Source Inspirations

I listened to a great lecture last week by percussionst Jim Preiss. He's the principal percussionist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, the Westchester Philharmonic, and the Riverside Symphony and also performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the American Symphony Orchestra. He's also been a member of the Steve Reich Ensemble since 1971, about the time Reich composed his famous piece Drumming.

Mr. Preiss talked about Reich's inspiration for Drumming. In his travels, Reich had come across West African drumming and Balinese gamelan, and was inpired to compose something in response. Like his inspiration sources, he wanted to compose music that didn't require performers to read the score; they would perform by rote memory.

I got to thinking about all the different kinds of source inspirations that we happen upon every day. Perhaps something you hear on the subway, or in traffic, or in conversation. Noise, books, a movie, a sculpture, or whatever -- source materials can be found in just about everything we come across, if you stretch out and think creatively.