Percussion Concerto – Study Score

When I was young I inherited a large pile of my dad's old Beano annuals (a popular comic book in the UK) which, torch in hand, I would consume with relish under my bed sheets at night. There was something about the anarchic and wild nature of the comics that appealed to me as child and, if I'm being honest, continues to appeal to me as an adult. The onomatopoeic words that were delicious to say out loud (Boing! Splat! Paarp! Sluurp!); the diverse range of colourful characters (the Bash Street Kids, Billy the Whizz, Bananaman, and Dennis and his dog Gnasher); the seemingly endless adventures and stories that saw our heroes overcome challenges, get into trouble (and sometimes deal with the consequences) all fed my imagination. It's not often I'm asked to write a piece of music that is, at it's core, fun; but luckily I take writing 'fun' music very seriously! This Percussion Concerto is a colourful, whacky, fast-paced, tour-de-force for solo percussion and orchestra. The concerto features an array of unusual instruments for the soloist (opera gongs, tin cans, plastic buckets), but within the orchestra itself, if you listen carefully, you will also hear slide whistles, kazoos, dustbin lids, car horns, and even some squeaky dog toys! © Gavin Higgins