Dynasty Inc. is proud to announce a new solo marimba recording by Mark Ford Featuring Ann Bradfield, Alto Saxophone Ed Smith, Vibraphone The University of North Texas Percussion Ensemble Available from: Steve Weiss Music, Lone Star Percussion, CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon Stealing a Moment… includes these fantastic new tracks for marimba: 1. Kingdom Lore Fanfare (Mark Ford) was premiered at the 2005 Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Dedicated to my son, Kevin Ford, Kingdom Lore was written to celebrate the introduction of the Signature Dynasty Five-Octave Marimba that I designed. The work utilizes three pitch-class sets that develop throughout the music into an energetic display of the potential of the marimba. 2. Wink (Mark Ford) is an alto-saxophone/marimba duet that was written for my sons Austin (marimba) and Kevin Ford (saxophone). Premiered by saxophonist Ann Bradfield and me in January of 2011, Wink is a groovy-hip collaboration that explores three main themes: a syncopated melody, a floating assertion and a waltz-like phrase. Wink gradually builds to a “rock-style” adaptation of the opening statement to end the work. The title refers to those beautiful moments between fathers and sons when words are not necessary, just a wink and a smile. 3. stealing a moment… (Mark Ford) is dedicated to my wife, Ewelina Ford, and was premiered at the Katowice Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland in 2010. Originally titled ‘stealing a moment of forgetfulness’, this love song contrasts a roaming hesitant theme with a simple melody. The roaming theme represents the routine of our daily lives and the simple melody represents everything beautiful. The simple melody is presented at first as a fragment that grows with each entrance. The roaming theme is gradually altered with each exposure to the simple melody. These themes combine near the end to create a flowing section representing the power of beauty and love in our daily lives. 4. Ransom (Mark Ford) I lived on Ransom Drive when I taught percussion at Middle Tennessee State University. Several years ago I decided to write a series of short etudes for a marimba method book with each etude named for a street where I had lived. Ransom was my first effort and it quickly became much more than an etude. So I published it separately in 2002 as a solo and dedicated it to Erik Johnson, president of Innovative Percussion Inc. Erik was my student at MTSU and we are close friends now. The remainder of the “street” etudes evolved into my 2005 marimba method book, "Marimba: Technique Through Music." 5. Sonata for Marimba (Marcin Blazewicz) displays the style and energy of one of Poland’s leading composers for the marimba. As Chair of Composition Studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, award-winning composer Marcin Blazewicz has written several concertos for marimba that have received international acclaim. His solo Sonata displays many features of a sonata-allegro with an initial folk-like theme. The work builds to several climaxes as it displays the expressive and emotional power of the composition. 6. The Green Road (Mark Ford) is a marimba solo dedicated to my student Akiko Goto. The title refers to an old unused dirt road near my grandfather's house in Short Pump outside of Richmond, Virginia. Covered with leaves, this country road has a canopy of tall trees as it leads into the woods that I used to explore as a boy. The music is peaceful and delicate and reflects a beautiful connection to past family memories. This duet version features the amazing talents of vibist Ed Smith as he highlights and improvises around my original composition. 7. Concertino for Marimba and Percussion Ensemble (Dwayne Rice) This one-movement concertino was commissioned by the Trinity High School Percussion Ensemble and dedicated to percussionist Andrew Eldredge who premiered the work in 2006. Written for marimba soloist and an ensemble consisting of seven percussion keyboard instruments, the marimba soloist artistically weaves in and out of the musical texture. The extended cadenza, written by Mark Ford, recapitulates the concertino’s themes before driving to the end. Mark Ford proudly represents Dynasty/Bergerault Percussion, Innovative Percussion, The Zildjian Company, Evans Drum Heads, and Latin Percussion as performing artist and clinician. Mark is the Percussion Coordinator for the University of North Texas College of Music and he is also a past president of the Percussive Arts Society. Many thanks to Ewelina Ford for designing the artwork for the CD!