Michael Torke’s “Bloom 2, Morning”: Music for Percussion Ensemble

Bloom, the newest album by American composer Michael Torke (b. 1961),  will be released on August 30. The eleven movement work was written for, and recorded by, Sandbox Percussion.

With an exuberant, infectious rhythmic groove, Bloom develops over three musical “days,” with movements titled “morning, noon, night.” With repeating patterns, it rides the visceral pulse of the contemporary dance floor.

In his program note, the composer writes,

BLOOM uses interlocking rhythms which, when played together, create a groove expressed through each player’s pitched and non-pitched instruments. Just as shoots push through dirt erupting in blooms, so too do the vibes and marimbas burst forth from the drums. In other words, this music has an organic profile, unlike other recent pieces of mine.

Recordings

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

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