Extremes is a composition originally composed by Jason Treuting from the famous percussion ensemble So Percussion. Extremes is a serial composition consisting of rhythmic patterns and melodies performed on a bass drum, metallic snare sound (most commonly a stack of cymbals but in our case a snare drum), a hi-hat sound using another piece of metallic percussion equipment like cymbals, and bells. The piece was originally composed and scored for 4-percussionists and 8 hands. I took the original composition and re-arranged it for two drum set players using 4-hands and 4-feet to perform the exact composition note for note with half as many people.
The final product of the project was a video recorded by Charlestown AV and the piece was performed by myself and Curtis Hartshorn. The piece took a year of practice to accomplish and is by far the hardest percussion piece I’ve ever played.