set on the one hand and the traditional Chinese percussion instruments on the other is put on display and explored.