Chaos Supreme, Josh Walker’s med-easy piece for percussion ensemble, is an upbeat and catchy work, made to introduce middle school players to mallet runs and drumset playing. The piece is made up of simple rhythms and melodies, but the tempo is quick and will push the technical capabilities of younger players, while exposing them to material they will eventually play in more advanced literature. If necessary, the mallet parts can be doubled to help keep extra personnel occupied.
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• Glockenspiel
• Xylophone
• Marimba (4-octave)
• 3 timpani (32”, 29”, 26”)
• Drumset (crash cymbal, hi-hat, snare drum, 2 rack toms, floor tom, kick drum)
• Concert BD
As explained by the composer, “Chaos Supreme” sets out to accomplish two specific goals, which it does in succinct and exciting fashion: incorporating drum set into the middle school percussion experience, and exposing young students to the kinds of playing challenges that await them at the high school level. At only 21⁄2 minutes in length, “Chaos Supreme” falls squarely into the genre of “percussion pop music,” but this is a good thing: it will certainly grab the young performers’ attention and have them buying into the experience in no time.
The parts are sufficiently difficult for an 8th- grade ensemble, giving each member a chance to shine as a brief soloist, although the drum set part would not be appropriate for a true beginner. The other significant challenge will be maintaining proper balance across the ensemble; I don’t know of too many 8th-grade drum set players who have built a reputation for nuance, and keeping their energy in check will be crucial to allowing the rest of the ensemble to be heard.
Composer Josh Walker is clearly an educator, and his keen awareness of the need for flexibility is evident. The two keyboard parts can be split into four, with one performer taking the glockenspiel part away from the xylophone player and a second marimbist reliving the first of some of the notes from their driving double stops and rolling three-note chords. Furthermore, he notes in the score that the many keyboard licks “are simple enough for a younger ensemble to perform at a slower tempo and still maintain the character of the piece.”
The inclusion of drum set alone makes this piece a worthwhile addition to the middle school percussion repertoire, which badly needs more such entries in order to engage with a portion of the student percussionist population that often gets marginalized by the traditional percussion education curriculum. However, the piece also stands as an excellent and effective opportunity for young performers to develop chamber skills, build chops, and improve their reading ability. I strongly recommend this piece to middle school educators looking for something new, useful, and student-friendly.
—Brian Graiser
Percussive Notes
Vol. 59, No. 3, June 2021
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