THE IMPROVISATIONAL TECHNIQUE OF ÉRIC SAMMUT by Brian S. Mueller Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music Indiana University December 2016 Accepted by the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music Doctoral Committee __________________________________________ Kevin Bobo, Research Director, Chair __________________________________________ Steve Houghton __________________________________________ John Tafoya __________________________________________ Brent Wallarab November 17, 2016 ii Copyright © 2016 Brian Mueller iii Acknowledgements This project has been in the making for nearly five years, and could not have been completed without the aid of many people. First and foremost I would like to thank my parents, Barbara and Scott, for their unending love and support throughout my pursuit of three music degrees, in three different states, over the last fourteen years—not to mention their enthusiasm for my musical education early on, beginning in 1994 when I first picked up a pair of sticks. I would like to thank two of my earliest and most influential teachers: Steve Hatfield, and Lisa Hittle. They taught me how to play, how to listen, and what it means to be a musician. Thanks to Kevin Bobo, who has been a constant inspiration to me as a teacher and mentor since we first crossed paths in 2001. I would not have fallen in love with the marimba without his influence, and it has been a special privilege to have him serving on my doctoral committee. I would also like to thank Dr. J. C. Combs, my first percussion professor at Wichita State University, who remains an enormous inspiration to me as a musician and artist. During my time at Wichita State University (2002–2007) and The University of North Texas (2007–2009), I had countless wonderful teachers and colleagues from whom I learned so much—too many to list for fear of leaving someone out. Thank you for many years of support, inspiration, and friendship. Having the opportunity to pursue a doctorate at Indiana University was a dream come true. I would like to thank the Indiana University percussion faculty for years of excellent teaching and guidance, as well as their endless support of my growth as a musician, and the development (still very much in the works!) of my creative vision: John Tafoya, Steve Houghton, Michael Spiro, and Kevin Bobo. Thanks to Zach Compston for initially suggesting the idea for this project; to Erin Jeter for providing access to important P.A.S. resources; to Brian McNulty and Andy Smith for providing advice and insight into the process of completing this degree, as well as their inspiring musicianship and professionalism; to Frank Samarotto from whom I learned, through his theory courses at Indiana, a method of musical analysis that informs many of the musical examples in this document; to Alex Cofone and the folks at Marimba Productions, Inc. for granting permission to use the many musical examples iv throughout this work; and of course, I owe a big thank you to my entire doctoral committee—Kevin Bobo, John Tafoya, Steve Houghton, and Brent Wallarab—for being enthusiastic about my topic, reviewing the document, and helping me complete this project, the final step of my formal education. I would also like to thank Lalo Davila for providing me with the opportunity to work alongside him at Middle Tennessee State University, and for his energy, passion, and encouragement during the last two years as I have begun my professional career while simultaneously working to complete my degree. Thank you to Dr. Michael Parkinson and all of my colleagues here at MTSU for their enthusiasm and for welcoming me into the MTSU School of Music community—I am fortunate to be here. Thank you also to my students at MTSU, from whom I have learned so much and who have been patient with me as I have juggled the two sides of my life, particularly during this past semester. And last but certainly not least, thank you to Éric Sammut, the subject of this project, for being so open, so generous, and so willing to share his knowledge and experience with me. Needless to say, he and his music have been an inspiration to me for many years, and the opportunity to work with him directly has been life changing. Please see the Preface for a detailed account of how we first crossed paths, and how this project ultimately came to fruition. v Preface My first encounter with Éric Sammut was twenty years ago, at a Saturday afternoon clinic he presented during the fall of 1996 at Wichita State University in Wichita, KS. At this time I was in the seventh grade. I had only been playing percussion for two years and had not yet begun playing the marimba. Sammut was in the middle of a clinic and concert tour in the wake of his First Prize victory at the first-ever international marimba competition that had taken place during August of 1995 in Asbury Park, NJ. Although at such an early age I did not fully understand the significance of this encounter, I did appreciate, along with everyone else in the room, that we were all experiencing something special. One year later I began learning four-mallet technique and worked on my first solo: Mitchell Peters’ Yellow After the Rain. Over the next several years, my musical development went in many directions, and by the time I encountered the published music of Éric Sammut during my senior year of high school, I had learned enough about jazz harmony to appreciate, and be drawn into, Sammut’s sound world. At that time I had begun studying jazz piano and recognized the overlap between his music and the chord voicings, melodic tendencies, and overall ‘vibe’ of much of the jazz I had been listening to and practicing. This was the hook that drew me in and led to a long-term fascination with Sammut’s work. During the fall of 2005, I crossed paths with Sammut twice in quick succession, this time as a senior at Wichita State University where I was working on my Bachelor’s degree in percussion under Dr. J. C. Combs. I was in attendance for Sammut’s clinic presentation at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Columbus, OH, entitled, “Four Steps to Feeling Comfortable at the Marimba,” where he premiered the Three Spirals. Less than a week later Sammut was in residency at Wichita State, teaching lessons, presenting a clinic, and performing a concert. I took a lesson and soaked up as much information as I could. Being exposed to his ideas about playing the marimba, as well as witnessing his improvisational approach to the instrument, was an amazing experience. To my great surprise, he invited me to perform his piece, Caméléon, on his solo concert the following evening, which was an incredible honor, and established a connection between us that has lasted to this day. During his vi concert he performed an as-of-then unpublished arrangement, Variations on Porgy and Bess. This piece stood out to me as particularly amazing. In 2007, as a first-year masters student at The University of North Texas, I travelled to Paris, France to perform with the UNT Percussion Ensemble at the PerkuMania festival at Sammut’s school, the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris. During our last evening in Paris before heading back to Texas, we ran into Éric Sammut in the hallway and during a brief conversation I asked him if there was a score available for Porgy. He said yes, but since this was our last night there was no time for me to get it from him then, so I would need to contact him later. After a series of emails, Sammut mailed me an autographed copy in an envelope, and I spent the better part of the summer of 2008 learning the work. It remains in my repertoire to this day and will always be a special piece to me. I next encountered Éric Sammut as a first-year Doctoral student at Indiana University where, at the 2009 PASIC in Indianapolis, IN, he performed a solo showcase concert titled Baby Come Bach, juxtaposing works by Bach with largely improvised arrangements of popular and jazz pieces, along with some of his own compositions and a special improvisational version of Gordon Stout’s Second Mexican Dance. Witnessing this performance was another life-changing experience for me as a musician, sending me on a path toward learning to improvise on the marimba and writing my own arrangements. When the time came to choose a subject for my Doctoral Final Project, I considered several options, but when a friend suggested the possibility of traveling to Paris to study with Sammut, the choice seemed obvious. From there the idea grew and after contacting Sammut to get his approval, it became reality. My research resulted in two more opportunities to interact with Sammut. The first was a road trip to New Jersey during June of 2014 to attend the Mallet Masters Festival hosted by Leigh Howard Stevens, where I attended an evening concert of Sammut’s, followed the next morning by an extended clinic and master class, and finally, a two-and-a-half hour interview where we were able to sit down and discuss a variety of topics. Then, during the first week of December of that same year, I travelled to Paris and spent a week working with him directly, taking three extended lessons, watching him teach, and even vii having the opportunity to present and perform some of my own arrangements for him and his students.