The Composers Puzzle
How It Fits Together
Presented by Michael Burritt
The Islands
Excerpts from Sweet Dreams and Time Machines and a deep dive into the composition process
White Pines
Michael Burritt performs his own work and discusses the journey as a performer composer over the course of his 40-year career. He will reflect on how the evolution of percussion both informed and shaped his path and explore the reasons he writes music and the special symbiotic relationship between composing and performing. Michael has developed his own musical voice and will share several of his works in performance.
In addition the lecture will take a deeper dive into the process of writing a piece of music.
- Where do ideas come from – the pieces of the puzzle
- Do you need a lot of ideas to write a piece?
- Solving the puzzle of development
- The importance of eclectic listening!
- What are your tools of composition?
- How does your music relate to the world around you and others
About Michael Burritt
Having performed in four continents and more than forty states, Michael Burritt is one of his generation’s most accomplished percussionists. He is in frequent demand performing concert tours and master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. Mr. Burritt has been soloist with the United States Air Force Band, Dallas Wind Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Nexus, Third Coast Percussion, Ju Percussion Group (Taiwan), Percussion Art Quartet (Germany) and the Amores Percussion Group (Spain). Mr. Burritt has three solo as well as numerous chamber recordings. In 2018 he recorded his Home Trilogy with the world renown percussion group Nexus and is soon to release a new recording of solo and chamber works by Alejandro Viñao with the Grammy Award winning Third Coast Percussion. Burritt just recently premiered Fast Forward, a new chamber concerto written expressly for him by Pulitzer Prize winning Composer Joseph Schwantner.
He has been a featured artist at nine Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. In 1992 he presented his New York solo debut in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and in 1998 performed his London debut in the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Mr. Burritt has extensive chamber and orchestral experience and has performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, The Chicago Symphony, Nexus, Third Coast Percussion and The Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra.
Mr. Burritt is also active as a composer, with three concertos to his credit as well as numerous solo and chamber works for marimba and percussion. His works for solo marimba have become standard repertoire for the instrument and are frequently required repertoire on international competitions. Commissions include The World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart Germany, The Paris International Marimba Competition, Nexus and Paris Percussion Group. Zildjian recently commissioned Burritt to compose a work in celebration of the company’s 400-years anniversary in 2023. Mr. Burritt is published with Keyboard Percussion Publications, C. Alan, Masters Music and Innovative Percussion. Burritt is also an artist/clinician and product design/consultant for Malletech, where he has developed his own line of marimba mallets and the MJB Signature Marimba. He is an artist/educational clinician with the Zildjian, Evans, and Yamaha Drums. Mr. Burritt is currently the President of Percussive Arts Society, was a member of the Board of Directors from 1996 – 2008. He was also a contributing editor for Percussive Notes Magazine from 1991 – 2006 and chairman of the PAS Keyboard Committee from 2004 – 2010.
Burritt currently holds the Paul J. Burgett Distinguished Professorship and is Professor of Percussion at The Eastman School of Music where he is only the third person in the history of the school to hold this position. Prior to his appointment at Eastman, Mr. Burritt was Professor of Percussion at Northwestern University from 1995-2008 where he developed a program of international distinction. Mr. Burritt received his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees, as well as the prestigious Performers Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Experience the PREMIERE SEASON of the Arts and Entertainment Lecture series in the NEW state-of-the-art Performing Arts Building on Cape Cod. Visit in person or tune in virtually to celebrate the power of creativity in Arts and Music as we explore, learn, and connect with renowned experts and enthusiasts. Ignite your imagination and deepen your appreciation of Art, Music & Culture. We have the privilege, the challenge and the responsibility to carry out the mission of the Arts to humanize culture. Join us for this unforgettable PREMIERE SEASON with music and art lovers from around the world.
