Afterburners Required

Listen to the work here!
 
Afterburners Required is a work for xylophone and marimba, part of an ongoing series entitled M+1. This is a series of mixed duets featuring the marimba, alongside a variety of woodwind, brass, string, percussion, and other instruments. Thirty-six duets have been planned out, of which Afterburners Required is the eighth, and these duets, following from the letter-and-number-infused title of the series, begin with letters or numbers covering the alphabet and Arabic numerals (A-Z, 0-9) once each.
 
Afterburners Required is a high-velocity and high-energy ragtime work for xylophone and marimba, the title of which humorously suggests that performer and audience member alike might need rocket boosters to keep pace. The xylophone part takes on the soloistic voice throughout, carrying on the tradition of the xylophone in ragtime and vaudeville music. The marimba plays a pianistic role throughout, providing the rhythmic and harmonic underpinning for the work. Halfway through the work, the tempo modulates cleverly to an even faster pace, such that hopefully everyone in the room will be out of breath at the work’s conclusion! Afterburners Required was commissioned by Yun-Chen Chou for her undergraduate senior recital at the University of North Texas, and was premiered by Yun-Chen Chou and Daisy Waters.