Daniel Kennedy on Steiger's Dreamscape

I first met Rand (photo at left) in 1980, when we were graduate students at California Institute of the Arts, and since that time, I've had the pleasure of sharing many wonderful musical experiences with him. While at CalArts, I performed in a fantastic new piece, Quintessence, that he composed for a mixed ensemble, resulting in the formation of the noteworthy new-music ensemble, the California E.A.R. Unit. Rand also wrote a terrific solo for me, which I've played many times over the years, and is still part of my regular solo repertoire.

So, now I have the good fortune to be part of another great piece from Rand [Dreamscape, March 17, 2008], coming from a long line of works by one of America's most outstanding composers. But, this piece presents new challenges, and a new level of virtuosity from his earlier works. The percussion part has two "stations," one for a setup of non-pitched instruments, which by its very nature has built-in performance difficulties. The second is a 5-octave marimba, with over eight feet of lateral keyboard to navigate through a complex and virtuosic cadenza. But part of the attraction to playing percussion parts in contemporary music is to face the challenges they present, and I wouldn't be completely happy without them! A very special thanks to Rand.