VIC FIRTH ARTIST:
THAD ANDERSON

Thad Anderson presides over the percussion studies program at Southwestern University. These duties include teaching applied percussion lessons, the percussion methods course, and directing the Southwestern Percussion Group. Thad also maintains teaching responsibilities on the University of Texas at Austin campus where he directs and arranges for the Longhorn Band Drumline and conducts the Longhorn Percussion Ensemble.

Active as a solo, orchestral, and chamber musician, some of Thad’s performance credits include Days of Percussion in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, the Texas Music Educators Association convention, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Victoria Bach Festival, Austin Chamber Music Center, Round Top Festival-Institute, Austin and Waco Symphony Orchestras, and as a guest soloist with Conspirare and the Monroe Symphony Orchestra.

Thad specializes in new works for percussion through both commissioning and as a composer/arranger. Universal Edition, Santa Barbara Music, and C.F. Peters are currently publishing some of these projects. Additionally, Thad is highly active in the Percussive Arts Society community where he has served as chair of the Collegiate Committee and as a representative on the Board of Directors. Thad completed his undergraduate work in Music Education at the University of Central Florida where he studied percussion with Jeff Moore and composition with Stella Sung. He received a Masters of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin under Thomas Burritt.


Watch Thad perform a few of his solo percussion arrangements
 "Sonata for Solo Cello, I. Fantasia" – George Crumb
Completed in Berlin in October, 1955, the Cello Sonata dates from Crumb's student days and reflects well-established traditions of composition for solo cello. The opening Fantasia movement is based on the interval of a descending minor third.  Crumb's sensitivity to sonority is evident in the opening of this movement, where he juxtaposes dissonant, full chords in the bass with a haunting theme in the middle register.  The movement intensifies to a climax in the middle on a series of harmonic sixths, after which the original theme and chords return, and the movement ends softly.  I had the opportunity to work with Mr. Crumb on two of his song cycles in 2005.  During this time, I also attended a cello masterclass in which a student performed this work.  Crumb himself commented that the Cello Sonata could be performed on other instruments so I took that idea and ran.  The entire work transfers to the marimba quite comfortably and offers a perfect opportunity to perform music by one of America's most important composers.
 "Dream" — John Cage
Originally intended for solo piano, Dream was composed in 1948 for a dance by Merce Cunningham.  When performed on piano, the pedal is predominately notated to be left down creating a vast amount of resonance.  The composition follows the rhythmic structure of the choreography and utilizes a fixed gamut of tones.  This particular adaptation is orchestrated for marimba, vibraphone, and an assortment of crotales.  In this format, the somewhat simple melody becomes a lush combination of texture and color.  The use of five mallets also allows for interesting blend between the various sound types.  John Cage is another one of my favorite American figures and composers.  Beyond his early percussion ensemble masterpieces, adapting his music for solo percussion has given me further insight into his musical brilliance.

 

VISIT THAD ONLINE:  http://www.thadanderson.com