STEWART COPELAND PREMIERES WITH GAEMLAN D’DRUM IN DALLAS

On February 3, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will present a concerto entitled “Gaemlan D’Drum,” a world premiere work that is a collaboration between Stewart Copeland and percussionist outfit, D’Drum. Copeland was commissioned by The Dallas Symphony O (a five-member percussion ensemble from Dallas made up of Douglas Howard, the DSO’s principal percussionist; Ronald Snider, DSO percussionist; and percussionists John Bryant, Ed Smith and Jamal Mohamed)rchestra to write the piece. Influenced by the ancient Gamelan music of Indonesia , Copeland’s concerto utilizes gamelan instruments that have been modified in order to function in a symphony orchestra setting. As some of the world instruments in “Gamelan D’Drum” are not traditionally tuned to a western orchestra, several instruments were created specifically for this piece. These instruments include two full sets of Javanese and Balinese gongs, a xylophone from Uganda, a set of African ewe drums from Ghana, and several Arabic instruments.